LabordeFrench Derived from the French word borde meaning "small farm" (from Frankish bord meaning "plank") with the definite article la. This is an occupational surname for a tenant farmer.
LakeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Old English lacu, or a habitational name from a place named with this word, for example in Wiltshire and Devon. Modern English lake (Middle English lake) is only distantly related, if at all; it comes via Old French from Latin lacus... [more]
LemmingDanish Derived from any of the places in Denmark called Lemming where the first element lem "lamb" is combined with the suffix -ing denoting a place.
LinzmeyerGerman, Portuguese (Brazilian) Means "bailiff of Linz, Austria" in German, derived from Proto-Celtic *lentos (“bend”) and Middle High German meier meaning "bailiff, administrator", derived from Latin maior meaning "greater".... [more]
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.
LordEnglish A surname derived from someone of a lordly manner, or perhaps one who had earned the title in some contest of skill or had played the part of the ‘Lord of Misrule’ in the Yuletide festivities.... [more]
LotsijDutch Apparently a Dutchified form of the Polish surname Illotzki.
LoudonScottish, 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]
MalletAnglo-Norman, Medieval English, French, Catalan Originated in Norman France and spread to England following the Norman conquest of 1066. The surname comes from the given name Malle, an Old English diminutive of Mary or from the given name Malo, a popular form of the name of Saint Maclovius, a 6th-century Welsh monk who the church of Saint Maclou in Rouen is named for.... [more]
ManteuffelGerman 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]
MavromichalisGreek Means "black Michalis (Michael)" in Greek. In Mani, it is said to derive from an orphan named Μιχάλης (Michalis). Because of the dark clothing worn during times of mourning, orphans were often called μαύρος (mavros) meaning "black".
MerlinEnglish, French, German From the given name Merlin as well as referred to the blackbird, that is named merle in French and merlo in Italian and Spanish... [more]
OrrisEnglish (Canadian) This unusual and interesting name is of Italian, Latin origin, and derives from one of the earliest Roman names, "Horatius". The name is thought to mean something connected with "hora", the Latin for "hour", but the original meaning has been lost... [more]
PantazisGreek Derived from the Greek wish: πάντα να ζει! (panta na zei!) or πάντα ζεις! (panta zeis!) meaning "live forever!", from the Greek πάντα (panta) meaning "always" and ζεις (zeis) meaning "live"... [more]
PaveseItalian Means "one from Pavia". Pavia is an Italian town located in Lombardy, northern Italy. It can also derive from pavese, a kind of big, Medieval shield.... [more]