MacchiaItalian Topographic name from Italian macchia "thicket", "scrub" (from Latin macula) and Habitational name from any of various places named Macchia, as for example Macchia in Trapani province, Sicily.
Mac Giolla IasachtaIrish Means "son of the strange youth", from Irish Gaelic iasachta "loan" "foreign", hence denoting to a boy who transferred to another family for fosterage, a common custom in ancient Ireland.
MaclysaghtIrish Anglicized from Mac Giolla Iasachta. Edward MacLysaght was one of the foremost genealogists of twentieth century Ireland.
MakowskiPolish Name for someone from any of various places called Maków, Makowa or Makowo, all derived from Polish mak meaning "poppy".
ManikasGreek Occupational name for a maker of handles (e.g. of knives), from medieval Greek manikion "sleeve", "handle", from Latin manicae "sleeve, manacle".
MastDutch Derived from Middle Dutch mast "(ship's) mast; pole", a nickname for a tall, lanky man. Alternatively, it can derive from the homonym mast "pig fodder, animal fodder".
MastGerman, Dutch Derived from Middle High German and Middle Dutch mast "mast (fodder made of acorns and beechnuts); the process of fattening livestock", an occupational name for a pig farmer or a swineherd. In some cases, however, the German name may also have been derived from Middle High German mast, mastic "fat, stout".
MatassaItalian Occupational name for a producer of silk, from Sicilian matassa "hank", "skein", also the name of a type of silk (cf. Metaxas).
MateraItalian Habitational name from Matera in Basilicata region.
MccurdyIrish (Anglicized), Scottish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Mhuircheartaigh, a patronymic from Muircheartach, a personal name composed of the elements muir "sea" and ceartach "ruler", hence "skilled seaman"... [more]
McgorryIrish, Scottish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gothraidh "son of Gothradh", Gaelic form of the personal name Godfrey.
McgrawIrish, Scottish Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic Mac Craith (the earlier form of Mac Raith) meaning "son of Craith", composed of the Gaelic elements mac "son of" and Rath, an old byname meaning "grace, prosperity".
McNairIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Iain Uidhir "son of sallow John". This form is associated mainly with Ross-shire.
McNairIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Oighre "son of the heir". This form is associated mainly with Perthshire.
McNairIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Mhaoir "son of the steward or keeper".
McnameeIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Conmidhe, a patronymic from the personal name Cú Mhidhe, meaning "hound of Meath". Meath is a county in Ierland. This family were hereditary poets in Ulster.
MesserGerman Occupational name for an official in charge of measuring the dues paid in kind by tenants, from an agent derivative of Middle High German mezzen "to measure".
MesserScottish Occupational name for someone who kept watch over harvested crops, Middle English, Older Scots mess(i)er, from Old French messier (see Messier).
MetalloItalian From the Greek vocabulary word metallo "metal", used as a nickname for a miner or for someone with a clear or metallic tone of voice.
MetteGerman Matronymic surname derived from the given name Mette, a Low German short form of Mechthild.
MonacoItalian Nickname for someone of monkish habits or appearance, or an occupational name for a servant employed at a monastery, from Italian monaco "monk" (from Greek monachos "monk", "solitary").
MontalbanoItalian Habitational name from Montalbano di Elicona in northeastern Sicily (earlier simply Montalbano), Montalbano Jonico (Matera province), or the district of Montalbano in Fasano, Brindisi.
MulveyIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maoilmhiadhaigh "descendant of Maoilmhiadhach", a personal name meaning "honorable chief".
MulvihillIrish Anglicized from Gaelic Ó Maoil Mhichíl meaning "descendant of Maoilmhichil", Maoilmhichil being a personal name meaning "devotee of (Saint) Michael", referring to the archangel.
OdomEnglish Medieval nickname for someone who had climbed the social ladder by marrying the daughter of a prominent figure in the local community, from Middle English odam ‘son-in-law’ (Old English aðum).
O'feeIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fiaich "descendant of Fiach".
PartingtonEnglish Habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Partington, from Old English Peartingtun "Pearta's town".
PelleGerman From Middle Low German pelle "precious purple silk cloth", presumably an occupational name for a maker or seller of such cloth or for a maker of official and church vestments.
PelzerGerman Occupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative Middle High German bellez "fur".
PeraltaCatalan, Spanish, Aragonese Habitational name from any of the places in Aragon, Catalonia, and Navarre called Peralta, from Latin petra alta "high rock". This name is also established in Italy.
PiscopoItalian From a reduced form of episcopo "bishop" (Greek episkopos "bishop", literally "overseer"), hence a metonymic occupational name for someone in the service of a bishop, or perhaps a nickname for a pompous person.
PolancoSpanish Habitational name from Polanco in Santander province.
PolinskiPolish Habitational name from Polinowo in Pila voivodeship or Polinów in Biala Podlaska voivodeship.
PomerantzGerman Occupational name for an importer or seller of bitter (Seville) oranges, Middle High German pomeranz (medieval Latin pomarancia, composed of the elements arancia, the name imported with the fruit.
PomerantzJewish From the Yiddish word פּאָמעראַנץ (pomerants) meaning "orange (fruit)".
PoznanskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name from the city of Poznan in west-central Poland, or possibly from other places of this name, in Katowice and Siedlce voivodeships.
RagsdaleEnglish Apparently an English habitational name from Ragdale in Leicestershire, which is probably named from Old English hraca "gully", "narrow pass" + dæl "valley", "dale".
RandazzoItalian Habitational name from a place in Catania called Randazzo. Possibly from a derivative of the personal name Rando.
RifkinJewish Metronymic from the Yiddish female given name Rifke from the Hebrew given name Rivka (see Rebecca), with the addition of the Slavic suffix -in.
RifkindJewish Variant of Rifkin. The final element was changed due to the influence of the Yiddish noun kind "child" (German: "Kinder").
SauerweinGerman Occupational nickname for someone who sold sour wine, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a sour disposition, from Middle High German sur "sour" + win "wine", i.e. vinegar.
ScarboroughEnglish Habitational name from Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, so named from the Old Norse byname Skarði + Old Norse borg "fortress", "fortified town".
ScarlatoItalian Occupational name for a dyer, or as a nickname for someone who habitually wore scarlet or who had bright red hair, From Sicilian scarlatu "scarlet".
SchildGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a maker or painter of shields, from Middle High German, Middle Dutch schilt "shield".
SchildJewish From German Schild "shield" or "(house) sign", applied either as an ornamental name or as a habitational name for someone who lived in a house distinguished by a sign.
SchömerGerman Nickname for an offensive person, from Middle High German schemen "to insult."
SchullerGerman Possibly a habitational name from Schüller in the Eifel.
SchwandtGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a forest clearing, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SchwandtGerman Habitational name from any of the various places called Schwand or Schwanden, all in southern Germany, named with this element, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SeditaItalian From Italian sei "six" + dita, plural of dito "finger", hence a nickname either for someone having six fingers or metaphorically for someone who was very dextrous.
SedowskiPolish Habitational name from places called Sedowice, Sedowo, Sedów, in Lublin, Bydgoszcz, Piotrków, and Sieradz voivodeships.
SegarraCatalan Regional name from the district of La Segarra, or habitational name from any of the places named with Segarra or La Segarra in Catalonia and Valencia.
SeidGerman From the Germanic given name Sito, a short form of a compound name formed with sigi "victory".
SeidJewish Metonymic occupational name from German Seide and Yiddish zayd "silk"
SharptonEnglish Habitational name from Sharperton in Northumberland, possibly so named from Old English scearp "steep" and beorg "hill", "mound" and tun "settlement".
ShropshireEnglish Regional name from the county of Shropshire, on the western border of England with Wales.
SjöströmSwedish Ornamental name composed of Swedish sjö "lake, sea" and ström "stream, small river".
SlonimJewish Habitational name from Slonim, a city in Belarus.
SlowinskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Slowin in Gorzów voivodeship. From the adjective slowinski, denoting a member of the Slowincy, a Slavic people living in Pomerania.
SlutskyJewish Habitational name for someone from Slutsk, a city in Belarus.
SteinmetzGerman, Jewish Occupational name from Middle High German steinmetze, German steinmetz "stonemason", "worker in stone".
StolarskiPolish Derivative of Stolarz "carpenter" "joiner", with the addition of the common suffix of surnames -ski.
StonestreetEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a paved road, in most cases a Roman road, from Middle English stane, stone, "stone" and street "paved highway", "Roman road".
StorchGerman, Jewish From Middle High German storch "stork", hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the bird.
SzászHungarian From Szász meaning "Saxon" in Hungarian. Ethnic or regional name for a German speaker from Transylvania or Szepes, etymologically a derivative of German Sachs.
TafollaSpanish Possibly a derivative of southern Spanish tafulla, tahulla, a term denoting a measure of land. The surname is not found in present-day Spain.
TagliaferroItalian From the Italian tagliare "to cut" and ferro "iron" occupational name for an ironworker or a nickname for a strong or ferocious fighter, one who was adept at cutting through the cuirass of the enemy with his sword (see Telfer).
TelferScottish, English, Italian From a personal name based on a byname for a strong man or ferocious warrior, from Old French taille or tailler "to cut" + fer "iron" Latin: ferrum "iron" (see Tagliaferro).
TerrienFrench Topographic name from an adjectival derivative of terre "land", denoting someone who lived and worked on the land, i.e. a peasant. It is Americanized frequently as Landers, and occasionally as Farmer.
ThornhillEnglish Habitational name from any of various places named Thornhill, for example in Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Dorset, and Wiltshire, from Old English þorn "thorn bush" + hyll "hill".
TollefsenNorwegian From a patronymic from Tollef, a variant of Torleiv, from Old Norse þorleifr (see Torleif).
TreviñoSpanish Habitational name from either of the places so named in the provinces of Burgos and Santander, possibly derived from Latin trifinium "place where three boundaries meet".
TrianoSpanish Possibly a habitational name from Triano, the Castilianized name of the Basque towns called Abanto and Urtuella, in Biscay province, Basque Country.
TullyIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Taithligh "descendant of Taithleach", a byname meaning "quiet", "peaceable".
TullyIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maol Tuile "descendant of the devotee of the will of God" (from toil "will of God").
TullyScottish Habitational name from any of various places called Tullo in eastern Scotland.
ViscontiItalian Derived from visconte, itself from the Medieval vice comes, a title of rank meaning "deputy of a count". The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist... [more]
WachterGerman, Dutch Means "guard, sentinel", an occupational name for a watchman.
WaiteEnglish Occupational name for a watchman, Anglo-Norman French waite (cf. Wachter).
WalmerEnglish Habitational name from Walmer in Kent, so named from Old English wala (plural of walh "Briton") + mere "pool", or from Walmore Common in Gloucestershire.
WeirIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Mhaoir "son of the steward or keeper".
WeirIrish Anglicized form, based on an erroneous translation (as if from Gaelic cora "weir", "stepping stones"), of various Gaelic names such as Ó Corra (see Corr) and Ó Comhraidhe (see Curry).
WoodruffEnglish, Caribbean Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of land where woodruff grew, Anglo-Saxon wudurofe composed of wudu "wood" with a second element of unknown origin.
WootenEnglish Habitational name from any of the extremely numerous places named with Old English wudu "wood" + tun "enclosure", "settlement",