Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Maitland English, ScottishPossibly from
Mautalant, the name of a place in Pontorson, France meaning "inhospitable" or "bad temper" in Norman French (ultimately from Late Latin
malum "bad" and
talentum "inclination, disposition"), which was so named because of its unproductive soil; or perhaps it was originally a nickname for an ungracious individual, derived from the same source.
Maitlis JewishMeans "son of
Meytl", a Yiddish female personal name, literally "little
Meyte", a Yiddish female personal name derived from Middle High German
maget "maid".
Maitra BengaliHabitational name from either the village of Maitreya or Mohit (present-day locations unknown).
Maitre Frenchoccupational name for one who was the head of a craft or trade guild, from Old French maistre ‘master’ (Latin magister).
Maivel EstonianMaivel is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "maidel" meaning "gudgeon" (a type of freshwater fish).
Maizono Japanesemaizono means "dance park". the kanji used are 舞(mai) meaning "dance" and 園 (sono) meaning "park".... [
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Maiztegi BasqueIt indicates familial origin within the eponymous locality in Bizkaia.
Maj Polish, JewishSurname adopted with reference to the month of May, Polish maj. Surnames referring to months were sometimes adopted by Jewish converts to Christianity, with reference to the month in which they were baptized or in which the surname was registered.
Majerle SloveneSlovene surname Majerle, a variant of the Polish, Czech, and Slovak Majer, which was a status name for "steward, bailiff, tenant farmer, or village headman", from the German
Meyer 1.
Majnaric CroatianThis name dates back prior to 1773 in the town of Delnice, in what is now modern day Croatia.
Majors NormanBased on the Norman given name Mauger. The name indicates one who is the son of Maugier, an Old French personal name, which is derived from the Old Germanic name Malger, which means council spear.
Majumdar BengaliMeans "record keeper, archivist" in Bengali, ultimately of Arabic and Persian origin.
Makabe JapaneseFrom 真 (
ma, shin) meaning "real, genuine, true" and 壁 (
kabe, heki) meaning "wall, barrier".
Makepeace EnglishFrom a medieval nickname for a skilled conciliator. It was borne by English cricketer Harry Makepeace (1881-1952).
Maker Dutch (Rare)An occupational name for someone who makes or repairs things, from Dutch
maken "to make, mend, create".
Maker EnglishFrom the name of a village in Cornwall, England, derived from Old Cornish
magoer meaning "wall" or "ruin".
Mäki FinnishFinnish surname from the word
mäki meaning "hill".
Makice American (Modern, Rare)Taken as a new common familyname by Kevin McGrew Isbister and Amy Elizabeth Clendening. They scrambled their initials (KMI and AEC), and came up with “Makice” as their family name.
Makiguchi JapaneseFrom Japanese 牧
(maki) meaning "shepard" and 口
(guchi) meaning "mouth, opening".
Makihara JapaneseFrom Japanese 槙
(maki) meaning "evergreen tree" and 原
(hara) meaning "field, plain".
Makimura JapaneseMaki can mean (牧) "shepherd" and mura can be spelled like this (村) meaning "hamlet, village".
Makino JapaneseFrom Japanese 牧
(maki) meaning "shepherd, tend cattle" and 野
(no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Makishima JapaneseFrom Japanese 牧
(maki) meaning "shepard" and 島
(shima) meaning "island".
Makita JapaneseI'm not sure how the surname is usually written, but 真 (Ma) means "Genuine, Real, Sincere" and 北 (Kita) means "North". On the other hand, 牧 (Maki) means "Shepard, Tend cattle" and 田 (Ta) means "Rice Field, Rice Paddy"... [
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Makkar PolishPolish and Ukrainian: from the personal name Makary (Polish), Makar (Ukrainian), vernacular forms of the Greek ecclesiastical name Makarios meaning ‘blessed’.
Makowski PolishName for someone from any of various places called Maków, Makowa or Makowo, all derived from Polish
mak meaning "poppy".
Makriyannis GreekNotable bearer of this name is General Yannis Makriyannis (1797-1864), was a Greek merchant, military officer, politician and author.
Makunoukoji Japanese幕(maku) means "curtain", ノ(nou) is a suffix meaning "of",麹(Koji) means "malted rice". this surname was borne from Setsukei Makunoukoji, A character from an Upcoming fan made Danganronpa Danganronpa Twin Fates
Mala Filipino, MaranaoEither from Maranao
mala meaning "timid, shy" or
mala', a title of nobility meaning "big, great".
Malach Hebrew, JewishFrom the Hebrew word
מלאך (mal'akh) "messenger, angel". As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Małachowski PolishHabitational name for someone from places called Małachowo, Małachów, or Małachowice.
Malaeb ArabicLebanese Druze name possibly derived from Arabic مَلْعَب
(malʿab) meaning "scene, theatre, sport".
Málaga SpanishHabitational name for someone from Málaga, capital of the province of the same name in Andalusia.
Malalad TagalogMeans "to be swept away (by a flood), to be washed away".
Malandra ItalianPossibly related to Italian
malandrino "dishonest, mischievous; rascal".
Malanowski PolishHabitational name for someone from places called Malanowo or Malanów.
Malasenco UkrainianThis surname is a moderately common Ukrainian name and was formed from the Hebrew name MALACHI. After 988 A.D., every Slav, having been baptized, would undergo a ceremony, conducted by a priest, to receive a Christian name... [
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Malatesta ItalianMeans "bad head" in Italian, a nickname for a stubborn or perhaps malicious person. It could have also indicated the bearer had a misshapen head. ... [
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Malaya Russian, UkrainianFrom Russian малый
(maliy) or Ukrainian малий
(malyy) both meaning "small, little", used as a nickname for a small child or a person who was thin or short in stature. Alternately, it may have come from Tatar малай
(malay) meaning "boy, son" or "apprentice".
Malczewski PolishHabitational name for someone from a place called Malczewo in Poznań voivodeship, or Malczew in Radom voivodeship.
Male EnglishNickname for a virile man, from Middle English male meaning "masculine".
Malebranche French (Rare)Means "bad branch" in French, denoting a person who is on the bad side of a family tree. It could also possibly be a variant of
Malherbe. Nicolas Malebranche was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher.
Malecki PolishHabitational name for someone from places called Malki in the voivodeships of Ostroleka and Torun.
Malefeijt DutchA variant spelling of
Malefeyt. This is also actually an archaic spelling (as the sound written as
-eijt will be always be written as
-eit or
-ijt in modern times), but it has (barely) managed to survive into modern times... [
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Malefeyt Dutch (Archaic)Archaic Dutch surname that is now no longer in use (not in this exact spelling, that is): the spelling reflects the surname's origin from older times (as
-eyt is an exclusively archaic spelling that has not survived into modern times like its counterparts
-eit and
-ijt did)... [
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Malefijt DutchModern form of
Malefeyt, which is also the most common form of the surname. In The Netherlands, there were 24 bearers of the surname in 2007.
Malenkov RussianPatronymic derived from Russian маленький (
malen'kiy) meaning "little, small". The Soviet leader Georgy Malenkov (1902-1988) was a notable bearer of this name.
Malewski PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the places called Malewo in Masovian, Łódź, Pomeranian and Greater Poland voivodeships, or Malewice in Podlaskie Voivodeship. Both place names are named with the personal name
Mal, a short form of Old Polish
Małomir, based on Old Slavic
malъ ‘small, little’.
Malfait FrenchDerived from French
mal fait, which literally means "poorly done, badly done". In the context of the surname, it refers to the first bearer being "malformed" or "deformed" (as it was in the eyes of people from older times), which means that he either was physically disabled or able-bodied but with a physical trait that deviated from the norm.
Malfatto ItalianMeans "badly made, shoddy; deformed" in Italian, possibly originating with the nickname Malefactus "ugly, injured". Cognate to French
Malfait.
Malfeyt Dutch, FlemishGenerally a Dutch form (or "dutchization", if you will) of
Malfait, with the spelling reflecting the surname's origin from older times (as
-eyt is an exclusively archaic spelling that has not survived into modern times like its counterparts
-eit and
-ijt did)... [
more]
Malfoy FrenchMalfoy is a French name roughly translating to "bad faith"
Malia IrishOriginated in Ireland from O'Malia (pronounced Oh-MAH-lee-uh) Most likely usually changed to Malia upon entry.
Malin French, FlemishFrom the masculine given name
Madalin, a short form of names composed of the Germanic element
mahal "council, assembly, meeting" such as
Madalbert.
Malinov Bulgarian, RussianFrom Bulgarian and Russian малина
(malina) meaning "raspberry", probably indicating a person who lived near a raspberry bush.
Malkawi Arabic (Arabized)The surname 'Malkawi' deprives from the town of Malka, a small village in Jordan bordering Syria.
Mäll EstonianMäll is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "mälu", meaning "memory".
Mallahi PersianFrom Persian ملاح
(mallah) meaning "sailor", ultimately of Arabic origin.
Mallard EnglishEither (i) from the Old French male personal name
Malhard, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin and meaning literally "council-brave"; or (ii) from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a male wild duck.
Maller GermanAn occupational name given to a painter of stained glass.
Mallet Anglo-Norman, Medieval English, French, CatalanOriginated in Norman France and spread to England following the Norman conquest of 1066. The surname comes from the given name
Malle, an Old English diminutive of
Mary or from the given name
Malo, a popular form of the name of Saint
Maclovius, a 6th-century Welsh monk who the church of Saint Maclou in Rouen is named for.... [
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Mallett EnglishPossible origins
Malet a medieval diminutive of Mal(le) being a pet form of and name
Mary, could also be of Norman origin from the Old French personal name
Malhard.
Mallik BengaliMeans "owner, proprietor, head, leader" in Bengali, ultimately from Arabic مالك
(mālik).
Mällo EstonianMällo is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "mälu" meaning "memory".
Malloch ScottishReduced Anglicized form of Gaelic
MacIain Mhalaich "son of Ian of the bushy eyebrows", which was the family name of the MacGregors of Balhaldie. The Ian from whom the name is derived died in the early 16th century.
Mallory English, Anglo-NormanThe more common variant of the surname
Malory. Originally an Anglo-Norman byname for an unfortunate or unhappy person, from the Old French word "maleuré" meaning "unfortunate", "wretched" "wicked"... [
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Mallow GermanVariant spelling of
Malow, a habitational name from Malow in Mecklenburg.
Mallows EnglishFrom Anglo-Saxon origins, meaning "The cross or mark on the hill". This surname is taken from the location 'Mallows Green' in England.
Malmsten SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
malm meaning "ore" and
sten (Old Norse
steinn) meaning "stone".
Malo ItalianPossibly from Italian
mano "hand", a nickname for a skillful person, or a short form of a given name such as
Romano.
Maloret FrenchThis surname comes from the French and means 'unfortunate' or 'luckless'.
Malorossiyantsev m RussianMeans "from Malorossiya". Malorossiya is a historical name for North, Western, and Central Ukraine.
Malory Anglo-Norman, EnglishThe older variant of the surname
Mallory. Originally an Anglo-Norman byname for an unfortunate or unhappy person, from the Old French word "maleuré" meaning "unfortunate", "wretched" "wicked"... [
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Malpass English, Scottish, FrenchHabitational name from any of various places named Malpas, because of the difficulty of the terrain, from Old French
mal pas "bad passage" (Latin
malus passus). It is a common French minor place name, and places in Cheshire, Cornwall, Gwent, and elsewhere in England were given this name by Norman settlers... [
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