Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
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.
Malagón SpanishHabitational name from Malagón, a place in Ciudad Real, or in some cases, from other place so named in Galicia, in Lugo province.
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 EnglishNickname for a person who is likened to a mallard, derived from Old French
mallart "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 (Малороссия) 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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Malsagov Ingush (Russified)Russified form of the Ingush clan name Малсагнаькъан
(Malsagnaqan) meaning "tribe of Malsag", from a given name derived from Ingush малх
(malkh) meaning "sun, solar" and саг
(sag) meaning "person, man".
Malsroos EstonianMalsroos is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "malts" ("orach") "roos" ("rose").
Malta Italian, Spanish, Portuguesehabitational or ethnic name for someone from the Mediterranean island of Malta (from Latin
Melita Greek
Melitē).
Maltese Italianhabitational or ethnic name for someone from the island of Malta.
Maltez PortugueseLikely has origins in the Portuguese word "maltez," now written as "maltês," which translates to "Maltese" in English. This surname might have been adopted by families with connections to the Mediterranean island of Malta or by individuals who had some association with Maltese culture or trade.
Malthouse EnglishOccupational name for a maker of malt or a malt merchant. It could also be a topographic name for a person who lived at a malt house.
Malvestio ItalianFrom Venetian
malvestio "poorly-dressed, shabby", given to foundlings turned into an orphanage with shabby clothes.
Malygin m RussianMight be derived from
малый, meaning "small, little."
Mamaril Filipino, Pangasinan, TagalogMeans "shooter, one who shoots" in Pangasinan and Tagalog, derived from the professional or habitual prefix
mang- and
baril meaning "gun, firearm".
Mambo Southern AfricanMambo is a surname of the Kaonde tribe, meaning: danger. A warning to would be detractors.
Mameli ItalianPossibly from latin surname Mamelius. A famous bearer was Goffredo Mameli, author of the italian national anthem.
Mamilov Ingush (Russified)Russified form of an Ingush surname, which is from the name of an Ingush teip (clan) possibly from a Turkic word meaning "sweet, delicious" or from an Arabic name of unknown meaning.
Mamiya JapaneseFrom Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "true, genuine" or 茉 (ma) meaning "Arabian jasmine, white jasmine" combined with 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace".
Mamo MalteseA bearer of this surname is Anthony Mamo (1909 - 2008), the first president of Malta.
Manabe JapaneseFrom Japanese 真
(ma) meaning "real, genuine" or 間
(ma) meaning "among, between" and 鍋
(nabe) meaning "pot, pan" or 部
(be) meaning "part, section".
Manacorda ItalianPossibly means "bad heart", from Latin
malus "bad" and
cordis "heart".
Managniello ItalianThe name likely comes from the Italian word mangano, meaning "mangle" or "machine for pressing," referring to tools used in fabric and textile production, which were common in medieval Italy. The suffix "-ello" is a diminutive, which could imply that the name originally referred to a person who worked with or operated one of these machines, such as a cloth presser or laundry worker... [
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Manai ItalianFrom Sardinian
mannai "grandfather, grandmother".
Manaka JapaneseThis surname combines 真 (shin, ma, ma-, makoto) meaning "Buddhist sect, reality, true" or 間 (kan, ken, ai, aida, ma) meaning "interval, space" with 中 (chuu, ata.ru, uchi, naka) meaning "centre, in(side), mean, middle" or 仲 (chuu, naka) meaning "go-between, relationship."... [
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Manalang Filipino, Tagalog, PampanganDerived from Tagalog
talang referring to the fruit of the mabolo tree (genus Diospyros), probably used as a topographic name for a place where talang grew in abundance.
Manalu BatakFrom Batak
manalu referring to the three colours white, red and black (used on the Batak ethnic flag and other symbols).
Manan IndianManans come from Lahore . They belong to Punjabi Brahmin caste of Hinduism.