Surnames Categorized "word names"

Abate Italian
From Italian abate meaning "abbot, priest", derived via Latin and Greek from an Aramaic word meaning "father". This was used either as a nickname or an occupational name for a worker in a priest's house.

Abbey English
Indicated a person who lived near an abbey or worked in an abbey, from Middle English abbeye.

Allaway Scottish
From a Scottish place name, itself derived from alla "wild" and mhagh "field".

Allegro Italian
Variant of Allegri.

Antić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Anto" or "son of Ante 1".

Appleby English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English æppel "apple" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement".

Archer English
Occupational name for one who practiced archery, from Latin arcus "bow" (via Old French).

Arena Italian
Italian cognate of Arenas.

Armstrong English
Means "strong arm" from Middle English. Tradition holds that the family is descended from Siward, an 11th-century Earl of Northumbria. Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), a jazz musician, and Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), an astronaut who was the first person to walk on the moon.

Arts 1 Dutch
Means "son of Aart".

Ash English
From Old English æsc meaning "ash tree", indicating a person who lived near ash trees.

Ashworth English
From an English place name meaning "ash enclosure" in Old English.

Atwater English
From Middle English meaning "dweller at the water".

Atwood English
From Middle English meaning "dweller at the wood".

Bäcker German
Variant of Becker, mostly found in northern Germany.

Badcock English
From a diminutive of the medieval given name Bada.

Baker English
Occupational name meaning "baker", derived from Middle English bakere.

Baldwin English
Derived from the given name Baldwin.

Ball English
From Middle English bal, Old English beall meaning "ball". This was either a nickname for a rotund or bald person, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a ball-shaped feature.

Banes Welsh
Variant of Baines 1.

Banister English
Variant of Bannister.

Banks English
Originally indicated someone who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.

Banner English
Occupational name for a flag carrier, derived from Old French baniere meaning "banner", ultimately of Germanic origin.

Bannister English
From Norman French banastre meaning "basket". This was originally a name for a maker of baskets.

Barber English, Scottish
Indicated a barber, one who cut hair for a living.

Barends Dutch
Means "son of Barend".

Barker English
From Middle English bark meaning "to tan". This was an occupational name for a leather tanner.

Baron English, French
From the title of nobility, derived from Latin baro (genitive baronis) meaning "man, freeman", possibly from Frankish barō meaning "servant, man, warrior". It was used as a nickname for someone who worked for a baron or acted like a baron.

Bass English
English cognate of Basso.

Battle English
From a nickname for a combative person. In some cases it may come from the name of English places called Battle, so named because they were sites of battles.

Bayer German
Originally denoted a person from Bavaria, from its German name Bayern.

Bean English
English cognate of Bohn.

Beck 4 English
From Old English becca meaning "pickaxe", an occupational surname.

Beech 2 English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a beech tree, from Old English bece.

Belcher English
From a Middle English version of Old French bel chiere meaning "beautiful face". It later came to refer to a person who had a cheerful and pleasant temperament.

Bell 1 English
From Middle English belle meaning "bell". It originated as a nickname for a person who lived near the town bell, or who had a job as a bell-ringer.

Berry English
Derived from a place name, which was derived from Old English burh "fortification".

Best 1 English
Derived from Middle English beste meaning "beast", an occupational name for a keeper of animals or a nickname for someone who acted like a beast. A famous bearer of this surname was soccer legend George Best (1946-2005).

Bird English
Occupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds.

Bishop English
Means simply "bishop", ultimately from Greek ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) meaning "overseer". It probably originally referred to a person who served a bishop.

Black English
Means either "black" (from Old English blæc) or "pale" (from Old English blac). It could refer to a person with a pale or a dark complexion, or a person who worked with black dye.

Blackburn English
From the name of a city in Lancashire, meaning "black stream" in Old English.

Blackman English
From a nickname, a variant of Black.

Blackwood English, Scottish
From an English place name meaning "black wood".

Bloodworth English
Originally indicated someone from the town of Blidworth in Nottinghamshire, which was derived from the Old English byname Blīþa (meaning "happy, blithe") combined with worð "enclosure".

Blue English
From a nickname for a person with blue eyes or blue clothing.

Boatwright English
Occupational name meaning "maker of boats".

Bologna Italian
From the name of the city of Bologna in northern Italy. It may derive from a Celtic word meaning "settlement".

Bond English
Occupational name for a peasant farmer, from Middle English bonde. A famous bearer is the fictional spy James Bond, created by Ian Flemming in 1953.

Bone 1 English
Derived from Old French bon meaning "good".

Bone 2 English
Variant of Baines 2.

Bonnet French
From the given name Bonitus.

Boon 1 English
Variant of Bone 1.

Boon 3 Dutch
Dutch cognate of Bohn.

Booth English
Topographic name derived from Middle English both meaning "hut, stall".

Both Dutch
From the Low German given name Bode.

Bower English
From Old English bur meaning "dwelling, room".

Bowman English
Occupational name for an archer, derived from Middle English bowe, Old English boga meaning "bow".

Brand 1 German, Dutch, English
Derived from the Old German given name Brando or its Old Norse cognate Brandr.

Brasher English
Means "brass worker", derived from Old English bræs "brass".

Bray English
From a place name derived from Cornish bre "hill".

Brewer English
Occupational name for a maker of ale or beer.

Brewster English
Variant of Brewer, originally a feminine form of the occupational term.

Bridges English
Originally denoted a person who lived near a bridge, or who worked as a bridgekeeper, derived from Middle English brigge, Old English brycg.

Broadbent English
From a place name derived from Old English brad "broad" and beonet "bent grass".

Brook English
Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc.

Brooks English
Variant of Brook.

Brown English
Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin. A notable bearer is Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz.

Brownlow English
From Old English brun meaning "brown" and hlaw meaning "mound, small hill". The name was probably given to a family living on a small hill covered with bracken.

Brunet French
From a diminutive of French brun meaning "brown".

Bull English
From a nickname for a person who acted like a bull.

Bullock English
From a nickname meaning "young bull".

Bunker English
Derived from Old French bon cuer meaning "good heart".

Bureau French
From Old French burel, a diminutive of bure, a type of woollen cloth. It may have originated as a nickname for a person who dressed in the material or as an occupational name for someone who worked with it.

Burns 1 English, Scottish
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).

Burrows English
Topographic name derived from Old English beorg meaning "hill, mountain" or burg meaning "fort". Alternatively, it could come from a compound of bur "room, cottage, dwelling" and hus "house".

Bush English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a prominent bush or thicket.

Butcher English
Occupational name for a butcher, derived from Old French bouchier.

Butler English, Irish
Occupational name derived from Norman French butiller "wine steward", ultimately from Late Latin butticula "bottle". A famous bearer of this surname is the fictional character Rhett Butler, created by Margaret Mitchell for her novel Gone with the Wind (1936).

Butts English
From a nickname meaning "thick, stumpy", from Middle English butt.

Cannon English
From the ecclesiastical usage of canon, referring to a church official or servant who worked in a clergy house.

Carpenter English
From the occupation, derived from Middle English carpentier (ultimately from Latin carpentarius meaning "carriage maker").

Carr 1 Scottish, English
Variant of Kerr.

Carter English
Occupational name for a person who operated a cart to transport goods, from Norman French caretier. A famous bearer is the former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).

Cartwright English
Occupational name indicating one who made carts.

Carver English
Occupational surname for a carver, from Middle English kerve "cut".

Case English
From Norman French casse meaning "box, case", ultimately from Latin capsa. This was an occupational name for a box maker.

Cash English
Variant of Case.

Castle English
From Middle English castel meaning "castle", from Late Latin castellum, originally indicating a person who lived near a castle.

Causer English
Occupational name for one who made leggings, derived from Old French chausse "leggings".

Chambers English
From Old French chambre meaning "chamber, room", an occupational name for a person who worked in the inner rooms of a mansion.

Chance English
From a nickname for a lucky person or a gambler.

Chase English
Occupational name for a hunter, from Middle English chase "hunt".

Chevalier French
From a nickname derived from French chevalier meaning "knight", from Late Latin caballarius "horseman", Latin caballus "horse".

Chow Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 周 (see Zhou).

Church English
From the English word, derived from Old English cirice, ultimately from Greek κυριακόν (kyriakon) meaning "(house) of the lord". It probably referred to a person who lived close to a church.

Clay English
Means simply "clay", originally referring to a person who lived near or worked with of clay.

Clement English
Derived from the given name Clement.

Close English
From Middle English clos meaning "enclosure", a topographic name for someone who lived near a courtyard or farmyard.

Cock English
Derived from the medieval nickname cok meaning "rooster, cock". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as Hancock or Alcock.

Colt English
Occupational name for a keeper of horses, derived from Middle English colt.

Combs English
Variant of Coombs.

Constable English
From Old French conestable, ultimately from Latin comes stabuli meaning "officer of the stable".

Cook English
Derived from Old English coc meaning "cook", ultimately from Latin coquus. It was an occupational name for a cook, a man who sold cooked meats, or a keeper of an eating house.

Couch Cornish
From Cornish cough "red", indicating the original bearer had red hair.

Couture French
Means "tailor" in Old French.

Coy English
Means "quiet, shy, coy" from Middle English coi.

Crisp English
English cognate of Crespo.

Cropper English
Occupational name derived from Middle English croppe "crop", referring to a fruit picker or a crop reaper.

Cross English
Locative name meaning "cross", ultimately from Latin crux. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.

Crouch English
Variant of Cross.

Curry Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Comhraidhe or Ó Corra.

Dale English
From Old English dæl meaning "valley", originally indicating a person who lived there.

Dam Dutch, Danish
Means "dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".

Darling English
From a nickname or byname derived from Middle English dereling, Old English deorling, meaning "darling, beloved one".

Day English
From a diminutive form of David.

Deadman English
Variant of Debenham.

Dean 2 English
Occupational surname meaning "dean", referring to a person who either was a dean or worked for one. It is from Middle English deen (ultimately from Latin decanus meaning "chief of ten").

Deforest French
Means "from the forest" in French.

Denman English
From Middle English dene "valley" combined with man.

Derby English
Variant of Darby.

Dick English
From the given name Dick 1.

Doctor English
Originally denoted someone who was a doctor, ultimately from Latin doctor meaning "teacher".

Dodge English
From Dogge, a medieval diminutive of Roger.

Downer English
Name for someone who lived on or near a down, which is an English word meaning "hill".

Drake English
Derived from the Old Norse byname Draki or the Old English byname Draca both meaning "dragon", both via Latin from Greek δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent".

Draper English
Occupational name for a maker or seller of woollen cloth, from Anglo-Norman French draper (Old French drapier, an agent derivative of drap "cloth").

Dries Dutch
From the given name Dries.

Duda um Polish, Czech
Means "bagpiper" in Polish and Czech.

Dudek um Polish, Czech
Means "hoopoe (bird)" in Polish and Czech.

Duke English
From the noble title, which was originally from Latin dux "leader". It was a nickname for a person who behaved like a duke, or who worked in a duke's household.

Durant English, French
Variation of Durand.

Dyer English
Occupational name meaning "cloth dyer", from Old English deah "dye".

Earl English
From the aristocratic title, which derives from Old English eorl meaning "nobleman, warrior". It was either a nickname for one who acted like an earl, or an occupational name for a person employed by an earl.

Egger German
South German occupational name meaning "plowman" or "farmer", derived from German eggen "to harrow, to plow".

Elder English
Derived from Old English ealdra meaning "older", used to distinguish two people who had the same name.

English English
Denoted a person who was of English heritage. It was used to distinguish people who lived in border areas (for example, near Wales or Scotland). It was also used to distinguish an Anglo-Saxon from a Norman.

Evers Dutch
Means "son of Evert".

Fairburn English
From a place name meaning "fern stream", from Old English fearn "fern" and burna "stream".

Fairchild English
Means "beautiful child" in Middle English.

Falconer English, Scottish
Variant of Faulkner.

Fan Chinese
From Chinese 范 (fàn) meaning "bee".

Farmer English
Occupational name for a tax collector, from Middle English ferme "rent, revenue, provision", from medieval Latin firma, ultimately from Old English feorm. This word did not acquire its modern meaning until the 17th century.

Farro Italian
Derived from the name of a place on Sicily, Italy, derived from Latin far meaning "wheat, spelt".

Fear English
Derived from Middle English feare meaning "friend, comrade".

Fiddler English
English form of Fiedler.

Field English
Variant of Fields.

Fields English
Name for a person who lived on or near a field or pasture, from Old English feld.

Finch English, Literature
From the name of the bird, from Old English finc. It was used by Harper Lee for the surname of lawyer Atticus Finch and his children in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).

Fisher English, Jewish
Cognate of Fischer.

Fishman English
Occupational name for a fisherman.

Fletcher English
Occupational name for a fletcher, someone who attached feathers to the shaft of an arrow. It is derived from Old French fleche meaning "arrow".

Flintstone Popular Culture
From the English words flint and stone, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the caveman family (Fred, Wilma and Pebbles) in their animated television show The Flintstones, which ran from 1960 to 1966.

Flower English
From Middle English flour meaning "flower, blossom", derived from Old French flur, Latin flos. This was a nickname given to a sweet person. In other cases it could be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of flour (a word derived from the same source).

Flowers English
Variant of Flower.

Ford English
Name given to someone who lived by a ford, possibly the official who maintained it. A famous bearer was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).

Forest English, French
Originally belonged to a person who lived near or in a forest. It was probably originally derived, via Old French forest, from Latin forestam (silva) meaning "outer (wood)".

Forester English
Denoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest, or one who has charge of growing timber in a forest (see Forest).

Fortune English
From Middle English, ultimately from Latin fortuna meaning "fortune, luck, chance". This was possibly a nickname for a gambler.

Foster 4 English
Nickname given to a person who was a foster child or foster parent.

Fowler English
Occupational name for a fowler or birdcatcher, ultimately derived from Old English fugol meaning "bird".

Fox English
From the name of the animal. It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a crafty person.

Frank 2 English
From Old English franc meaning "free".

Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Name for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.

Freeman English
Referred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf.

French English
Originally denoted a French person, from Middle English Frensch, Old English Frencisc.

Fries German
Denoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.

Frisk Swedish
From Swedish frisk "healthy", which was derived from the Middle Low German word vrisch "fresh, young, frisky".

Frost English, German
From Old English and Old High German meaning "frost", a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard.

Fry English
From Old English frig (a variant of freo) meaning "free".

Fuller English
Occupational name for a fuller, a person who thickened and cleaned coarse cloth by pounding it. It is derived via Middle English from Latin fullo.

Gale English
Derived from Middle English gaile meaning "jovial".

Gang Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 강 (see Kang).

Garb German
Variant of Garber.

Gardener English
Occupational surname for one who was a gardener, from Old French jardin meaning "garden" (of Frankish origin).

Garland English
Means "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. It originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.

Garner 1 English
From Old French gernier meaning "granary", a derivative of Latin granum meaning "grain". This name could refer to a person who worked at a granary or lived near one.

Garner 2 English
Variant of Gardener.

Gašper Slovene
Derived from the given name Gašper.

Gates English
Originally denoted a person who lived near the town gates.

Gentile Italian
From a nickname meaning "gentle, kind" in Italian.

Gill English
Originally indicated someone who lived near a ravine, from Middle English gil (of Old Norse origin).

Gladwin English
Derived from the Old English given name Glædwine.

Glass English, German
From Old English glæs or Old High German glas meaning "glass". This was an occupational name for a glass blower or glazier.

Glazier English
Means "glass worker, glazier", from Old English glæs meaning "glass".

Glover English
Occupational name for a person who made or sold gloves, from Middle English glovere.

Gold English, German, Jewish
From Old English and Old High German gold meaning "gold", an occupational name for someone who worked with gold or a nickname for someone with yellow hair. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Good English
From a nickname meaning "good", referring to a kindly person.

Goodman English
Variant of Good.

Goodwin English
Derived from the given name Godwine.

Gore English
From the Old English word gara meaning "triangular plot of land".

Grant English, Scottish
Derived from Norman French meaning "grand, tall, large, great". A famous bearer was the American general and president Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).

Graves English
Occupational name for a steward, derived from Middle English greyve, related to the German title Graf.

Gray English
From a nickname for a person who had grey hair or grey clothes.

Green English
Descriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.

Greenspan Jewish
Anglicized form of German Grünspan meaning "verdigris". Verdigris is the green-blue substance that forms on copper.

Greenwood English
Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a lush forest, from Old English grene "green" and wudu "wood".

Grey English
Variant of Gray.

Grieve Scottish
Occupational name meaning "steward, farm manager" in Middle English, related to the German title Graf.

Gross German
Variant of Groß.

Grosser German
Variant of Groß.

Groves English
From Old English graf meaning "grove". This originally indicated a person who lived near a grove (a group of trees).

Gully English
Nickname for a big person, from Middle English golias meaning "giant" (ultimately from Goliath, the Philistine warrior who was slain by David in the Old Testament).

Hadaway English
Variant of Hathaway.

Haggard English
From a nickname meaning "wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.

Hail English
From a nickname derived from Middle English hail meaning "healthy" (of Old Norse origin).

Hale English
Derived from Old English halh meaning "nook, recess, hollow".

Hall English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).

Harden English
From a place name meaning "hare valley" in Old English.

Harding English
Derived from the given name Heard. A famous bearer was American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).

Hardwick English
From Old English heord "herd" and wic "village, town".

Hardy English, French
From Old French and Middle English hardi meaning "bold, daring, hardy", from the Germanic root *harduz.

Harper English
Originally belonged to a person who played the harp or who made harps.

Hart English
Means "male deer". It was originally acquired by a person who lived in a place frequented by harts, or bore some resemblance to a hart.

Hawk English
Originally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner, derived from Old English hafoc "hawk".

Hawking English
From a diminutive of Hawk. A famous bearer was the British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).

Hawthorn English
Variant of Hawthorne.

Haywood English
From various place names meaning "fenced wood" in Old English.

Head English
From Middle English hed meaning "head", from Old English heafod. It may have referred to a person who had a peculiar head, who lived near the head of a river or valley, or who served as the village headman.

Heath English
Originally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.

Hertz German
Derived from Middle High German herze meaning "heart", a nickname for a big-hearted person.

Heyman Jewish
From the given name Chayyim.

Hickey Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó hÍcidhe meaning "descendant of the healer".

Hightower English
Possibly a variant of Hayter.

Hill English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English hyll.

Holt English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".

Homewood English
From various place names derived from Old English ham meaning "home" and wudu meaning "wood".

Hood English
Metonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Old English hod.

Hooker English
Originally applied to one who lived near a river bend or corner of some natural feature, from Old English hoc "angle, hook".

Hooper English
Occupational name for someone who put the metal hoops around wooden barrels.

Hope English
Derived from Middle English hop meaning "small valley".

Hopper English
Occupational name for an acrobat or a nickname for someone who was nervous or restless. A famous bearer was the American actor Dennis Hopper (1936-2010).

Horn English, German, Norwegian, Danish
From the Old English, Old High German and Old Norse word horn meaning "horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.

House English
Referred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.

Huff English
Means "spur of a hill", from Old English hoh.

Hull English
Variant of Hill.

Hunt English
Variant of Hunter.

Hunter English, Scottish
Occupational name that referred to someone who hunted for a living, from Old English hunta.

Jack English, Scottish
From the given name Jack.

Jewel English
Variant of Jewell.

Joiner English
Occupational name for a carpenter (that is, a person who joins wood together to make furniture).

Keen English
From Old English cene meaning "bold, brave".

Key 1 English
Variant of Kay 1 or Kay 2.

Keys 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

King English
From Old English cyning "king", originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated with a king. A famous bearer was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).

Kiss Hungarian
Nickname meaning "small" in Hungarian.

Kitchen English
Occupational name for a person who worked in a kitchen (of a monastery for example), derived from Old English cycene, ultimately from Latin coquina.

Kitchens English
Variant of Kitchen.

Knight English
From Old English cniht meaning "knight", a tenant serving as a mounted soldier.

Kokot Slovene, Croatian
Slovene and Croatian cognate of Kohut.

Lacy English
Variant of Lacey.

Lager Swedish
Means "laurel" in Swedish.

Lam Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Lin.

Lamb English
From the name of the animal, perhaps a nickname for a shy person.

Lane 1 English
Originally designated one who lived by a lane, a narrow way between fences or hedges, later used of any narrow pathway, including one between houses in a town.

Law English
Derived from Old English hlaw "hill".

Leach English
Originally indicated a person who was a physician, from the medieval practice of using leeches to bleed people of ills.

Lee 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a leah, Old English meaning "woodland, clearing".

Lister Scottish
Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac an Fleisdeir meaning "son of the arrow maker".

Little English
Meaning simply "little", it was originally a nickname given to a short person.

Lockwood English
From an English place name meaning "enclosed wood".

Long English
Originally a nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall.

Longstaff English
Occupational name for an official who was equipped with a ceremonial staff, or a nickname for a tall person.

Love English
From the Old English given name Lufu meaning "love".

Lovelace English
From a nickname for a lothario, derived from Middle English lufeles, Old English lufuleas meaning "loveless".

Low English
Variant of Law.

Lynch Irish
From Irish Ó Loingsigh meaning "descendant of Loingseach", a given name meaning "mariner".

Ma Chinese
From Chinese 马 (mǎ) meaning "horse".

Madden Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Madaidhín.

Man Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Wen.

Mark English
Derived from the given name Mark.

Marsh English
Originally denoted one who lived near a marsh or bog, derived from Old English mersc "marsh".

Marshall English
Derived from Middle English mareschal "marshal", from Latin mariscalcus, ultimately from Germanic roots akin to Old High German marah "horse" and scalc "servant". It originally referred to someone who took care of horses.

Martin English, French, German, Swedish
Derived from the given name Martin. This is the most common surname in France.

Mason English
Occupational name for a stoneworker or layer of bricks, from Old French masson, of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make").

Masters English
Variant of Masterson.

May English
Derived from the given name Matthew.

Meadows English
Referred to one who lived in a meadow, from Old English mædwe.

Merchant English
Variant of Marchand.

Messer German
Occupational name for a person who made knives, from Middle High German messer "knife".

Miles English
From the given name Miles.

Miller English
Occupational surname meaning "miller", referring to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill, derived from Middle English mille "mill".

Millhouse English
Name for someone whose house was in a mill or who worked in a mill.

Mills English
Originally given to one who lived near a mill or who worked in a mill, from Middle English mille.

Moles Catalan
From Catalan mola meaning "millstone".

Monday 2 English
Denoted a person for whom this was a significant day, often the day they would pay their feudal fees.

Monk English
Nickname or occupational name for a person who worked for monks. This word is derived from Latin monachus, from Greek μοναχός (monachos) meaning "alone".

Moon 1 Korean
Korean form of Wen, from Sino-Korean 文 (mun).

Moon 2 English
Originally indicated a person from the town of Moyon in Normandy.

Moon 3 Irish
Variant of Mohan.

Moors English
Variant of Moore 1.

Moroz Ukrainian
Means "frost" in Ukrainian.

Moss 1 English
From Middle English mos meaning "bog, moss".

Mould English
From the given name Mauld, a medieval form of Matilda.

Mutton English
Referred to a shepherd or else someone who in some way resembled a sheep, derived from Norman French mouton "sheep".

Mylonas m Greek
Means "miller" in Greek, from μύλος (mylos) meaning "mill".

Nana Italian
From a diminutive of Giovanni.

Newport English
Given to one who came from the town of Newport (which means simply "new port"), which was the name of several English towns.

Noble English, Scottish
From a nickname meaning "noble, high-born, illustrious", derived via Middle English and Old French from Latin nobilis. In some cases the nickname may have been given ironically to people of the opposite character.

North English
Name for a person who lived to the north.