Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Mehra Indian, Hindi, PunjabiEither derived from Middle Persian
mihr meaning "friendship, sun" or from a Punjabi word meaning "chief, master".
Mehrabani PersianOriginally denoted someone who came from the city of
Mehraban, located in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran.
Meiklejohn ScottishA Scottish distinguishing name for identifying the larger or eldest (Older Scots
meikle "large") or elder of two men called
John. (See also
Mickle).
Meiler RomanshDerived from the place name
Meils (present-day
Mels in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland).
Meireles PortugueseHabitational name for someone from a place called Meireles in Portugal, meaning unclear.
Mejia SpanishSpanish (Mejía): probably from a religious byname (possibly under Jewish influence), from a vernacular form of Latin, Greek Messias ‘Messiah’, from Hebrew māšīaḥ ‘anointed’.
Mejia GalicianA very ancient surname, infrequent and widely spread across Spain, mostly in Madrid, Barcelona, Ciudad Real, Valencia, Cuenca, Sevilla and Toledo; and also in Pontevedra, Lugo, Guadalajara, Almería, Granada, Alicante and Málaga.... [
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Mekky Arabic (Egyptian)Refers to the city of Mecca or Makka (مكة) in Saudi Arabia, considered the most holy city in Islam.
Melanchthon HistoryMeans "black earth", derived from Greek μελανός
(melanos), the genitive of the adjective μέλας
(melas) meaning "black, dark", and χθών
(chthon) meaning "land, earth, soil"... [
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Melander SwedishCombination of the element
Mel-, which is unexplained but probably derived from a place name, and the common surname suffix
-ander (a combination of
land "land" and the habitational suffix
-er)... [
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Melas GreekPossibly from the names of several characters in Greek mythology, including a son of Poseidon who the Nile River was originally named after.
Melby NorwegianModern form of Meðalbýr meaning "middle farm", a combination of Old Norse
meðal "middle" and
býr "farm".
Melero SpanishOccupational name for a collector or seller of honey, melero (Late Latin mellarius, an agent derivative of mel, genitive mellis, ‘honey’).
Melgar SpanishTopographical name for someone who lived by a field of lucerne, Spanish melgar (a collective derivative of mielga 'lucerne', Late Latin melica, for classical Latin Medica (herba) 'plant' from Media).
Melgosa SpanishThis indicates familial origin within either of 2 Castilian municipalities, Melgosa de Burgos or Melgosa de Villadiego. It could also indicate familial origin within the Manchego municipality La Melgosa.
Melillo Spanish, Italiandescribing someone who worked on an apple orchard,harvesting and selling apples from the italian
mela Melin SwedishFrom any place name named with the element
mel- "middle".
Melissenos GreekSurname associated with the greek word melissa (μέλισσα), which means bee, perhaps a beekeeper.
Mellenthin GermanHabitational name from places so called near Berlin and on the island of Usedom.
Mellor EnglishParishes in Derbyshire, and Lancashire, meaning the mill bank. ... [
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Melmoth EnglishFrom middle english
milde, meaning "mild, gentle, friendly" and
mouth. The development of the surname may have been influenced by association with Middle English
mele-mouth, meaning "mealy-mouthed, reticent, ingratiating, hypocritical".
Meloni ItalianFrom Italian
mela ("apple", from Latin
malum) or
melone ("melon", from Latin
melopepo), both ultimately from Ancient Greek μῆλον (
mêlon), meaning "apple", "fruit from a tree"... [
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Melrose Scottish, EnglishHabitational name from a place near Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, so named from British words that were ancestors of Welsh
moel ‘bare, barren’ +
rhos ‘moor, heath’. ... [
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Meltzer GermanGerman and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a maltster, a brewer who used malt, from German Meltzer (an agent derivative of Middle High German malt ‘malt’, ‘germinated barley’), Yiddish meltser ‘maltster’... [
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Memon UrduFrom the name of the Memon people who inhabit parts of India and Pakistan. The name itself is derived from Arabic مؤمن
(mu'min) meaning "believer".
Ménard FrenchFrom the Old German given name
Meginhard, making it a cognate of
Maynard. A notable bearer was André Ménard, Governor General in the French colonial empire.
Mencia SpanishDerived from the female personal name Mencía Mencia a cognate of the male name Matías.
Mendarozketa BasqueIt indicates familial origin within the eponymous council of the municipality of Zigoitia.
Mendarte BasqueThis is a (nearly extinct) Basque surname of Gipuzkoan origin. It is a topographic name for someone who lived near a mountain. (Basque mendi = Mountain, arteko = near/in between)... [
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Mendeleev RussianMeaning uncertain. A famous bearer was
Dimitri Mendeleev (1834-1907), a Russian chemist who developed an early model of the periodic table.
Mendenhall EnglishIt indicates familial origin within the eponymous place in Wiltshire.
Mendieta BasqueThis indicates familial origin within any of 3 eponymous neighborhoods: the one in the municipality of Ajangiz, the one in the municipality of Lemoa, or the one in the municipality of Artziniega.
Mendiguren BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Gasteiz.
Mendinueta BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of Itzagaondoa.
Mendizabal BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of Arratzua-Ubarrundia that the falangists demolished in 1959 to make way for a reservoir.
Mendler GermanOccupational name for a maker of coats from an agent derivative of Middle High German
mantel,
mandel,
mendel "coat".
Mendola Italiantopographic name for someone who lived by an almond tree or trees or a habitational name from any of the places called with the dialect term
amendola mendula "almond almond tree" (see
Amendola ). Compare
Lamendola.
Menear Cornish, English (British)English (Devon; of Cornish origin): topographic name for someone who lived by a menhir, i.e. a tall standing stone erected in prehistoric times (Cornish men ‘stone’ + hir ‘long’). In the United States, it is a common surname in Pennsylvania & West Virginia.
Meneses Spanish (Caribbean)Meneses is my maternal grandfather's surname. He was born in Cuba in 1888 but his family came from Spain in the 1800's... [
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Meneses Spanish, PortugueseMeaning uncertain. It was likely a habitational name from either the municipality of Meneses de Campos in Palencia or the municipality of Valle de Mena in Burgos.
Meng ChineseFrom Chinese 孟
(mèng) meaning "eldest brother". It was also adopted by descendants of Meng Sun, a prince from the state of Lu that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
Mengele GermanDoctor Josef Mengele (Born on March 16, 1911 - Died on February 7, 1979), also known as the Angel of Death, was a German Schutzstaffel (SS) Officer and physician during World War II. He is mainly remembered for his actions at the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he performed deadly experiments on prisoners, was a member of the team of doctors who selected victims to be killed in the gas chambers and was one of the doctors who administered the gas.
Mengíbar SpanishThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Andalusian municipality.
Menke GermanDerived as a diminutive of several Germanic given names whose first element was derived from Germanic
*magin- and
*megin- "strength; force; power".
Menon MalayalamMeans "accountant" in Malayalam, itself derived from the title മേലവൻ
(melavan) meaning "overseer, boss, exalted one", from മേല
(mel) meaning "top, above, high" and the third person pronoun അവൻ
(avan) meaning "he".
Mentzer GermanHabitational name with the agent suffix -er, either from Mainz, earlier Mentz, derived from the medieval Latin name Mogontia (Latin Mogontiacum, probably from the Celtic personal name Mogontios), or from Menz in Brandenburg and Saxony.
Menzie ScottishMenzie (originally spelled Menȝie) derives from the surname
Menzies, which in turn derives from the Norman commune Mesnières (known as Maneria in the 1300s)... [
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Merage PersianLikely from Arabic
Miraj, meaning ‘ascension’. A famous bearer of the surname is the co-founder of Hot Pockets, Paul Merage.
Meràs OccitanThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Languedocien commune.
Mercado SpanishTopographic name for someone living by a market or metonymic occupational name for a market trader, from Spanish
mercado meaning "market".
Mercante ItalianAn occupational name meaning "merchant, trader" in Italian, from Latin
mercans "trading".
Mercedes Spanish (Caribbean)Means "mercies," from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary,
María de las Mercedes, meaning "Mary of Mercies."
Mercey FrenchDerived from the name of the commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France.
Meredith WelshFrom the personal name
Maredudd. In Welsh the stress is on the second syllable. The Old Welsh form is
Morgetiud, of which the first element may mean "pomp, splendor" and the second is
iudd "lord".
Meri EstonianMeri is both an Estonian and Finnish surname, meaning "sea".
Meriloo EstonianMeriloo is an Estonia surname derived from "meri" (sea) and "loo", one of several named locations in Estonia.
Meritee EstonianMeritee is an Estonian surname meaning "sea road/causeway".
Merivale EnglishThe surname Merivale was first found in Cornwall and Devon, where this prominent family flourished. Walter
Merifild was recorded in Devon in 1200 but it is believed the family had established itself earlier in St... [
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Meriwether EnglishMeans "happy weather" in Middle English, originally belonging to a cheery person.
Merkh German (Anglicized, ?)Anglicized form of the name Märkh, a German name that existed in southern Germany with Arabic roots tied to the village of al-Märkh in Qatar; the name became Anglicized in the early 17th century. It is one of those surnames where anyone who possesses it is related to everyone else who possesses the name.