Browse Submitted Surnames

Kiire Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 喜入 (Kiire) meaning "Kiire", a former village in the former district of Kiire in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan, or it being a variant spelling of 給黎 (Kiire) meaning "Kiire", the name of the district which the village was located in.

Kikkamägi Estonian
Kikkamägi is an Estonian surname meaning "spindle (tree: Euonymus) mountain".

Kikutani Japanese
Kiku means "chrysanthemum" and tani means "valley".

Kikuya Japanese
"Chrysanthemum valley."

Kilburg German, Luxembourgish
"Kyll castle," from German burg (castle) near the Kyll river in Germany. Also "wedge mountain" in Swedish: kil (wedge) and berg (mountain).

Kimigafukuro Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 君ケ袋 (Kimigafukuro) meaning "Kimigafukuro", a former large village in the district of Kami in the former Japanese province of Rikuzen in parts of present-day Miyagi, Japan and Iwate, Japan.

Kinutani Japanese
Kinu means "silk" and tani means "valley".

Kirigaya Japanese
From 桐 (kiri), referring to the tree known commonly as the empress or foxglove tree, combined with 谷 (ya) meaning "valley," sometimes with the infixation of the historical possessive particle が (ga) (written as ヶ) that is most often used in place names and surnames... [more]

Kirimura Japanese
Kiri means "paulownia" and mura means "hamlet, village".

Kirishima Japanese (Rare)
From 桐 (kiri), referring to the tree known commonly as the empress or foxglove tree, 霧 (kiri) meaning "fog, mist" or 切 (kiri) meaning "end, finish; bounds, limits" combined with 島/嶋 (shima) meaning "island."

Kiritani Japanese
Kiri means "paulownia" and tani means "valley".

Kiriyama Japanese
Kiri (桐) means "Paulownia/foxglove tree", yama (山) means "mountain". Notable bearers of this surname are Kouji Kiriyama (桐山光侍), a Japanese manga author, Kazuo Kiriyama (桐山和雄) from Battle Royale, and Rei Kiriyama (桐山零), the main character of 3-gatsu no lion.

Kirrin Literature
Used by Enid Blyton in the Famous Five book series (first published 1942) for the main character George Kirrin. It is also used as a place name for the fictional village where she lives and the nearby island.

Kishiyama Japanese
From Japanese 岸 (kishi) meaning "beach, shore, bank" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Kitajima Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Kitamura Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Kitani Japanese
From the Japanese 木 (ki or moku) "tree," "wood" and 谷 (tani or ya) "valley."

Kitasawa Japanese
Kita means "north" and shima means "island".

Kitashima Japanese
Kita means "north" and shima means "island".

Kitayama Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Kivimägi Estonian
Kivimägi is an Estonian name meaning "stone mountain/hill".

Kivisaar Estonian
Kivisaar is an Estonian surname meaning "stone island".

Kiya Japanese
Means "tree valley" in Japanese, from 木 (ki) "tree" and 谷 (ya) "valley".

Kjellberg Swedish, Norwegian (Rare)
Combination of Old Norse kelda or Swedish källa both meaning "spring, source (of water)", and berg "mountain".

Kluczewski m Polish
Habititional surname for someone from a village called Kluczewo, derived from klucz, meaning "key."

Klug German (Austrian)
First recorded in the early 14th century in present-day Austria (southeastern region of the Holy Roman Empire at that time). The surname was derived from the ancient Germanic word kluoc meaning "noble" or "refined".... [more]

Kmet Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Slovak
Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, and Slovak status name for a type of peasant. In Slovenia this denoted a peasant who had his own landed property. In Serbia and elsewhere it was a status name for a feudal peasant farmer who cultivated the land of his lord instead of paying rent or doing military service... [more]

Knipe English
The lineage of the name Knipe begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived on the peak of a hill or highland. The surname Knipe is primarily familiar in the regions of Lancashire and Westmoreland.... [more]

Knoll English, German, Jewish
English and German topographic name for someone living near a hilltop or mountain peak, from Middle English knolle ‘hilltop’, ‘hillock’ (Old English cnoll), Middle High German knol ‘peak’... [more]

Ko Korean
There is only one Chinese character for the surname Ko. There are ten different Ko clans, but they are all descended from the Ko clan of Cheju Island. There is no historical information regarding the founder of this clan, but there is a legend which tells of three men who appeared from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s Halla Mountain... [more]

Kobe Japanese
From the Japanese city of Kobe.

Kobiyama Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small", 檜 (hi) meaning "Japanese cypress" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Kobrinsky Belarusian
Refers to a city named "Kobryn" in Belarus.

Kodajima Japanese
From Japanese 古 (Ko) meaning "Old" and 田 (Ta, Da) meaning "Rice Field" and 島 (Shima) meaning "Island"

Koefoed Danish
Probably a Danish form of Dutch Koevoets. The name arrived on the Danish island Bornholm via Lübeck, Germany.

Kohlstedt Medieval German (Modern)
Likely derived from the German word Kohl, meaning “Cabbage,” and a Variation of the word Stadt, meaning “City, town, and/or place.”

Koirala Nepali
From the name of the village of Koirali in Nepal.

Kojima Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" or 児 (ko) meaning "young" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Kokamägi Estonian
Kokamägi is an Estonian surname meaning "cookery mountain".

Kolden German, Norwegian
From Middle Low German kolt, kolde ‘cold’, a nickname for an unfriendly person; alternatively, it may be a habitational name, a shortened form of Koldenhof ‘cold farm’ in Mecklenburg (standardized form: Kaltenhof, a frequent place name in northern Germany, East Prussia, Bavaria, and Württemberg).Norwegian: habitational name from a farm called Kolden, from Old Norse kollr ‘rounded mountain top’.

Kolesar Czech (Modern, Rare), German (Modern, Rare), German (Austrian, Modern, Rare)
Means either 'wheelwright' or 'coleminer' depending on the region.

Kolyvanov Russian
Uncertain meaning. Possibly derived from Old Russian Колывань (Kolyvan), an Old Russian name of the city of Tallinn.

Komaru Japanese
From Japanese 小丸 (Komaru) meaning "Komaru", a former village in the former district of Mikumi in the former Japanese province of Tajima in parts of present-day Hyōgo, Japan.

Komiyama Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small", 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Komnenos Greek
From the village Komne in Thrace. The surname of one of the imperial families of Byzantium.

Kōmura Japanese
From Japanese 高 (kō) meaning "tall, high" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Komura Japanese
Ko means "small" and mura means "village, hamlet".

Komura Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Konagawa Japanese
The Japanese surname "Konagawa" (小長川) consists of three kanji characters: "小" meaning "small," "長" meaning "long," and "川" meaning "river." So, "Konagawa" could be interpreted as "small long river." However, as with many Japanese surnames, there may be variations in meaning and interpretation depending on the family's history and region.

Koničanin Serbian
Habitational name for someone from the village of Koniče, Serbia.

Koniński m Polish
Derived from Polish koń, meaning "horse." It can also refer to the city of Konin in Poland.

Kõnnusaar Estonian
Kõnnusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "wilderness island".

Konvalinka Czech
Means "lily-of-the-valley" in Czech.

Koretskiy Russian
Name for a person originally from the Ukrainian city of Korets, derived from Russian корец (korets) or корчик (korchik) both referring to a type of ladle.

Kõrgemäe Estonian
Kõrgemäe is an Estonian surname meaning "high hill/mountain".

Koriyama Japanese
Possibly from 氷 (kori, hyou) meaning "ice" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Koshima Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" or 児 (ko) meaning "young" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Kosuge Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small; little; short" and 菅 (suge) meaning "sedge".... [more]

Kotani Japanese
Ko means "Small" and Tani means "Valley".

Kotomura Japanese
Koto means "flute" and mura means "village".

Kowerski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Kowersk.

Koyajima Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 紺屋島 (Koyajima) meaning "Koyajima", a division in the area of Gomajima in the city of Oyabe in the prefecture of Toyama in Japan.... [more]

Koyama Japanese
From the Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain."

Koyano Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small", 谷 (ya) meaning "valley" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Köylü Turkish
Means "villager, peasant" in Turkish.

Kozamurai Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 小侍 (Kozamurai) meaning "Kozamurai", a division in the area of Kitataku in the city of Taku in the prefecture of Saga in Japan.

Krasiński Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Krasne, Przasnysz County.

Krasowski Polish, Jewish
Habitational name for someone from the villages of Krasowa, Krasów, or Krasowa.

Kritikos Greek
Means "Cretan" in Greek, from Κρήτη (Kriti) referring to the island of Crete.

Kriváň Slovak
Taken from the name of the mountain Kriváň, ultimately from kriv- meaning "bent, crooked".

Kronberg German, Swedish
German habitational name from any of the places called Kronberg near Frankfurt in Hesse and in Bavaria from the elements krone "crown" and berg "mountain, hill". Swedish ornamental name from kron "crown" and berg "mountain hill".

Kronenberg German, German (Swiss)
Habitational name from a place called Kronenberg (there is one near Wuppertal) or possibly from any of the places called Kronberg (see Kronberg ) from German Krone "crown" and German Berg "mountain, hill".

Kronstadt German
Means "crown state" (i.e., capital city) in German

Kruchowski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Kruchowo.

Krumholz Jewish, German
German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) from Krumbholz ‘bent timber’, ‘mountain pine’, hence probably a metonymic occupational name for a cartwright or wheelwright. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Kruusmägi Estonian
Kruusmägi is an Estonian surname meaning "gravel mountain/hill".

Kryčaŭski Belarusian
This indicates familial origin within the city of Krýčaŭ.

Krzyżewski Polish
Derived from the name of any of the villages called Krzyżewo in Poland. A notable bearer is American basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (b. 1947).

Kuba Japanese
Written with characters meaning ‘long time’ and ‘method’, this name is found mostly in the Ryūkyū Islands.

Kublashvili Georgian
Last name originates from Imereti region of Georgia .

Kuboyama Japanese
From Japanese 久 (ku) meaning "long time ago", 保 (ho) meaning "protect" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Kucha Okinawan (Rare, Archaic)
From Okinawan 古知屋 (Kucha) meaning "Kucha", a former village in the former district of Kin in the former Ryūkyū Kingdom.

Kuchler German (Rare)
Often confused with Küchler a name for a cookie baker, Kuchler is a noble name for an old german family. Kuchler is origined in a city named Kuchl at the border of todays german bavaria... [more]

Kujawski Polish
Regional name for someone from Kujawy (see Kujawa) or from a village called Kujawy, for example in Sielce voivodeship.

Küla Estonian
Küla is an Estonian surname meaning "village".

Külaots Estonian
Külaots is an Estonian surname meaning "village end".

Kullamäe Estonian
Kullamäe is an Estonian surname meaning "aurous hill/mountain".

Kullberg Swedish
Combination of Swedish kulle "hill" and berg "mountain".

Kunimura Japanese
Kuni means "country, large place" and mura means "village, hamlet".

Kunnathuparambil Malayalam (Rare)
Elamkunnapuzha-Kunnathuparambil Family has a rich history of around 200 years and traces its origins to a small village called Elamkunnapuzha in Ernakulam District. It was at that time one of our ancestors migrated from Elamkunnapuzha to a small village called Vennoor, near Mala in Thrissur District for his livelihood... [more]

Kunt Turkish
Means "Solid", also the old Turkish name of a mountain range in Asia where Turks supposedly originated from.

Kunugiza Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 椚座 (Kunugiza) meaning "Kunugiza", a former division in the former village of Kusaka in the former district of Tsuna in the former Japanese province of Awaji in parts of present-day Hyōgo, Japan.

Kuramura Japanese
Kura means "storehouse" and mura means "village, hamlet".

Kurisu Japanese
This surname is used as 栗栖, 栗須, 栗洲 with 栗 (ri, ritsu, ononoku, kuri) meaning "chestnut", 栖 (sei, su.mu) meaning "cobweb, den, hive, nest, rookery", 須 (shu, su, subekara.ku, subeshi, hige, matsu, mochi.iru, moto.meru) meaning "by all means, necessarily, ought" and 洲 (shuu, su, shima) meaning "continent, country, island, sandbar."... [more]

Kuriyama Japanese
Kuri means "chestnut" and yama means "mountain".

Kuriyama Japanese
From Japanese 栗 (kuri) meaning "chestnut" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Kurnatowski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Kurnatowice.

Kuromusha Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 黒武者 (Kuromusha) meaning "Kuromusha", a division in the division of Urano in the area of Iriki in the city of Satsumasendai in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan or a name of a group of several households in the Kadowari System that took place in the Edo Period in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan.

Kuroshima Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Kuru Japanese
Japanese: though written with the character for ‘give’ or ‘present’, the original meaning may actually be ‘sunset’. The name is listed in the Shinsen shōjiroku and is no longer common in Japan, but there is a city by that name in Hiroshima prefecture and the area may have ancient connections with the family.

Kurushima Japanese
From 栗 (kuru) meaning "chestnut" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Kurzberg German, Yiddish, Jewish
From a location name meaning "short mountain" in German, from Middle High German kurz meaning "short" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Kushige Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 櫛笥 (Kushige) meaning "Kushige", a former alley in the area of Kushige in the ward of Kamigyō in the city of Kyōto in the prefecture of Kyōto in Japan.... [more]

Kuwajima Japanese (Rare)
Kuwa (桑) means "mulberry", shima/jima (島) means "island". Shima changes to jima because of rendaku. It is also possible to be spelled as Kuwashima

Kuwashima Japanese (Rare)
Kuwa (桑) means "mulberry", shima (島) means "island". It is also possible to be spelled as Kuwajima

Kuwatani Japanese
From Japanese 桑 (kuwa) meaning "mulberry" combined with 谷 (tani) meaning "valley". A notable bearer of this surname is Natsuko Kuwatani (桑谷 夏子), a Japanese voice-actress who is best known for voicing Ryōko Asakura from the Haruhi Suzumiya series and Alph from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

Kuwayama Japanese
From Japanese 桑 (kuwa) meaning "mulberry" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Kuyon Hungarian, Romanian
Largely unknown, but may have origins in a village in Poland, called Kujan. There’s records on the name at Ellis Island in New York where it was anglicized to the phonetic, Kuyon. There’s also a split in the main families with the name in the US to another diminutive, Kenyon.... [more]

Kwak Korean
From Sino-Korean 郭 (gwak) meaning "outer city" (making it the Korean form of Guo) or 霍 (gwak) meaning "quickly, suddenly".

Kyōō Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 京 (kyō) meaning "capital city" and 応 (ō) meaning "to comply; to respond; to accord".

Laakso Finnish
From laakso ‘valley’, generally an ornamental name adopted during the name conversion movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Often, it was adopted by Finnish bearers of Swedish names containing the Swedish element dal ‘valley’.

Laanemäe Estonian
Laanemäe is an Estonian surname meaning "wintergreen hill/mountain".

Laaneviir Estonian
Laaneviir is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "Laaneveere", a village in Viimsi Municipality, Harju County.

Laasmägi Estonian
Laasmägi is an Estonian surname meaning "forest/woodland mountain".

Laayouni Arabic (Maghrebi)
From Laayoune, the name of a city in the Western Sahara (chiefly Moroccan).

Labossiere French
Norman habitational name from a common village name La Boissière, meaning 'wooded area', from bois 'wood'. possibly a metronymic, from a feminine derivative of Bossier 'cooper', denoting the 'wife of the cooper'.

LaBrie French
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.

Lachtrup German
Probably from a place name using the suffix -trup, related to dorf meaning "village". The first element could be lach "laugh, smile", or a corruption of loch "hole, pit".

Læstadius Swedish
From the name of the village Lästa in Ångermanland, Sweden, whose name possibly means "Leiðulfr's home". Lars Levi Læstadius (1800-1861) was a Swedish priest who founded a Lutheran revival movement known as Laestadianism.

Lagójskì Belarusian
This indicates familial origin within the city of Lagójsk.

Lahiri Bengali
Habitational name from either the village of Lohori in present-day Bangladesh or the village of Laheria in India.

Laisaar Estonian
Laisaar is an Estonian surname meaning "wide/expansive island".

Lamalfa Sicilian
Variant of Malfa, most probably a habitational name for someone from Malfa on the island of Salina (Messina), although the name has also been linked with Amalfi in Salerno and Melfi in Potenza.

Lamberg Finnish, Swedish
Perhaps combination of an unexplained first element (maybe taken from a place name) and Swedish berg "mountain". It could also be of German origin (see other submission).

Lammas English
Lammas is a surname from the village Lamarsh in Essex, England.

Lancaster English
From the name of a city in northwestern England derived from Middle English Loncastre, itself from Lon referring to an ancient Roman fort on the River Lune combined with Old English ceaster meaning "city, town".

Lanckoroński Polish
This denotes familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Lanckorona.

Landschulz Medieval German (Germanized, Rare)
"Land" country side, rural area... [more]

Langwade English
From an English village Langmead, in the county of Devon. It was used to refer to those individuals who lived at the lang-mead, which literally means "the long meadow".

Larivière French (Modern)
From the region of Bourgoigne, in France, meaning 'the river'. The name is likely a topographic reference to the physical location, likely a river in this case.

Larramendi Basque
It literally means "mountain grassland".

Latoszyński Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Latoszyn.

Lättemäe Estonian
Lättemäe is an Estonian surname derived from "läte" meaning "spring" or "fountain" and "mäe" meaning "hill" and "mountain"; "spring mountain".

Lauder Scottish, Northern Irish
From a village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It derives from the Celtic Lauuedder, probably indicating a rapidly flowing river, cognate with Modern Welsh llifer meaning 'to gush'.

Laudrup Danish
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]

Laurel Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino, Tagalog, Cebuano
Topographic name for someone who lived by a laurel tree, Spanish laurel (Latin laurus), or a habitational name from Laurel in the Canary Islands.

Lauterbach German
From the name of various places in Germany, for example the village of Lauterbach in the district of Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg.

Lavalle French
means "of the valley" in english.

Lavelle French
From Old French val "valley".... [more]

Lavers English
English (chiefly Devon and Cornwall): Medieval English and occupational, from pre-10th century Old French "lavandier". Introduced by the Normans after 1066, originally described a worker in the wool industry, and was a metonymic or nickname for a person employed to wash raw wool or rinse the cloth after fulling... [more]

Laycock English
The name comes from a small village in England called "Laycock" and has something to do with "the place of the birds."... [more]

Lazio Italian
Named after the region called 'Lazio' of Italy.

Leask Scottish
Named after the village of Leask in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.... [more]

Le Breton French
Describes someone from the French region Breton.

Leeds English
From the city of Leeds in Yorkshire. The name was first attested in the form Loidis in AD 731. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as 'Ledes'. This name is thought to have ultimately been derived from an earlier Celtic name... [more]

Lefrançois French
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.

Lehola Estonian
Lehola is an Estonian surname derived from the name of a village in ancient Sakala County.

Lehtsaar Estonian
Lehtsaar is an Estonian surname meaning "leaf(y) island".

Leibniz German
The German surname Leibnitz emerged in the lands that form the modern state of Lower Saxony, which is presently bordered by the North Sea, the Hartz mountains and the Elbe and Ems rivers. Lower Saxony was previously a medieval dukedom... [more]

Leinberg German
Habitational name for someone in Bavaria, or a topographic name from Middle High German lin meaning "flax" and berg meaning "mountain".

Leite Portuguese, Galician
Meaning "milk".... [more]

Lemberg Jewish
Habitational name from the city of Lviv in Ukraine, from its German name Lemberg.

Lemberg German
Habitational name from a place called Lemberg in Silesia, originally Löwenberg, from Middle High German lewe, löwe "lion" and berg "mountain".

Lencioni Italian
Italian. My family is from the Tuscany region of Lucca.

Leones Spanish
Habitational name for someone from the city of León in Spain. Coincides with the plural form of Spanish león "lion; cougar, puma".

Leran Armesian (Dutchified, Rare)
The surname Leran originates in the small dutch island called Armesa. It was the name of the Armesian ruling house from 1504-1884.

Lester English
Habitational name from Leicester which is recorded as Ligeraceastre in the 10th century. The placename derives from an Old English folk name Legore "the dwellers by the river Legor (a lost river name)" and Old English ceaster "city Roman fortification" (from Latin castrum) "camp fortress".

Leusink Medieval Dutch
Descendants from farmers from the Overijssel Province in the Netherlands. History can be traced to the middle ages, perhaps to a farm called Lossyng in the village of Neede.

L'hernault Medieval French
Originating in Northern France, Rouen River Valley, Normandie, L'Hernault is an Old French word for a "heralder", one who would act as an announcer, diplomat or town crier.... [more]

Liddell English
From the Liddel river, which takes its name from Okd English hl̄de “loud” + dæl “valley”.

Liell English (British)
Meaning: from the isle, from an island. Early versions of the name can be traced back to the Norman invasion in 1066, and a variation (de Insula) can be found in the Domesday Book... [more]

Lieshout Dutch
Originally indicated a person from the village of Lieshout in the province of North-Brabant, Netherlands. It is possibly derived from either 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".

Lihou Norman
From the island of Lihou.

Liinamäe Estonian
Liinamäe is an Estonian surname meaning "straight hill"; derived from "liin" meaning "straight/line" and "mäe" meaning "hill/mountain".

Liivamäe Estonian
Liivamäe is an Estonian surname meaning "sandy hill/mountain".

Liivamägi Estonian
Liivamägi is an Estonian surname meaning "sand mountain".

Lilienthal Jewish
Means "valley of lilies" in German, being this word derived from Lilie "lily" and Thal "valley".

Lilienthal German
habitational name from any of the places called Lilienthal in Schleswig-Holstein Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemburg named with Middle High German liljen "lilies" (from Latin lilium) and tal "valley".

Liljedahl Swedish, Norwegian
Ornamental name derived from Swedish lilje, a genitive form of lilja "lily" used in compounds, and the archaic word dahl (Old Norse dalr) meaning "valley"... [more]

Lillemägi Estonian
Lillemägi is an Estonian surname meaning "flowery mountain".

Lilleorg Estonian
Lilleorg is an Estonian surname meaning "flower(y) valley".

Lillingstone English
It indicates familial origin within either of 2 villages in Buckinghamshire: Lillingstone Dayrell or Lillingstone Lovell.

Limoges French
From the city and various places in France of the same name called Limoges.

Lindahl Swedish
Combination of Swedish lind "lime tree" and dal "valley".

Lindell English
Derived from various places in England named with Old Norse lind "lime tree" and dalr "valley".

Lindenberg German, 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]

Lindmäe Estonian
Lindmäe is an Estonian surname meaning "bird mountain/hill".

Lindstedt Swedish
Combination of Swedish lind "lime tree" and stad "town, city" (spelling possibly influenced by German Stadt, also meaning "town, city").

Linn Estonian
Means "city" in Estonian. Compare Finnish Linna "castle".

Linna Estonian
Linna is an Estonian surname meaning (urban) "town" or "city".

Linnamäe Estonian
Linnamäe is an Estonian surname meaning "urban (city) mountain".

Lipschitz German, Jewish
The name is derived from the Slavic "lipa," meaning "linden tree" or "lime tree." The name may relate to a number of different place names: "Liebeschitz," the name of a town in Bohemia, "Leipzig," the name of a famous German city, or "Leobschutz," the name of a town in Upper Silesia.

Lisboa Portuguese
Habitational name for someone from the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon (called Lisboa in Portuguese).

Listrat French
From Occitan "listrat" meaning "chopped off, striped" or from "Listrac", a commune in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwest France.

Lively English
A modern English surname possibly derived from a lost village called Laefer-leah which would give it the meaning "the farm by the lake".... [more]

Liyanaarachchi Sinhalese
From Sinhala ලියන (liyana) meaning "writing" combined with the colonial-era title ආරච්චි (arachchi) used to denote a village headman or leader.

Ljungberg Swedish
Combination of Swedish ljung "heather" and berg "mountain".

Llapashtica Kosovar, 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.

Łobaczewski Polish
This indicated familial origin within either Łobaczew Duży or Łobaczew Mały, 2 Polesian villages in Gmina Terespol.

Loch German
From German Loch "hole", ultimately derived from Middle High German loch "hole, hollow, valley".

Lockley English
Refers to the region of Loxley in Staffordshire, England.

Löfdahl Swedish
Combination of Swedish löv "leaf" and dal "valley".

Lõhmussaar Estonian
Lõhmussaar is an Estonian surname meaning "linden island".

Lokhvitskiy Ukrainian (Rare)
This indicates familial origin within the city of Lokhvytsia in Ukraine.

Lolokhoev Ingush (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.

Longbottom English, Literature, Popular Culture
English (West Yorkshire) topographic name for someone who lived in a long valley, from Middle English long + botme, bothem ‘valley bottom’. Given the surname’s present-day distribution, Longbottom in Luddenden Foot, West Yorkshire, may be the origin, but there are also two places called Long Bottom in Hampshire, two in Wiltshire, and Longbottom Farm in Somerset and in Wiltshire.

Lonsdale English
Habitational name from the district of Lonsdale (straddling Lancashire Yorkshire and Westmorland) and also from Lonsdale in Great Ayton (North Yorkshire). The district takes its name from the river Lune (of uncertain origin) annd Old English dæl "valley"... [more]

Loosaar Estonian
Loosaar is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "lood" ("level") and "saar" ("island"); or "loog" ("windrow") and "saar" ("ash tree").

Łopaciński Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Łopacin.

Lorraine French, English, Scottish
Habitational name from Lorraine a region in the northeastern part of France. Its name derives from the name of the medieval kingdom of Lothari Regnum which in turn was named for its sovereign Lothar (a personal name composed of the elements hlud "famous renowned" and hari/heri "army").

Losee Dutch (Anglicized)
Perhaps an Americanized spelling of Lossie, a vernacular derivative of the female personal name Lucia... [more]

Lott French
From the Department (Region/State)in France, "Lot" and "Lot-et-Garrone"; also a river in France (Lot). Brought to the British Isles, Holland (Netherlands) and later the United States, Canada and South Africa, by French Huguenots.

Loudon Scottish, English (Canadian)
This surname is Scottish, although also recorded in England. It is believed to be locational from the village of Loudoun, in the district of Cunningham, in the county of Ayrshire. The placename is composed of the Northern English word "low", meaning a flame or beacon, itself from the pre 7th century Norse word "loge", plus the Gaelic "doun", meaning a hill... [more]

Louisville English
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.

Lourinho Portuguese
Possibly from Lourinhã, a portuguese city to the northwest of Lisbon who possibly originated in the Roman period, when a villa named "Laurinana" existed in the area. Lourinho is a diminutive form of "louro", deriving from Latin laurus, "laurel".

Lousada Portuguese
Name given from the village of Lousada, in Northern Portugal.

Løvdahl Norwegian (Rare)
From the name of any of the numerous homes or places named Old Norse lauf "leaf foliage" and dalr "valley".

Löwenthal Jewish, Swedish
Ornamental name composed of German Löwe "lion" and T(h)al "valley". In some cases the Jewish name would have been an ornamental elaboration associated with the personal name Levi (or other names meaning "lion").

Lubeck German
Habitational name from the city of Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein.... [more]

Lubrański Polish
This indicates familial origin either within the Kuyavian town of Lubraniec or the adjacent village of Lubrańczyk.

Lucchese Italian
Denoted someone from Lucca, a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy.

Ludenberg German
From Latin ludere meaning "to play" and German berg meaning "mountain".

Lugo Spanish
Galician and Spanish habitational name from Lugo, a city in Galicia. This was a Roman settlement under the name of Lucus Augusti ‘grove or wood of Augustus’, but that may have been no more than an adaptation of an earlier name derived from that of the Celtic god Lugos.

Lumbanbatu Batak
From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and batu meaning "stone".

Lumbangaol Batak
From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and gaol meaning "banana".

Lumbantobing Batak
From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and tobing meaning "riverbank, edge".

Lumbantoruan Batak
From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and toruan meaning "lower (area or place), below".

Lumisaar Estonian
Lumisaar is an Estonian surname meaning "snow island".

Lundstedt Swedish
Combination of Swedish lund "grove" and stad "town, city" (spelling possibly influenced by German Stadt, also meaning "town, city").

Luque Spanish
Habitational name from the city of Luque in Córdoba, Spain, derived from Latin lucus meaning "sacred grove, wood, forest".

Luzon Tagalog (Hispanicized)
Named after an island in the Philippines. It is thought to derive from ᜎᜓᜐᜓᜅ᜔ "lusong", a Tagalog word referring to a particular kind of large wooden mortar used in dehusking rice... [more]

Lykoudis Greek
Lykoudis (Greek: Λυκούδης) is a Greek surname, derived from the Greek word for wolf (Greek: λύκος, lykos). It may also have been used for individuals from the village of Lykoudi in Greece.

Lyle English
Derived from Norman French l'isle "island".

Lynde Scottish Gaelic
Originated from the Strathclyde region of Scotland, meaning "waterfall," and located near the Castle of Lin.... [more]

Maamägi Estonian
Maamägi is an Estonian surname meaning "land/rural mountain".

Macis Italian
From Sardinian maccia "shrub, thick bush, brush", or possibly denoting someone from the village Simax.

Macorig Italian
An italian surname that in fact comes from slovene minority near Udine, it should be written Macoric'... [more]

Madani Arabic
Indicated a person from the city of Medina, itself from Arabic مدينة (madinah) meaning "city".

Madeiras Portuguese
Came from the Portuguese Madeira word "wood" or "timber". perhaps the portuguese version of the surname Woods or someone who's from the Portuguese island Madeira

Madonia Italian
Habitational name from any of numerous places named Madonia, or a regional name for someone from Madonie in Sicily.

Madraswala Indian (Parsi)
From Madras (presently Chennai), the name of the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Madrid Spanish
habitational name from what is now Spain's principal city Madrid. Throughout the Middle Ages it was of only modest size and importance and did not become the capital of Spain until 156 Its name is of uncertain origin most probably a derivative of Late Latin matrix genitive matricis "riverbed" much changed by Arabic mediation (see Madrigal ). There are other smaller places of the same name in the provinces of Burgos and Cantabria and these may also be sources of the surname.

Mäehans Estonian
Mäehans is an Estonian surname, a corruption meaning "mountain/hill city".

Maejima Japanese
Mae means "Front, Forward" and Jima means "Island". This is a variant of Maeshima.

Maejima Japanese
From Japanese 前 (mae) meaning "front, forward" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Mäekalle Estonian
Mäekalle is an Estonian surname meaning "hill/mountain slope".

Mäekivi Estonian
Mäekivi is an Estonian surname meaning "hill/mountain stone".

Mäeorg Estonian
Mäeorg is an Estonian surname meaning "mountain/hill glen".

Mäepõld Estonian
Mäepõld is an Estonian surname meaning "hill/mountain field".

Maeshima Japanese
Mae means "front, forward" and shima means "island".

Mäetalu Estonian
Mäetalu is an Estonian surname meaning "mountain/hill farmstead".

Maeyamada Japanese
Mae means "front, forward", yama means "mountain", and da is a variant of ta meaning "field, rice paddy, wilderness".

Maffione Italian
Possibly a derivative of the given name Maffeo. This surname is from the Puglia region of Barletta, southern Italy.

Magallanes Spanish
Spanish: Castilianized Form Of A Habitational Name From The Village Of Magaláns (Castilian Magalanes) In Pontevedra Province Galicia (Spain).

Magbanua Filipino, Cebuano
From Cebuano magbanwa meaning "townsperson", derived from Cebuano bánwa meaning "city, town".

Maghery Irish
Name for a resident of the village of town of Maghery in Northern Ireland.

Maghribi Arabic (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.

Magnesi Italian
Derived from the word "magnesia," which is an ancient term for a region in present-day Greece that was known for its deposits of magnesium and other minerals. The surname may have been given to someone who originated from this region or was associated with it.

Mahato Indian, 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".

Mahomes American
With Gaelic origins, Mahomes is a surname that is derived from the word “mathghamhan”, which means “bear”. A famous individual with the name is NFL Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

Maià Catalan
Habitational name from Maià de Montcal, a village in Girona, or any of several other places named with Maià, which is of pre-Roman origin.

Main Scottish, English, French, Norman
Various origins explained include:... [more]

Maisel Yiddish, German, French
Predominantly seems to be a matronymic surname from the Yiddish feminine name Mayzl. Although it is believed that it derived from the Hebrew name Meïser, which means “representative of God”... [more]

Maitra Bengali
Habitational name from either the village of Maitreya or Mohit (present-day locations unknown).

Majerle Slovene
Slovene surname Majerle, a variant of the Polish, Czech, and Slovak Majer, which was a status name for "steward, bailiff, tenant farmer, or village headman", from the German Meyer 1.

Majima Japanese (Rare)
Ma means "Real,Genuine" (this is used most likely,anyway) and Jima means "Island".

Maker English
From the name of a village in Cornwall, England, derived from Old Cornish magoer meaning "wall" or "ruin".

Makimura Japanese
Maki can mean (牧) "shepherd" and mura can be spelled like this (村) meaning "hamlet, village".

Makishima Japanese
From Japanese 牧 (maki) meaning "shepard" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Malešev Serbian (Rare)
It is believed that the name derives from the name of a mountain.

Malfa Italian, Sicilian
habitational name from Malfa on the island of Salina (Messina). Variant of Lamalfa.

Malkawi Arabic (Arabized)
The surname 'Malkawi' deprives from the town of Malka, a small village in Jordan bordering Syria.

Malmberg Swedish
Combination of Swedish malm "ore" and berg "mountain".

Malta Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
habitational or ethnic name for someone from the Mediterranean island of Malta (from Latin Melita Greek Melitē).

Maltese Italian
habitational or ethnic name for someone from the island of Malta.

Maltez Portuguese
Likely 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.

Manchester English
Habitational name from the city in northwestern England, formerly part of Lancashire. This is so called from Mamucio (an ancient British name containing the element mammā "breast", and meaning "breast-shaped hill") combined with Old English ceaster "Roman fort or walled city" (Latin castra "legionary camp").

Mandal Indian, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Odia, Marathi, Nepali
Derived either from a title given to the head of a village or from Sanskrit मण्डल (mandala) meaning "circle, wheel, disk, halo".

Manhattan English
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]

Manheim German, Jewish
Habitational name from the city of Mannheim in southwestern Germany (formerly the residence of the electors Palatine) so named from the ancient Germanic personal name Manno (see Mann ) annd Old High German heim "homestead"... [more]

Manjarrez Spanish
Habitational Name From Manjarrés A Village In La Rioja Province.

Manley English
Habitational name from places in Devon and Cheshire, named in Old English as "common wood or clearing", from (ge)mǣne "common, shared" and lēah "woodland clearing". The surname is still chiefly found in the regions around these villages.

Mannheim German, Jewish
Variant of Manheim. A habitational name from the city of Mannheim in southwestern Germany.

Mansell English (Canadian), Norman
Of Norman origin, a habitational or regional name from Old French mansel ‘inhabitant of Le Mans or the surrounding area of Maine’. The place was originally named in Latin (ad) Ceromannos, from the name of the Gaulish tribe living there, the Ceromanni... [more]

Mansour Arabic (Egyptian)
Originally referred to someone from the city of Mansoura (المنصورة‎) in Egypt.

Manteuffel German
The Manteuffel family is the name of an old and influential German Pomeranian noble family. Manteuffel family was first mentioned in 1256, but the family history officially begins with Henricus Manduvel who is first mentioned on 14... [more]

Manzanares Spanish
Habitational Name From The City Of Manzanares In Ciudad Real Province

Mao Chinese
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).

Marchesini Italian
Derived from the Latin word “marchese,” which means “marquis.” It is a title of nobility that was used in medieval Italy and referred to the leader of a march or border region. It likely refers to someone who was descended from or associated with a marquis or who held a similar position of authority in a border region.

Marigo Italian
Either from Venetian marigo "mayor of a rural village", or from the given name Amerigo.

Marjamäe Estonian
Marjamäe is an Estonian surname meaning "berry hill/mountain."

Marker German
Status name for someone who lived on an area of land that was marked off from the village land or woodland, Middle High German merkære.

Marquis French, English
for someone who behaved like a marquis or an occupational name for a servant in the household of a marquis, from Old Northern French marquis... [more]

Marrakchi Arabic (Maghrebi)
Habitational name for someone originally from the city of Marrakesh in Morocco.

Martirano Italian
Likely a habitational surname from a place in Catanzaro province in the Calabria region of Italy.

Maruya Japanese
From Japanese 丸 or 圓 (maru) meaning "round, full" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".

Maruyama Japanese
From Japanese 丸 or 圓 (maru) meaning "round, full" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Mascarenhas Portuguese
Possibly from the place Mascarenhas in the city Mirandela. Originated by Estêvão Rodrigues, Lord of Mascarenhas.

Mashhadi Persian
Indicated a person from the city of Mashhad in Iran, itself derived from Arabic مشهد (mashhad) meaning "place of martyrdom".

Mashima Japanese
Ma can mean "real, genuine, true" or "flax" and shima means "island".

Mashreque Muslim
Name for someone who came from the Mashreq region in the Middle East (modern Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq).

Massa Italian
A habitational name from any of the various places named Massa (for example, Massa Lubrense or Massa di Somma, both in the Metropolitan City of Naples, or Massa d’Albe in the Province of L'Aquila), which were all named from the medieval Latin word massa, meaning ‘holding’ or ‘estate’.

Massaro Italian
Regional or archaic form of Italian massaio meaning "tenant farmer, share cropper".

Massingham English
From the name of either of two villages in Norfolk, England, meaning "Mæssa’s village", composed of the personal name Mæssa and possessive suffix ing combined with ham "home, settlement".

Masterton Scottish (Rare)
From English Masterton, an area in the city of Dunfermline in the council area of Fife in Scotland.

Masuyama Japanese
From the Japanese 増 (masu) "increase," 益 (masu) "benefit," 桝 (masu) "box seat," "measure" or 升 (masu) "box" and 山 (yama) "mountain."

Masvidal Spanish
surname formed by the union of the word, mas, meaning a house from rural zones that is appart from the village and is surrounded by farming land and forests; and another word relating to the owner of the mas.

Matera Italian
Habitational name from Matera in Basilicata region.

Matharu Indian (Sikh, Modern)
Matharus were fierce warriors especially during, the time when the Matharu tribe, had converted to Sikhism; they fought numbers of wars for Guru Gobind Singh, Banda Singh Bahadur and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia.... [more]

Matheny French (Anglicized)
Of French origin. According to Matheny family tradition, this surname comes from the name of a village in France named Mathenay. This may also have been a French Huguenot surname.