LeusinkMedieval 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.
LevantEnglish Derived from the Italian word levante, meaning "rising" and the French word levant, meaning "to rise". The term entered the English language in 1497 and was used to describe the "Mediterranean lands east of Italy" by referring to the rising of the sun in the east... [more]
LevensteinJewish, Yiddish Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name, or perhaps an ornamental elaboration associated with the name Leyb; from Middle High German lewe ‘lion’, translating the Yiddish male personal name Leyb (see Low) + German stein ‘stone’, ‘rock’... [more]
LeverFrench, English Nickname for a fleet-footed or timid person, from Old French levre "hare" (Latin lepus, genitive leporis). It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a hunter of hares.
LeverEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived in a place thickly grown with rushes, from Old English lǣfer "rush, reed". Compare Laver. Great and Little Lever in Greater Manchester (formerly in Lancashire) are named with this word, and in some cases the surname may also be derived from these places.
LeverettEnglish Diminutive of Lever, from the Middle English personal name Lefred, Old English Leofræd, composed of the elements leof ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ + red ‘counsel’.
LeverichEnglish The surname Leverich was first found in West Yorkshire at Liversedge, a township that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Livresec, a manor belonging to Radulf, a vassal of Ilbert de Lacy... [more]
LevertonEnglish This surname combines the Old English personal female name Leofwaru or the Old English word læfer meaning "rush, reed" with another Old English word tún meaning "enclosure, field, farm, dwelling." The etymology with the female name addition fits in with the town of the same name in Berkshire while the etymology with the word addition fits in with the one in Lincolnshire.
LichtGerman, Dutch, Yiddish Means "light" or "candle". Could be an occupational name for a chandler, a topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing (see Lichte), or a nickname for someone who had light hair, or who was agile and slender.
LichtblauYiddish Means "light blue" in German. Leon Lichtblau was a pro-revolution communist who was imprisoned in Romania in 1921.
LichteGerman Habitational name for someone who lived in a clearing (see Lucht) or topographic name from a town in Germany, situated by the Lichte river. Alternatively, a variant of Licht.
LichtenGerman, Jewish From German licht meaning "light". Nickname for someone with a light complexion.
LichterGerman, Jewish Occupational name for someone who made candles or possibly for someone who tended a light, from an agent derivative of from Middle High German lieht, Yiddish likht "candle, light".
LickertGerman (East Prussian) Derived from the German feminine name Luitgard, and thus ultimately from Old High German liut "people" and garto "garden; enclosure".
LickfoldEnglish Derives from a hamlet in West Sussex, England. All known holders, worldwide, of this rare surname can be traced back to Lickfolds who lived within 20 miles of Lickfold in the 16th century.
LiddellEnglish From the Liddel river, which takes its name from Okd English hl̄de “loud” + dæl “valley”.
LiddiardEnglish From Celtic place names in England meaning "gray hill".
LiddingtonEnglish, Scottish (Rare) This surname is derived from a geographical locality. "of Liddington", a parish in Rutland, near Uppingham; a parish in Wiltshire, near Swindon.
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.
LieberknechtGerman A compound name where lieber is derived from the given name Liebert and kneckt is an occupational surname for a journeyman, derived from the Middle Low German knecht meaning "knight’s assistant, servant".
LiebermannGerman, Jewish Derived from German lieb or Yiddish lib meaning "dear, beloved". Many Liebermann families originally spelled the name in Hebrew or Cyrillic characters, so variations in the spelling occurred during transliteration to the Latin alphabet.
LiebrechtGerman From a Germanic personal name formed with liut "people, tribe" and berht "shining, famous".
LiellEnglish (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]
LiemDutch Habitual surname for Lieme in Eastphalia, which is from lim meaning "mire".
LiemanDutch From a Germanic personal name composed of liut "people", or possibly liob "dear, beloved", combined with man "person, man" (see Liutman, Liefman).
LieshoutDutch 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".
LietzenGerman Lietzen is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany.... [more]
LightEnglish Nickname for a happy, cheerful person, from Middle English lyght, Old English lēoht "light (not dark), bright, cheerful".
LightfootEnglish English (chiefly northern England, especially Liverpool): nickname for a messenger or for a fast runner, from Middle English lyght ‘light’, ‘nimble’, ‘quick’ (Old English lioht) + fote ‘foot’.
LighthallEnglish A habitational name from a place called Lightollars in Lancashire, so named from Old English leoht ‘light-colored’ + alor ‘alder’. The surname, however, is not found in current English sources.
LilienthalGerman 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".
LillyEnglish Derived from Lilly, 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]
LillywhiteEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with very fair hair or complexion. It was borne by English cricketers James Lillywhite (1842-1929), first captain of England, and William Lillywhite (1792-1854), pioneer of overarm bowling, uncle of James... [more]
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]
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]
LimbachGerman Derived from any of numerous places in Germany named with Germanic lindo meaning "lime tree" and bach meaning "stream". Several of these places are in areas such as the Palatinate, which contributed heavily to early German immigration to the United States.
LindberghSwedish (Rare), English (Rare) Rare variant spelling of Lindberg. A famous bearer was American aviator Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) who was the first person to fly non-stop from America to mainland Europe in 1927.
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
LindenbaumGerman, Jewish topographic name for someone who lived by a lime tree Lindenbaum or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a lime tree. Derived from the elements linta "linden" and boum "tree".
LindenbergGerman, 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]
LindenmeyerGerman Habitational name for the tenant of a farm identified by a lime tree, derived from Middle High German linde meaning "lime tree" and meier meaning "tenant farmer".
LinderGerman Derived from the German word linde, which means lime tree.
LindleyEnglish, German English habitational name from either of two places in West Yorkshire called Lindley, or from Linley in Shropshire and Wiltshire, all named from Old English lin ‘flax’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘glade’, with epenthetic -d-, or from another Lindley in West Yorkshire (near Otley), named in Old English as ‘lime wood’, from lind ‘lime tree’ + leah ‘woodland clearing’... [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]
LinekerEnglish From a place name composed of Old English lin meaning "flax" and æcer meaning "field". A famous bearer is retired English soccer player Gary Lineker (1960-).
LinelinGerman (Americanized) Of German origin, an anglicization of German "Leinlindt", which is a combination of surnames Lein meaning "linen" and Lindt meaning "gentle".
LinfordEnglish habitational name from Great and Little Linford in Buckinghamshire or Lynford in Norfolk. The former may have Old English hlyn "maple" as its first element; the latter is more likely to contain lin "flax" or alternatively the first element may relate to the river Lynn... [more]
LinleyEnglish This surname can be derived from a place of the same name in Shropshire, which is derived from Old English lín meaning "flax, linen" and leah meaning "clearing." As a modern surname, it can also be a variant of Lindley (Lindley is used in 2 places in Yorkshire), which is derived from Old English lind meaning "lime tree" and leah.
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.
LinneyEnglish From an Old English female personal name Lindgifu, Lindgeofu, composed of the elements lind ‘lime (wood)’, i.e. ‘shield’ (a transferred sense) + gifu, geofu ‘gift’.
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]
LionsEnglish Variant of Lyons influencd by the spelling of the word lion
LippincottEnglish A habitational name meaning "of Luffincott," a parish in Devon, England. Named from Old English uncertain first element + cot ‘cottage’.
LippsGerman Derived from Lippe, a place in Westphalia, Germany. The name is a variant of the first name Philipp.
LipschitzGerman, 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.
LischkeGerman A German surname of slavic origin. A historic bearer was Johann Lischke, a German Protestant reformer in the 16th century. The name may come from the German word “Lisch,” which can refer to a marshy or wetland area.
LittlewoodEnglish (British) This surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may be either a locational or topographical surname. If the former, it derives from any of several minor places in West Yorkshire, such as Littlewood in Wooldale near Holmfirth, all of which are so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century "lytel", little, small, and "wudu", wood... [more]
LittmanGerman (East Prussian), German (West Prussian), German, Jewish Derived from Germanized Czech personal names like Litomir (Czech: Ljutomir) and Litobor (Czech: Ljutobor) which ultimately go back to Old Slavic ljutu "grim; fierce; ferocious; wild". One theory suggests, however, that these given names might have been influenced by ljub- "love; dear".... [more]
LivelyEnglish 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]
LivelyEnglish Nickname from Middle English lifly, "lively", "nimble".
LivengoodGerman The surname LIVENGOOD is the Americanized version of Leibendgut. Leibengut is Swiss-German in origin. It has been written as Livengood and Levengood in America. Records show the family name back to 1550, in Aarwangen, Canton of Berne, Switzerland... [more]
LivermoreEnglish Derived from Old English lifer "rush reed, muddy water" and mere "lake".
LiverpoolEnglish Derived from Old English lifer "rush reed, muddy water" and pol "pool".
LivingstonEnglish, Scottish This surname is thought to be derived from Middle English Levingestun meaning "Leving's town" or "Leving's settlement."
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.
LockhartScottish, German Scottish: of uncertain origin, probably from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements loc ‘lock’, ‘bolt’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. English: occupational name for a herdsman in charge of a sheep or cattlefold, from Old English loc ‘enclosure’, ‘fold’ + hierde ‘herd(er)’.
LockyerEnglish Variant of Locklear. Lockyer is an occupational name of anglo-saxon origin meaning "locksmith".
LodgeEnglish Local name for someone who lived in a small cottage or temporary dwelling, Middle English logge (Old French loge, of Germanic origin). The term was used in particular of a cabin erected by masons working on the site of a particular construction project, such as a church or cathedral, and so it was probably in many cases equivalent to an occupational name for a mason... [more]
LoescherGerman German variant of Löscher, an occupational name for a fireman, from Middle High German leschen ‘to extinguish’. Als a variant of Loesch and Lescher or a derivative of Loesche.
LokerseDutch Possibly a patronymic form of a given name such as Lokke, or a habitational name from a place using the Middle Dutch element loken "to close, shut, fence" (compare Lock).
LomasEnglish, Scottish, Scottish Gaelic Variant spelling of "Lomax", meaning a steam pool devoted from Lumhalghs, Lancs. Also variant spelling of "Lennox", meaning Elmwood in Gaelic.
LomaxEnglish Lomax is a territorial surname, derived from the hamlet of Lumhalghs, near Bury, Greater Manchester, and meaning "pool nook" or "recess". Notable persons with the surname Lomax include: Alan Lomax (1915–2002) American musicologist, son of John Avery Lomax... [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.
LongbottomEnglish, 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.
LongfellowEnglish Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline.
LongfieldEnglish Derived from Old English lang "long" and feld "field".
LongleyEnglish Geographic name referring to multiple places by the same name in Yorkshire, England. The name comes from the word "long" plus Old English leáh "meadow".
LonsdaleEnglish 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]
LooDutch, German Means "clearing" in Dutch and North German.
LookEnglish Habitational name from Look in Puncknowle, Dorset, named in Old English with luce ‘enclosure’.
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]