KieslerGerman Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of gravelly land, derived from Middle High German kisel or Old High German kisil meaning "pebble, gravel".
KimmelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German kumin and German kümmel meaning "caraway" (related to Latin cuminum, a word of Oriental origin, like the plant itself), hence a metonymic occupational name for a spicer, literally a supplier of caraway seeds... [more]
KinderknechtGerman Occupational name for a servant in charge of the children at a manor, derived from kinder (plural of kind) meaning "child" and knecht meaning "servant".
KingsburyEnglish Habitational surname derived from several places in England with the same name, for example in northwest London (formerly Middlesex), Somerset, and Warwickshire. These are mostly named in Old English as cyninges burh meaning "the king’s stronghold", but the last mentioned is cynesburh meaning "stronghold of Cyne" (cyne is a short form of any of various compound names with cyne- meaning "royal" as the first element).
KingsmoreEnglish Derived from several places named Kingsmoor or King’s Moor, in Somerset, Sussex, and Essex, England.
KirouacFrench (Quebec) From an unidentified place name in Brittany, France, derived from Breton kaer, caer, ker meaning "fortified settlement" and an unknown given name.
KitchenerEnglish Variant spelling of Kitchen. A notable bearer was the Anglo-Irish senior British Army officer and colonial administrator Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850-1916).
KitumainiCentral African, Swahili Means "little hope" in Swahili, a diminutive of tumaini meaning simply "hope". It is mostly found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
KlappGerman Nickname for a gossip or a slanderer, derived from Middle High German klapf, klaff meaning "prattle, malicious gossip".
KlingemannGerman Occupational surname for a knife maker, literally meaning "knife maker, weapons smith". It is derived from German klinge meaning "blade".
KlobučarSlovene, Croatian, Serbian Occupational name derived from Serbian, Croatian and Slovene klobučar meaning "hatter" (a derivative of klobuk meaning "hat"), originally indicating a person who made, sold or repaired hats.
KloseGerman, Silesian From a Silesian short form of the given name Nikolaus. A notable bearer is the German former soccer player Miroslav Klose (1978-).
KluivertDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Nickname perhaps related to Dutch kluiven meaning "to gnaw, to bite, to nibble". A notable bearer is Dutch former soccer player Patrick Kluivert (1976-).
KrumbachGerman, German (Austrian) From the name of various places in Austria and Germany, for example the town of Krumbach in the state of Bavaria.
KrumreihnGerman Possibly derived from Middle High German krum(b) meaning "crooked" and rein meaning "border of a field, margin", and hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a field with a crooked edge, or perhaps a nickname for a farmer who plowed a crooked furrow... [more]
KuijtDutch Occupational name for a brewer of beer, derived from Dutch kuit, koyt literally meaning "beer". A famous bearer of this name is retired Dutch soccer player Dirk Kuijt (1980-), also known as Dirk Kuyt.
KurylenkoUkrainian Possibly an alternate transcription of Ukrainian Кириле́нко (see Kyrylenko). A famous bearer is Ukrainian-French actress and model Olga Kurylenko (1979-).
LaBrieFrench Referred to a person who came from various places named Brie in France, for example Brie-sous-Matha, a commune in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.
LaemmleGerman, Jewish Variant spelling of Lämmle. A famous bearer was the German-American film producer Carl Laemmle (1867-1939).
LaffeyIrish Reduced anglicisation of Gaelic Ó Laithimh, itself derived from the earlier form Ó Flaithimh, ultimately from flaitheamh meaning "ruler". It could also be a variant of Leahy.
LämmleGerman, Jewish Derived from German lamm meaning "lamb", a nickname for a meek and inoffensive person or a shepherd.
LampardEnglish Derived from the given name Lambert. A famous bearer of this surname is the retired English soccer player Frank Lampard (1978-).
LanierFrench, English Occupational name designating one who worked in the wool trade (see Lane 2), derived from Old French lanier (ultimately from laine) meaning "wool", or for a keeper of donkeys, from Old French asnier literally "donkey keeper, donkey driver"... [more]
LaudrupDanish Possibly from the name of homesteads in Denmark, most likely derived from Old Norse laut meaning "barn", combined with the Danish suffix -drup (itself from Old Norse thorp) meaning "outlying farmstead, village, settlement"... [more]
LeatherEnglish, Scottish A metonymic occupational name for a leatherworker or seller of leather goods, and derived from Middle English and Old English lether meaning "leather".
LeBoeufFrench Nickname for a powerfully built man, derived from French boeuf meaning "bull", with the definite article le. In some cases it may have been originally a metonymic occupational name for a herdsman.
LemassFrench, Irish Meaning uncertain. It may be derived from Old French maistre meaning "master", ultimately from Latin magister (see Masterson). Another theory holds that it comes from Irish Gaelic Laighmheasa, a given name meaning "dispatch"... [more]
LieberknechtGerman A compound name where lieber is derived from the given name Liebert and kneckt is an occupational surname for a journeyman, derived from the Middle Low German knecht meaning "knight’s assistant, servant".
LiebermannGerman, Jewish Derived from German lieb or Yiddish lib meaning "dear, beloved". Many Liebermann families originally spelled the name in Hebrew or Cyrillic characters, so variations in the spelling occurred during transliteration to the Latin alphabet.
LieblingGerman, Yiddish, Jewish Derived from German lieb meaning "dear, beloved" or German liebling meaning "darling".
LieshoutDutch Originally indicated a person from the village of Lieshout in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived either from Dutch lies meaning "great manna grass" (a grasslike plant that grows near riverbanks and ponds) or Middle Dutch lese meaning "track, furrow", combined with hout meaning "forest".
LimbachGerman Derived from any of numerous places in Germany named with Germanic lindo meaning "lime tree" and bach meaning "stream". Several of these places are in areas such as the Palatinate, which contributed heavily to early German immigration to the United States.
LindenbergGerman, Jewish, Dutch As a German and Jewish name, it is derived from any of numerous places called Lindenberg in Germany, composed of Middle High German linde meaning "lime tree" and berg meaning "mountain, hill"... [more]
LindenmeyerGerman Habitational name for the tenant of a farm identified by a lime tree, derived from Middle High German linde meaning "lime tree" and meier meaning "tenant farmer".
LinekerEnglish From a place name composed of Old English lin meaning "flax" and æcer meaning "field". A famous bearer is retired English soccer player Gary Lineker (1960-).
LiottaItalian Variant form of Leotta. A famous bearer was American actor Ray Liotta (1954-2022).
LjungbergSwedish Combination of Swedish ljung "heather" and berg "mountain".
LlapashticaKosovar, Albanian, Serbian Derived from the name of Kosovan villages named Llapashticë e Poshtme or Llapashticë e Epërme. It could also denote a person from Serbian villages called Donja Lapaštica or Gornja Lapaštica.
LochheadScottish Topographic name for someone who lived at the head of a loch, derived from Scottish Gaelic ceann meaning "head (land)" and loch meaning "loch".
LöfflerGerman Derived from German löffel, it denotes a person who produces or trades spoons.
LombardFrench, English, South African French and English cognate of Lombardi, or derived from the given name Lambert. A famous bearer of this name was the American actress Carole Lombard (1908-1942), born Jane Alice Peters.
LouisvilleEnglish From the name of the largest city of Louisville in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The city was named for the 18th-century King Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers were then aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War.
LovitzJewish From the Polish name of Łowicz, a town in central Poland. Its name is derived from Polish lowisko meaning "fishing, hunting". A well-known bearer is American comedian and actor Jon Lovitz (1957-).
LubarskyUkrainian, Lithuanian, Jewish Habitational name for someone from Liubar, an urban-type settlement in the Zhytomyr Oblast of Ukraine, or Lubarka, an unknown place in Lithuania.
LuccheseItalian Denoted someone from Lucca, a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy.
LuquetteFrench (Quebec) Canadian spelling of French Luquet, derived from a pet form of the given name Luc. It is also a variant of French Loquet, a metonymic occupational name for a locksmith.
MacDowellScottish, Irish Variant of Mcdowell. A famous bearer is American actress Andie MacDowell (1958-). Another was the American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell (1860-1908).
MacFadyenScottish, Irish Variant of Mcfadden. Famous bearers include English actor Matthew Macfadyen (1974-) and Scottish actor Angus Macfadyen (1963-).
MacriItalian Italian variant of Magro. It could also be a southern Italian nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall, derived from Greek μακρύς (makrýs) literally meaning "long, tall" (see Makris)... [more]
Mac UighilínIrish, Scottish Means "son of Hugelin". the surname was allegedly adopted by the de Mandevilles, a Cambro-Norman family that had conquered an area of north Antrim, a county in Northern Ireland... [more]
MagnumEnglish Possibly derived from the given name Magnus. It is borne by the fictional character Thomas Magnum, the protagonist on the American television series Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988).
MaidmentEnglish Occupational name for a servant of maidens (such as nuns), from Middle English maiden (ultimately from Old English mægden) meaning "young girl, virgin, maiden" and man ending with an excrescent -t.
MalenkovRussian Patronymic derived from Russian маленький (malen'kiy) meaning "little, small". The Soviet leader Georgy Malenkov (1902-1988) was a notable bearer of this name.
MalmstenSwedish Ornamental name derived from Swedish malm meaning "ore" and sten (Old Norse steinn) meaning "stone".
MalthouseEnglish Occupational 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.
ManeraItalian Either a habitational name from any of two places called Manera in the Italian provinces of Cuneo and Como, a nickname and perhaps a metonymic occupational name (from the dialect word manèra meaning "executioner's axe, cleaver" or from Italian manero "well-behaved, skilled"), or derived from the given name Mainiero (ultimately from Frankish Maginhari, composed of the Ancient Germanic elements magin "strength, might" and hari, heri "army").
MangrioUrdu, Sindhi Originally denoted a person who came from the Mangrio tribe in Sindh, Pakistan and Rajasthan, India. The meaning of the tribe's name is unknown.
ManhattanEnglish From the name of the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City, in the U.S. state of New York. Derived from the Munsee Lenape language term manaháhtaan (where manah- means "gather", -aht- means "bow" and -aan is an abstract element used to form verb stems), meaning "the place where we get bows" or "place for gathering the (wood to make) bows"... [more]
MannerheimFinland Swedish (Rare) Swedification of the German surname Marhein. A famous bearer was Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867-1951), a Finnish military leader, statesman and the 6th President of Finland... [more]
MarklandEnglish From Old English mearc meaning "boundary" and lanu meaning "lane", it is a habitational name from a place in the town of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. It can also be a topographic name for someone who lived by a stretch of border or boundary land, or a status name for someone who held land with an annual value of one mark.
MarlboroughEnglish From the name of the market town and civil parish of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Mǣrla and beorg meaning "hill, mound".
MarslandEnglish Probably derived from some place named as being a boggy place, from Old English mersc meaning "marsh" and land meaning "land". Alternatively, it may be a variant of Markland.
MarwoodEnglish From the name of two places named Marwood in England, or a nickname for a person who "casts an evil eye", derived from Norman French malreward meaning "evil eye, glance".
MascheranoItalian Occupational name for maker of masks, derived from Italian mascherare meaning "to mask". The Argentine former soccer player Javier Mascherano (1984-) is a famous bearer of this name.
MastrantonioItalian From the Italian title mastro meaning "master craftsman", combined with the given name Antonio. A famous bearer is American actress and singer Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (1958-).
MatthauGerman Derived from the given name Matthias. This name was borne by the American actor Walter Matthau (1920-2000).
M'balaCentral African Derived from the given name Mbala. This surname is borne by French comedian, actor and political activist Dieudonné M'bala M'bala (1966-).
McVeighScottish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Bheatha or Mac an Bheatha, themselves derived from Gaelic Mac Beatha meaning "son of life" (see MacBeth).
MeesterDutch, Flemish, German Occupational name for a teacher, lecturer or a master craftsman, or a nickname for someone who had a bossy demeanor, derived from Dutch meester meaning "master". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actress, singer and model Leighton Meester (1986-).
MehrabaniPersian Originally denoted someone who came from the city of Mehraban, located in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran.
MertesackerGerman Means "Merten's field" in German, derived from the given name Merten and Middle High German acker meaning "field". A famous bearer is the retired German soccer player Per Mertesacker (1984-).
MessingGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German messinc meaning "brass", referring to a person who makes or repairs brass objects. A famous bearer is American actress Debra Messing (1968-).
MidlerEnglish Nickname for a person who causes trouble or meddles in the affairs of others, derived from Middle English medeler meaning "meddler, troublemaker, one who interferes". This name is borne by the American singer, actress and comedienne Bette Midler (1945-).
MilkovićSerbian, Croatian Patronymic derived from the given name Milko, itself a diminutive of Slavic names containing the element milu meaning "gracious, dear".
ModrićCroatian Derived from Croatian mȍdar meaning "blue", most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes. It can also be a habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Modrić, Modrič, Modrići, Modrića, Modruš or Modřice in Croatia... [more]
MonteithScottish From the name of the district of Menteith in south Perthshire, Scotland, derived from Gaelic monadh meaning "hill pasture" combined with the Scottish river name Teith. A famous bearer was the Canadian actor and musician Cory Monteith (1982-2013), who played Finn Hudson on the American television series Glee (2009-2015).
MontpelierEnglish, French English and French variant of Montpellier. This is the name of several places in the United States, for example the capital city of the state of Vermont, which was named after the French city of Montpellier.
MontpellierFrench Means "woad mountain", derived from French mont (itself from Latin mōns) meaning "mountain" and pastel (Latin pastellus, pestellus) meaning "woad, dye", referring to someone who lived near a mountain that was covered with woad (a plant that produces a blue dye)... [more]
MoreyIrish, English Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Mórdha, and in English (of Norman origin), derived from the Old French given name Mory, a short form of Amaury (see Emery).
MoultonEnglish Derived from various places with the same name, for example in the counties of Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and North Yorkshire in England. It is either derived from the Old English given name Mūla, the Old Norse name Múli or Old English mūl meaning "mule" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
MountstuartEnglish Possibly derived from the mountain in the Cascade Range, in the state of Washington, United States.
MuirheadScottish Derived from many places in southern Scotland with the same name, from northern Middle English muir meaning "moor" and heid meaning "head, end".
MüllerleileGerman Derived from Middle High German mülnære, müller meaning "miller" (see Müller), and the German given names Lawlin, Lauwelin and Lawelin, medieval diminutives of Nikolaus.
MultatuliDutch From the Latin phrase multa tulī meaning "I have suffered much" or "I have borne much". This was the pen name of the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887), who wrote Max Havelaar, which denounced the abuses of colonialism in the Dutch East Indies, now called Indonesia... [more]
MunnScottish, English Variant form of McMunn. In English, it is a nickname or an occupational name for a person who worked for monks, derived from Anglo-Norman French moun meaning "monk" (see Monk).
NassauGerman, Dutch, Jewish From the name of the town of Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (formerly the seat of an independent duchy in the 19th century), derived from Old High German naz meaning "damp, wet" and ouwa meaning "water meadow"... [more]
NehruIndian, Hindi From Sanskrit नहर (nahar, nehar) meaning "canal". This name was borne by Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), the first Prime Minister of India. His earliest recorded ancestor Raj Kaul adopted the name when, upon moving from Kashmir to Delhi, he was granted a jagir (feudal land grant) with a house situated on the banks of a canal... [more]
NeidhardtGerman From the Germanic given name Nithart, which is derived from Germanic nit meaning "ambition, hatred" and hard meaning "hardy, brave, strong".
NiedermeierGerman, German (Austrian) Occupational name for a farmer who had a farm lower than the neighboring one(s). This surname and its variant spellings are common to Austria and the state of Bavaria in Germany.
NiedfeldtGerman Topographic name for a person who lived by a lower area of open land, derived from Middle Low German nider meaning "lower" and feld meaning "open country".
NietzscheGerman, German (Silesian) Derived from a Silesian diminutive of the given name Nikolaus. A notable bearer was Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), a German philosopher.
NimitzGerman Derived from Russian немчин (nemchin) meaning "German", of Slavic origin. This surname was borne by Chester W. Nimitz (1885-1966), a fleet admiral of the United States Navy during World War II.
NolteGerman From a short form of various medieval given names derived from Germanic given names ending with -n and wald meaning "rule", for example Arnold and Reinwald... [more]
NugentEnglish, Irish, French An English, Irish (of Norman origin) and French habitational surname derived from any of several places in northern France (such as Nogent-sur-Oise), From Latin novientum and apparently an altered form of a Gaulish name meaning "new settlement".
NungesserGerman Apparently a variant spelling of German Nonnengasse, derived from a street name meaning "nuns, lane". It could also be a variant of Gnugesser, a nickname for a big eater, derived from g(e)nug meaning "enough" and esser meaning "eater" (which derived from essen meaning "to eat")... [more]
OffenbachGerman, Jewish From the name of the city of Offenbach am Main in Hesse, Germany. A famous bearer was the German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880).
OggScottish Anglicized form of a nickname from the Gaelic adjective óg meaning "young", used to distinguish the junior of two bearers of the same personal name.
OgorodnikovRussian From Russian огородник (ogorodnik) meaning "truck farmer, market gardener".
OktyabrskyRussian Meaning "October" in Russian, it often refers to the October Revolution of November 1917, a coup led by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) and the Bolshevik Party.
OldroydEnglish Derived from Old English euld meaning "old" and royd meaning "clearing".
OmtzigtDutch Derived from Dutch omzicht meaning "cautious, careful, circumspection", ultimately from the verb omzien meaning "to look around". It may have originated in a Dutch village with several farms named Omzicht, or as a nickname for a cautious person... [more]
OvechkinRussian Patronymic derived from Russian овечка (ovechka) meaning "lamb". A famous bearer is the Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin (1985-).
OverathGerman From the name of the town of Overath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A famous bearer is the German former soccer player Wolfgang Overath (1943-).
ÖzyakupTurkish From Turkish öz meaning "core, essence, self, pure" combined with the given name Yakup. This name is borne by the Turkish-Dutch soccer player Oğuzhan Özyakup (1992-).
PacinoItalian Diminutive form of Pace. The American actor Al Pacino (1940-) is a well-known bearer of this surname.