LahlouArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic حُلْو (ḥulw) meaning "sweet" or "nice, charming", chiefly used in Moroccan Arabic.
LaiChinese From Chinese 赖 (lài) meaning "rely", also referring to the ancient state of Lai that existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
LakerbaiaAbkhaz Mingrelian form of the Abkhaz aristocratic family name Lakrba possibly from Abkhaz а-лакра (a-lakra) meaning "in thickets, to catch in thickets" or "to rank, to include". It was most likely used to refer to a hunter or a member of a large group of peasants.
LalIndian, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi From Sanskrit लाला (lālā) meaning "caressing, cajoling". It can also be interpreted to mean "garnet" or "red, ruby" from Persian لال (lâl) or لعل (la'l).
LamichhaneNepali Means "long roof" from Nepali लामो (lāmo) meaning "long" and छाना (chānā) meaning "roof". It was traditionally used to refer to families that lived in houses with longer roofs.
LangelandNorwegian Derived from the elements lang meaning "long" and land meaning "land" or "farmstead".
LangevinFrench From French l'Angevin meaning "the Angevin", denoting a person from the French province of Anjou.
LangfieldEnglish Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Langfield, from Old English lang meaning "long" and feld meaning "field".
LazrakArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic الأزرق (al ʾazraq) meaning "the blue (one)", from أَزْرَق (ʾazraq) "blue". It is chiefly used for Moroccan Arabic.
LedouxFrench Means "the amiable" from French doux meaning "sweet, soft, gentle".
LefrançoisFrench From the given name François. It may also mean "the Frenchman", probably used to denote someone who came from the region of Île de France in France.
LemaîtreFrench Means "the master" in French, either used as a nickname for someone who behaved in a masterful manner or an occupational name for someone who was a master of their craft.
LessardFrench Name for someone who lived in a clearing, derived from French l'essart meaning "the assart" (a term for cleared forest land used for agriculture). It is also a habitational name for someone from any of various locations named Lessard or Lessart, of the same origin and meaning.
LolokhoevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan), itself derived from Lyalakh, the name of a mountain village. The village's name itself is of unknown meaning.
LowesEnglish Patronymic from of Low derived from Middle English lowe meaning "hill, mound".
LuChinese From Chinese 陆 (lù) referring to the ancient territory of Lu, which existed in the state of Qi in what is now Shandong province. Alternately, it may be from 陸渾 (Lù Hún), the name of an ancient nomadic tribe that established a state in the area that is now Henan province.
LuChinese From Chinese 鲁 (lǔ) referring to the ancient state of Lu, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
MabiniFilipino, Tagalog Means "modest, prudent, civil" in Tagalog. A notable bearer was Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (1864-1903), a Filipino revolutionary.
MacapagalFilipino, Pampangan From Kapampangan makapagal meaning "tiring". A notable bearer is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (1947-), the fourteenth president of the Philippines.
MacaraegFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog makaraig meaning "one who defeats, one who overcomes".
MaghribiArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic المغرب (al-Maghrib) meaning "the west", also referring to the country of Morocco. It could be used to refer to a Moroccan person or (in English) someone from the Maghreb region of Northern Africa.
MaglasangFilipino, Cebuano Denotes a forest dweller or a person originally from a forest, derived from Cebuano lasang meaning "forest".
MagsaysayFilipino, Tagalog Means "relate, narrate, declare" in Tagalog. A notable bearer was Ramon Magsaysay (1907-1957), the seventh president of the Philippines.
MahabirIndian, Trinidadian Creole From Sanskrit महत् (mahát) meaning "great, large, big" combined with वीर (vīrá) meaning "man, hero, husband".
MahajanIndian, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali Means "great (number of) people" or "tradesman, merchant" from Sanskrit महा (maha) meaning "great" combined with जन (jána) meaning "person, people".
MahapatraIndian, Odia From the Sanskrit महत् (mahat) "great, large, big" possibly combined with पात्र (pātra) "drinking-vessel, goblet, bowl, cup".
MaharanaIndian, Odia Derived from the Sanskrit title महाराणा (maharana) meaning "king of kings", from महा (maha) meaning "great" and राणा (rana) meaning "king".
MahatoIndian, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Odia, Nepali From a title given to the head of a village or a well-to-do peasant, possibly derived from Sanskrit महत् (mahat) meaning "great, large, big".
MahrezArabic (Maghrebi) From Arabic مُحْرَز (maḥraz) meaning "accomplished, achieved, attained". A notable bearer is Riyad Mahrez (1991-), an Algerian footballer.
MalayaRussian, Ukrainian From 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".
MalinEnglish, French, Dutch From the given name Malin (English), and from the given name Madalin composed of the Germanic element madal meaning "council" (French, Dutch).
MalsagovIngush (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".
MamilovIngush (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.
MaoChinese From Chinese 毛 (máo) referring to the ancient region of Mao, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now the Henan province. A notable bearer of this surname was Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong (1893-1976).
MaouloudWestern African Derived from Arabic مولود (mawlud) meaning "born, newborn", used to refer to the مولد (Mawlid) observance of the birth of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (chiefly Mauritanian).
MaruyamaJapanese From Japanese 丸 or 圓 (maru) meaning "round, full" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".
MarxGerman From a short form of the given name Markus. A famous bearer was Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German philosopher known for his work in socioeconomic theory.
MarzoukiArabic (Maghrebi) From the given name Marzouq (chiefly Tunisian and Moroccan). A notable bearer is Moncef Marzouki (1945-), who was the fourth President of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.
MaskhadovChechen Possibly from the given name Maskhad. A notable bearer was Chechen politician Aslan Maskhadov (1951-2005).
MaslovRussian, Jewish Derived from Russian масло (maslo) meaning "butter", originally used as an occupational name for someone who worked as a dairyman or sold dairy products.
MaziniArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly from Arabic مَزِين (mazīn) meaning “decorated, adorned” or مازن (mazin) meaning “rain cloud” (see Mazin; chiefly Moroccan).
MazzolaItalian From a diminutive of Italian mazza meaning "maul, mallet".
MendeleevRussian Meaning uncertain. A famous bearer was Dimitri Mendeleev (1834-1907), a Russian chemist who developed an early model of the periodic table.
MesaSpanish Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations in Spain called Mesa meaning "table" or "mesa" in Spanish (referring to a flat area of land).
MesmerGerman Occupational name for a maker of knives from Middle High German messer meaning "knife". A famous bearer was Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), a German doctor known for his theory of "animal magnetism", which was eventually incorporated into the field of hypnosis.
MirzadehPersian Means "prince" in Persian, derived from Arabic أمير (amir) meaning "prince, commander" combined with Persian زاده (zadeh) meaning "offspring".
MisuariFilipino, Tausug Meaning uncertain. A famous bearer is Nurallaji Pinang Misuari (1939-), better known as Nur Misuari, a Moro Filipino revolutionary.
MitaniJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley".
MiwaJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 輪 (wa) meaning "wheel, ring, circle".
MizoguchiJapanese From Japanese 溝 (mizo) meaning "ditch, drain, gutter" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".
MongushTuvan Theorised to be derived from Tuvan moon meaning "cohesive, powerful" combined with kush "force". It is also believed to have been Mongolified and Turkified during the reign of Chinggis Khan in the 13th century.