LentEnglish, German, Dutch Nickname from either Old English lencten meaning "spring season, springtime" or from Germanic langa-tinez meaning "long days" which refers to the increasing daylight of spring. Likely a nickname for someone who was born or baptized during springtime.
LiebGerman, Jewish Nickname for a pleasant or agreeable person, from Middle High German liep "dear, beloved"; Yiddish lib or German lieb. This word was also used as a personal name, both alone (German) and in compounds (German and Jewish).
LiebGerman From a short form of the various compound Slavic personal names formed with lubo- "love" as the first element.
LilyEnglish Derived from Lily, a pet name for Elizabeth. It was also used as a nickname for someone with fair skin or hair, and is derived from Old English lilie meaning "lily (the flower)"... [more]
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone living on the banks of the river of this name (of pre-Roman origin, probably akin to a Celtic element lemos, limos 'elm').
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone who lived on the banks of the Lima River in Portugal, most likely derived from Indo-European *léymō meaning "lake".
LimbMedieval English Rare name of medieval English origin. A dialectal variant of the locational name 'Lumb', from places so called in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, and derives from the Old English pre-7th Century 'lum(m)'... [more]
LineEnglish Americanized form of German Lein: occupational name for a grower of or dealer in flax from Middle High German līn, meaning “flax”.... [more]
LinéFrench (Rare) From Old French liné meaning "made of linen". This name was an occupational name for someone who weaved linen or was a linen merchant.
LingChinese From Chinese 凌 (líng) meaning "ice", originally used as an occupational name for a palace official who was in charge of storing and handling ice.
LinnGerman Toponymic surname derived from Germanic lin "swamp, bog, marsh".
LinnGerman Derived from the given name Linto, a short form of names containing the element lind "soft, flexible".
LinnGerman (Silesian), Jewish (Ashkenazi) Derived from the Slavic word lin "tench (fish)", a nickname for a fisherman, or for a person who somehow resembled a tench.
LoamEnglish 1 English and Scottish: unexplained. The name is recorded in both England and Scotland. It may be a variant of Scottish Lour, a habitational name from Lour, formerly a part of the parish of Meathielour.... [more]
LöbeGerman Variant of Löwe from Middle High German lēwelöuwe "lion" hence a nickname for a brave or regal person. 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.
LõbuEstonian Lõbu is an Estonian surname meaning "fun" and "merriment".
LochGerman From German Loch "hole", ultimately derived from Middle High German loch "hole, hollow, valley".
LockEnglish, Dutch, German Habitational name from any of various places derived from Old English loca meaning "(locked) enclosure, stronghold".
LoduEstonian Lodu is an Estonian surname meaning "marsh" or "fen".
LoenNorwegian Loen is a Norwegian place name derived from Old Norse Ló, meaning “flat land” or “meadow,” referencing fertile, flat areas near water, often used for farming in ancient times.
LohuEstonian Lohu is an Estonian surname derived from "lohutus", meaning "comfort" and "console".
LoiaItalian Most likely a variant of Aloia. May alternately be related to Italian loggia "atrium, open-roofed gallery", Greek λεώς (leos) "the people", or Tuscan loia "dirt, filth on clothes or skin", perhaps a nickname for someone with a profession that often made them dirty, such as mining.
LoidEstonian Loid is an Estonian surname meaning "languid" and "inert".
LoikEstonian Loik is an Estonian surname meaning "puddle".
LoitEstonian Loit is an Esotnian surname meaning "flare". Also, probably from "loits", meaning "incantation" or "spell".
LokkEstonian Lokk is an Estonian surname meaning "crimp" or "curl".
LõppEstonian Lõpp is an Estonian surname meaning "end".
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]
LordFrench Nickname from Old French l'ord "the dirty one".
LottEnglish from a medieval personal name brought to England by the Normans, of uncertain origin. It may be the Hebrew personal name Lot ‘covering’, which was relatively popular in northern France, or a reduced form of various names formed with the diminutive suffix -lot (originally a combination of -el + -ot), commonly used with women’s names.
LottFrench 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.
LoudEnglish from the English word "loud", given to a loud or, in jest, quiet person
LoupFrench From the French word loup meaning "wolf."
LouwAfrikaans Louw is a surname that has pre 7th century Germanic origins. It is a Dutch/Flemish variant on the word Lowe, meaning Lion.
LuddEnglish Etymology uncertain. Possibly derived from Middle English ladde "male servant, commoner, boy", or from Old English lade "bearing, carrying; way, passage, watercourse". In the case of Ned Ludd, legendary founder of the Luddite movement, it may have originated in the surname Ludlam.
LuggEnglish English (Devon) probably from a local vernacular derivative of Lucas. However, Reaney posits an Old English personal name, Lugga, from which this name could be derived.
LugoSpanish 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.
LuhtEstonian Luht is an Estonian surname meaning "marsh" or "watery meadow".
LukeEnglish From a derivative of Lucas. This was (and is) the common vernacular form of the name, being the one by which the author of the fourth Gospel is known in English.
LukkEstonian Lukk is an Estonian surname meaning "lock".
LunzGerman Nickname for a careless or slovenly person, from Middle High German lunzen 'to doze'. Can also be a habitational name for someone from Lunz in Tyrol.
LuudEstonian Luud is an Estonian surname meaning "brush" and "broom".
LuupEstonian Luup is an Estonian surname meaning "sloop" as well as "hand lens".
LuurEstonian Luur is an Estonian surname meaning "reconnaissance".
LüüsEstonian Lüüs is an Estonian surname meaning "lock" and "sluice".
LuzaBasque Surname originally used by people from Lusa, Castro Urdiales, Spain. It comes from the Basque word "luze" (long, tall), possibly of Celtic origin.
LyleEnglish Derived from Norman French l'isle "island".
MaceEnglish, French English: from a medieval personal name, a survival of Old English Mæssa, which came to be taken as a pet form of Matthew.... [more]
MaiaPortuguese Habitational name from any of several places named Maia, especially one in Porto.
MaiaBasque From the name of a village in Navarre, Spain, called Amaiur in Basque, derived from amai "end, boundary, limit" (compare the given name Amaia).
MaiàCatalan 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.
MainScottish Derived from a short form of the Scandinavian personal name Magnus.
MannSanskrit (Anglicized) Originally Sanskrit, now in Punjabi and Hindi - used by Jats predominantly in Punjab area of NW India. Well represented in Sikhs. Also spelled as {!Maan} when anglicized. Belonged to landholding nobility of warrior caste (knights) that at one time held a strong and established kingdom.... [more]
ManoItalian From the given name Mano, a short form of names such as Romano.
ManoJapanese From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or 間 (ma) meaning "pause" and 野 (no) meaning "field, plain, wilderness".
MappEnglish From a variant of the medieval female personal name Mabbe, a shortened form of Amabel. A fictional bearer is Elizabeth Mapp, busybodyish spinster in the 'Mapp and Lucia' novels of E.F. Benson.
MariEstonian Mari is an Estonian surname (and feminine given name), meaning "berry".
MariJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 鞠 (mari) meaning a type of ancient football used by courtiers.
MarkEnglish, German, Dutch Topographic name for someone who lived on a boundary between two districts, from Old High German marka "border, boundary, march". The German term also denotes an area of fenced-off land (see Marker) and, like the English word, is embodied in various place names which have given rise to habitational names.
MarxGerman From a short form of the given name Markus. A famous bearer was Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German philosopher known for his work in socioeconomic theory.
MaryFrench Habitational name from places in Saône-et-Loire, Seine-et-Marne, and Nièvre, named in Latin as Mariacum meaning "estate of Marius".
MastDutch Derived from Middle Dutch mast "(ship's) mast; pole", a nickname for a tall, lanky man. Alternatively, it can derive from the homonym mast "pig fodder, animal fodder".
MastGerman, Dutch Derived from Middle High German and Middle Dutch mast "mast (fodder made of acorns and beechnuts); the process of fattening livestock", an occupational name for a pig farmer or a swineherd. In some cases, however, the German name may also have been derived from Middle High German mast, mastic "fat, stout".
MaukCzech, Russian The word Mauk is the Eastern European meaning for night. In the early ages a small group of people in the area now known to be in or around Russia and the czech republic founded this word and made it their name... [more]
MaulGerman, Danish From Middle High German meaning "mouth, jaw". Possibly a nickname for someone with a deformed mouth or jaw.