McelhenneyIrish This interesting surname is of Irish origin, and is an Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic "MacGiolla Chainnigh". The Gaelic prefix "mac" means "son of", plus "giolla", devotee of, and the saint's name "Canice".
McelweeIrish, Scottish Of Gaelic origin, found in Ireland and Scotland. Derives from Mac Giolla Ruaidh, meaning "son of the servant of the red-haired youth", possibly a reference to a Dane or Norseman.
McEvoyIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Fhíodhbhuidhe meaning "son of Fíodhbhadhach", derived from fiodhbhadhach meaning "woodsman".
McevoyIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Mac Giolla Bhuidhe "son of the yellow-haired lad", from giolla "youth, page, boy" and buide "yellow".
McewenScottish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Eoghain ‘son of Eoghan’, a widespread and ancient personal name, possibly derived from eo ‘yew’, meaning ‘born of yew’. It was Latinized as Eugenius (see Eugene), and was also regarded as a Gaelic form of John... [more]
McfaddenScottish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Phaid(e)in (Scottish) and Mac Pháidín (Irish) - both patronymics of Patrick (via Gaelic diminutives of the given name).
McGahanIrish (Rare) Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Eacháin or Mag Eocháin, ‘son of Eachán’ a diminutive of Eachaidh, a personal name based on each ‘horse’. Scottish variants tend to spell the internal fricative x as ch rather than gh or h as in Ireland.
McGeehanIrish Irish (Ulster) anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gaoithín ‘son of Gaoithín’, a personal name derived from the diminutive of gaoth ‘clever’, ‘wise’.
McgillicuddyIrish The surname McGillicuddy comes from the Irish Mac GiollaMochuda, meaning 'son of the devotee of St. Mochuda'. It's part of the O'Sullivan sect and comes from the West part of Ireland in county Kerry... [more]
McgivernNorthern Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Uidhrín, a patronymic from a personal name which is from a diminutive of odhar 'dun'. This surname is also found in Galloway in Scotland, where it is of Irish origin.
McgonagleAmerican Irish (Donegal) and Scottish (Glasgow): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Conghail, a patronymic from the personal name Conghal, composed of Celtic elements meaning 'hound' + 'valor'.
McgrathIrish (Anglicized) Derives from the Irish surname Mac Craith. Famous bearers of the name include the Meic Craith from the Gaelic kingdom of Thomond in the present-day Republic of Ireland. They were historians and poets connected to the Ui Bhriain kings and earls of Thomond.
McgravesIrish Irish Variant of Graves or a Variant of MacGraves.
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".
MchaleIrish, Welsh From the Irish Mac Céile, a patronymic from the byname Céile, meaning "companion." This was the surname of a Mayo family, tenants of church lands. ... [more]
MckerrowScottish Scottish: of uncertain derivation. Some sources believe it to be an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cearrach, Mac Cearrbhaich ‘son of the gambler’, while Woulfe derives it from Mac Ciothruadha ‘son of Ciothruaidh’, a personal name of Norse origin.
MckewonScottish Scottish and northern Irish: variant of McEwen .
MclernonIrish This is an Irish Gaelic surname recorded in the spellings of MacLerenon, McLernon, McLernan, and McLorinan. It is mostly associated with the province of Ulster in Ireland, although with some branches in Scotland... [more]
McmonagleIrish (Anglicized), Scottish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Maonghail, a patronymic from the personal name Maonghal, composed of the elements maoin meaning "wealth" + gal meaning "valor".
McMullanIrish The surname McMullan is of old Irish/ Gaelic Heritage, it is with meaning ‘Bald’ or ‘Tonsured One’. It was first founded in the province of Connacht, and comes from Mullan.... [more]
McmurtryNorthern Irish, Scottish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Muircheartaigh "son of Muircheartach", a personal name meaning "navigator", from muir "sea" and ceartach "ruler".
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.
McnicholasIrish The McNicholas family stretches back through time to the Viking settlers who populated the rugged shores of Scotland in the Medieval era. The name McNicholas was derived from from the personal name, Nicholas... [more]
McnultyNorthern Irish (Anglicized) Irish surname historically associated with County Donegal in northwest Ireland meaning "descended of the Ulaid Nation". The surname is derived from an anglicized contraction of the original Irish patronymic Mac "descended" an Ultaigh "Ulaid race".
McPetersScottish Variant of McPheeters, itself an anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gille Pheadair, a patronymic derived from a Gaelic personal name meaning "servant of (Saint) Peter".
McSorleyScottish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Somhairle meaning "son of Somhairle", a given name borrowed from Old Norse Sumarliði "summer traveller".
McStockerIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Irish Mac An Stocaire meaning "son of the trumpeter", from stocaire "trumpeter".
MctavishScottish On the Scottish west coast, the McTavish family was born among the ancient Dalriadan clans. Their name comes from the personal name Tammas, which is the Lowland Scottish form of Thomas. The Gaelic forms of the name are Mac Tamhais or Mac Thamhais, both of which mean son of Tammas.
McTeerIrish, Scottish This surname is a modern variant of the ancient mhac an t'Saoir which means "the son of the carpenter."... [more]
McVeighScottish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Bheatha or Mac an Bheatha, themselves derived from Gaelic Mac Beatha meaning "son of life" (see MacBeth).
MeadEnglish, English (New Zealand) topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow, from Middle English mede ‘meadow’ (Old English m?d). metonymic occupational name for a brewer or seller of mead (Old English meodu), an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey
MeadesEnglish The name Meades is a plural variation of the name Meade, Mead, Mede, etc., the spelling being rather arbitrary and phonetic in the middle ages (even among the very few scribes, clerics and high-born persons who were literate) and without due consideration of standarized form, hence the various spellings of the name today... [more]
MeadowEnglish A topographic name for someone who lived near a meadow. The form meadow derives from mǣdwe, the dative case of Old English mǣd.
MeanswellPopular Culture Simply the English words "means well". This is the surname of the main protagonist of LazyTown, Stephanie Meanswell, as well as her uncle, Mayor Milford Meanswell.
MedellinSpanish Habitational name from a place so named in Badajoz province Latin (Caecilia) Metellina derived from the name of a 1st-century Roman proconsul in Spain Cecilio Metello Pio.
MedleyEnglish Habitational name, either a variant of Madeley (a name common to several places, including one in Shropshire and two in Staffordshire), named in Old English as ‘Mada’s clearing’, from an unattested byname, Mada (probably a derivative of mad ‘foolish’) + leah ‘woodland clearing’; or from Medley on the Thames in Oxfordshire, named in Old English with middel ‘middle’ + eg ‘island’... [more]
MeeboerDutch (Rare) Possibly an occupational name for someone who brewed or sold mead, from Dutch mede (also mee) "mead" and boer "farmer, peasant; merchant, producer (of a product)".
MeehanIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maotháin meaning "descendant of Maothán", a diminutive of Irish maoth "soft, tender, moist; tearful, sentimental"... [more]
MeeksScottish In Scotland, the names were spelled according to sound so there are many variations of the spelling including Meek, Meeke, Meik, Meech, Mekie and other spellings. After hard times in Scotland, many Meeks' left for Australia Ireland, and North America.
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-).
MeguriJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 巡 (Meguri), a clipping of 巡谷 (Meguriya) meaning "Meguriya", a division in the division of Nakada in the area of Aiga in the city of Sumoto in the prefecture of Hyōgo in Japan.
MeguriJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 廻 (meguri), from 廻り (meguri) meaning "transport route, regular visit". This is the name of a former village in the district of Aira in the former Japanese province of Ōsumi in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan.
MeiklejohnScottish A Scottish distinguishing name for identifying the larger or eldest (Older Scots meikle "large") or elder of two men called John. (See also Mickle).
MeilerRomansh Derived from the place name Meils (present-day Mels in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland).
MejiaSpanish Spanish (Mejía): probably from a religious byname (possibly under Jewish influence), from a vernacular form of Latin, Greek Messias ‘Messiah’, from Hebrew māšīaḥ ‘anointed’.
MejiaGalician A 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.... [more]
MekkyArabic (Egyptian) Refers to the city of Mecca or Makka (مكة) in Saudi Arabia, considered the most holy city in Islam.
MelanchthonHistory Means "black earth", derived from Greek μελανός (melanos), the genitive of the adjective μέλας (melas) meaning "black, dark", and χθών (chthon) meaning "land, earth, soil"... [more]
MelanderSwedish Combination 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)... [more]
MelansonBreton Possibly derived from an altered form of French mélasson "clumsy, awkward" (from mélasse "molasses, treacle").
MelasGreek Possibly from the names of several characters in Greek mythology, including a son of Poseidon who the Nile River was originally named after.
MelbyNorwegian Modern form of Meðalbýr meaning "middle farm", a combination of Old Norse meðal "middle" and býr "farm".
MeleroSpanish Occupational name for a collector or seller of honey, melero (Late Latin mellarius, an agent derivative of mel, genitive mellis, ‘honey’).
MelgarSpanish Topographical 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).
MelgosaSpanish This 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.
MelilloItalian Means "small apple, crab apple" in Neapolitan, either a topographic name, an occupational name for a grower or seller of apples, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a sour disposition. Alternatively, it could be from the Latin given name Mellilus, related to the endearment mellilla "little honey", or be a diminutive form of Meli.
MelleItalian Derived from the place name Melle in Cueno, Piedmont, northern Italy. It could also be derived from the given name Mello, a short form of diminutives ending with -mello (like Giacomello, a diminutive of Giacomo).
MelmothEnglish From 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".
MelroseScottish, English Habitational 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’. ... [more]
MeltonEnglish Habitational name from any of several places meaning "middle town". Compare Middleton.
MeltzerGerman German 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’... [more]
MemonUrdu From 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".
MendarteBasque Habitational name of Gipuzkoan origin, possibly derived from Basque mendi "mountain" and arte "between, among".
MendeleevRussian Meaning uncertain. A famous bearer was Dimitri Mendeleev (1834-1907), a Russian chemist who developed an early model of the periodic table.
MendietaBasque Habitational name derived from Basque mendi "mountain" and -eta "place of, abundance of".
MendigurenBasque From the name of a hamlet meaning "edge of the mountain" in Basque.
MendinuetaBasque From the name of a village in Itzagaondoa, Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque mendino "small mountain" and the toponymic suffix -eta "place of, abundance of".
MendiolaBasque From the name of a village in Álava, Basque Country, derived from mendi "mountain" combined with either ola "hut, cabin; foundry, factory" or -ola "place of".
MendizabalBasque Means "wide mountain", derived from Basque mendi "mountain" and zabal "wide, broad, ample". This was also the name of a neighborhood of Arratzua-Ubarrundia that the falangists demolished in 1959 to make way for a reservoir.
MendlerGerman Occupational name for a maker of coats from an agent derivative of Middle High German mantel, mandel, mendel "coat".
MendolaItalian topographic 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 amendolamendula "almond almond tree" (see Amendola ). Compare Lamendola.