LappGerman From Middle High German lap(pe) ‘cloth’, ‘patch’, ‘rag’; a metonymic occupational name for a mender of clothes or shoes, or a nickname for a simple-minded person.... [more]
LapsleyScottish, English, Medieval English Combination of Old English læppa ”end of a parish” and leah ”woodland clearing”. Another meaning could be possible.
LardinoisFrench Originally denoted a person from the Ardennes, a forest-covered region situated in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. A notable bearer of this name was the Dutch politician and diplomat Pierre Lardinois (1924-1987).
LardizabalBasque, Filipino Habitational name derived from Basque lahardi "brushland, place of brambles" and zabal "wide, broad, ample".
LarivièreFrench (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.
LarkEnglish From the name of the bird, a nickname for a singer or a cheerful person, or perhaps someone who caught and sold larks. Alternatively, could be a shortened form of the personal name Larkin.
La RosaItalian Derived from Italian rosa meaning "rose", used as a name for someone who lived by a rose bush.
LaroseFrench Topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew; or a habitational name from a town house bearing the sign of a rose. It may also have been a nickname for a man with a ‘rosy’ complexion, as well as a nickname of a soldier... [more]
LarragaBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque larre "pasture, meadow, prairie" and the locative suffix -aga "place of, group of".
LarrainBasque Means "threshing floor" in Basque. This is also the name of a hamlet in Navarre, Spain.
LarraldeBasque Derived from Basque larre "pasture, meadow, prairie" and -alde "near, by; side".
LarramendiBasque Means "pastureland, mountain grassland", derived from Basque larre "pasture, meadow, prairie" and mendi "mountain".
LarrañagaBasque, Spanish From the name of a farmhouse in Azpeitia, Spain, derived from Basque larrain "threshing yard" and -aga "place of, group of".
LarrazabalBasque, Spanish Habitational name derived from Basque larre "field, pastureland, prairie" and zabal "wide, open, ample".
LarregiBasque (Archaic) Derived from Basque larre "pasture, meadow, prairie" and -(t)egi "place of".
LarterEnglish Uncertain etymology. Possibly a variant of the French Habitational surname Latour. Other theories connect it to Old Teutonic lahtro "place where animals bear young", or to Old English lyrt "liar, deceiver; crooked", though the latter is unlikely.
LarussoItalian Derived from the Italian word "Rosso," which comes from the Latin words "Rubius and Rossius," which mean "red." As a surname, larusso was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a reddish complexion.
LasagnaItalian From Italian (lasagna) denoting a popular Italian dish made of stacked layers of thin flat pasta alternating with fillings such as ragù and other vegetables, cheese, seasonings and spices.
LasalleFrench 1. French: local name or occupational name for someone who lived or worked at a manor house, from Old French sal(e) ‘hall’ (modern French salle; see also Sale), with the definite article la... [more]
LaskarisGreek From ancient and medieval Greek laskaris, a kind of soldier, from Persian laeshkaer "army". This is the same word as Urdu lascar "sailor" and Arabic el-askari "the army", "the troops".
LaskiPolish, Hungarian, Jewish Polish (Laski) and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name from Lasko (now Lask) in Sieradz voivodeship, named with laz, lazy ‘clearing in a forest’. ... [more]
LasterEnglish Occupational name for a shoemaker, or for someone who made lasts, a wooden tool in the shape of a foot used for stretching and shaping leather when making boots.
LatimerEnglish English occupational name for a clerk who could translate documents to and from Latin and/or other languages, from Anglo-Norman French latinier, latim(m)ier.
LatinoItalian From the medieval personal name Latino, originally an ethnic name for someone of Latin as opposed to Germanic, Byzantine or Slavic descent.
LatoHungarian, Polish From Hungarian látni meaning ‘to see’, hence a nickname for a wise person or an occupational name for a clairvoyant, or possibly for an official who checked the quality of products at markets.... [more]
LatoszyńskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Latoszyn.
LatourFrench Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a tower usually a defensive fortification or watchtower from Old French tūr "tower"; or a habitational name from any of various places called Latour or La Tour named with this word.
LattanzioItalian My great-great grandmother's name was Patrizia Maria Lattanzio. After she passed and my Great-grandmother sent my grandmother to America, the officials mis-spelled her name on her documents and the last name was shortened to Lattanzi... [more]
LättemäeEstonian Lättemäe is an Estonian surname derived from "läte" meaning "spring" or "fountain" and "mäe" meaning "hill" and "mountain"; "spring mountain".
LattikEstonian Lattik is an Estonian surname meaning "bar" or "lathe".
LauGerman nickname for a physically strong person from Middle High German louwelauwe "lion". In some cases the surname may have been a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or inn distinguished by the sign of a lion... [more]
LauEstonian Lau is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "lauk" meaning "table" or "desk" or "laul" meaning "song".
LauderScottish, 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'.
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]
LäuferGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from a place called Lauf, also an occupational name for a messenger or a nickname for a fast runner, from an agent derivative of Middle High German loufen, German laufen ‘to run’.
LaufferGerman The lauffer name is generally thought to have evolved from a place name to a surname. ... Versions of the name that evolve from the word "läufer," which meant "runner," are thought to have originally been an occupational name for a messenger.
LaughtonEnglish Habitational name from any of the numerous places in England so called. Most of them, as for example those in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (near Gainsborough), Sussex, and West Yorkshire, are named with Old English leac ‘leek’ + tun ‘enclosure’... [more]
LauncestonCornish Derived from the Cornish place name Lannstevan. Besides the Cornish town, there is also a Launceston in Tasmania (Australia).
LaunderEnglish From English launder, itself from French lavandier both meaning "washerman".
LauperGerman (Swiss) From the short form of a Germanic personal name composed of the elements liut 'people', 'tribe' + berht 'famous'. topographic name for someone who lived at a Lauben, a row of houses and stores with an arcade in front, from Middle High German loube 'arbor', 'bower', 'gallery'.
LaupmaaEstonian Laupmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "front/fore land".
LaurEstonian Laur is an Estonian surname, a shortened for of "Lauri"; a masculine given name.
LauraItalian Either from the given name Laura or a topographic name from Latin laurea meaning "laurel".
LauraSpanish Of uncertain origin; in some cases, it is possibly a habitational name from a place named Laura.
LaurelSpanish, 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.
LaurisooEstonian Laurisoo is an Estonian surname meaning "Lauri's (a masculine given name) swamp". However, the name is probably an Estoniazation of the masculine given name "Lauri" and the Germanic suffix "son"; "Lauri's son".
LautermilchGerman (Modern) Comes from German words Lauter, meaning 'pure', or 'nothing but', and Milch, meaning 'milk'. This could mean that the people who first used this name were farmers.
LavenderEnglish, Dutch Occupational name for a washerman or launderer, Old French, Middle Dutch lavendier (Late Latin lavandarius, an agent derivative of lavanda "washing", "things to be washed"). The term was applied especially to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool or rinsed the cloth after fulling... [more]
LaverEnglish Occupational name for a washer, from French laveur (see Lavers). Also the name of a parish in Essex, England.
LaveranFrench The surname Laveran probably became popular as a first name thanks to the French Nobel Prize in Medicine Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran. Laveran discovered that protozoan parasites were the causative agent of malaria.
LaverdièreFrench Habitational name from various places named La Verdière in France, or a variant of the name Leverdier (see Verdier).
LaverdiereFrench (Quebec) Said to be a locational or occupational name related to land and greenery. Related to the Cauchons, descended from Quebec. A noble Paris woman was sent to Quebec for marriage in the 17th century.
LaversEnglish 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]
LaveryIrish, Northern Irish From the Gaelic Ó Labhradha, "descendants of Labhradha" (speaker, spokesman, the father of Etru, chief of the Monagh of the Irish over-kingdom of Ulaid); the name of an ancient family originating from Magh Rath (present-day Moira, County Down, Northern Ireland)... [more]
LavieFrench Dialectal variant of French voie "way, road", ultimately from Latin via "road, street, path", combined with the French feminine article la.
LavioletteFrench, French (Quebec), French (Acadian) A secondary surname, associated with some forty family names in Canada and also used independently since 1698, a nickname from the flower violette ‘violet’, with the definite article la. In feudal France it was a name given to soldiers and domestic servants.
LawfordEnglish From any of several places in England called Lawford, derived from the personal name Lealla (cognate with Old High German Lallo), and ford "ford, river crossing".
LawlerIrish, Scottish This Irish surname is of Gaelic language origin. The surname derives from the original Gaelic 'O'Leathlobhair' meaning 'descendant of leathlobhair'. Leathlobhair derives from 'Leath' meaning 'Half' and 'Lobhar' meaning 'leper'.... [more]
LawtonEnglish Habitational name, common in Lancashire and Yorkshire, from Buglawton or Church Lawton in Cheshire, or Lawton in Herefordshire, named in Old English as ‘settlement on or near a hill’, or ‘settlement by a burial mound’, from hlaw ‘hill’, ‘burial mound’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]