KitchenhamEnglish Occupational surname for a person who was in charge of the kitchen in a royal or noble house, or a monastery. From the Anglo Saxon cycene (German: Küche Dutch: kjøkken Latin: cocina Italian: cucina)
KitzmillerEnglish (American) Americanized form of German Kitzmüller, literally ‘kid miller’ ( see Kitz + Muller ), a nickname for a miller who kept goats; alternatively, the first element may be from a personal name formed with the Germanic element Gid-, cognate with Old English gidd ‘song’.
KlingemannGerman Occupational surname for a knife maker, literally meaning "knife maker, weapons smith". It is derived from German klinge meaning "blade".
KnatchbullEnglish A nickname from Old English knatch "to strike" + bull "bull", indicating strength.
KönigsbergJewish Associated with the Polish/Prussian/German/Russian town Königsberg, now called Kaliningrad. This surname was borne by the parents of American actor, writer, teacher, and director Walter Koenig (1936-) before they emigrated to the United States.
KotromanićMedieval Serbian The Kotromanić were a late medieval Bosnian and Serbian noble family. The name is thought to have originated from a knight named Cotromano.
KowalewskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name for someone from places called Kowalew or Kowalewo, named with kowal "smith" or an occupational name for a blacksmith.
KronenbergGerman, 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".
KrzyżewskiPolish Derived from the name of any of the villages called Krzyżewo in Poland. A notable bearer is American basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (b. 1947).
KumanomidōJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 熊野 (Kumano), a name of a shrine that is/was somewhere in Ōita in Japan, 御 (o), a honorific indicator, and 堂 (dō) meaning "temple, shrine, hall", referring to a hall in Kumano Shrine.... [more]
KumanomidōJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 熊野 (Kumano), a name of a shrine that was somewhere in the former Japanese province of Kii in parts of present-day Wakayama and Mie in Japan, 御 (o), a honorific indicator, and 堂 (dō) meaning "temple, shrine, hall", referring to a hall in Kumano Shrine.... [more]
KumarasiriSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit कुमार (kumara) meaning "boy, prince" and श्री (shri) meaning "diffusing light, radiance, splendour, beauty".
KunfermannRomansh Younger form of Gufermann, which was derived from Romansh gufer "rubble, shingle" combined with German Mann "man". This name was given to someone who lived near a place filled with rubble.
LabossiereFrench 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'.
LæstadiusSwedish 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.
LamichhaneNepali Means "long roof" from Nepali लामो (lāmo) meaning "long" and छाना (chānā) meaning "roof". It was traditionally used to refer to families that lived in houses with longer roofs.
LångstrumpLiterature Last name of Pippi Långstrump, the original Swedish name for Pippi Longstocking, a character invented by Astrid Lindgren. Pippi's name was allegedly made up by Lindgren's daughter Karin. It's a combination of Swedish lång "long" and strumpa "sock".
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.
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.
LefrançoisFrench 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.
LétourneauFrench Nickname for a chatty, gregarious person or an occupational name for a birdcatcher, derived from French l'étourneau meaning "the starling".
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]
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.
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.
LilienthalJewish Means "valley of lilies" in German, being this word derived from Lilie "lily" and Thal "valley".
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".
LilleallikEstonian Lilleallik is an Estonian surname meaning "floral/flower source".
LilleväljaEstonian Lillevälja is an Estonian surname meaning "floral/flowery outside".
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]
LimanowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish town of Limanowa.
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]
LingerfeltAmerican (South) Americanized spelling of German Lingenfeld, a habitational name from a place so named in the Palatinate.
LippincottEnglish A habitational name meaning "of Luffincott," a parish in Devon, England. Named from Old English uncertain first element + cot ‘cottage’.
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]
LomishviliGeorgian Basically means "child of a lion” in Georgian, from Georgian ლომი (lomi) meaning "lion" combined with an Eastern Georgian surname suffix -შვილი (-shvili) meaning "child".
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.
LoudermilkGerman In German the word “lauter” translates into English as “pure” and the German word “milch” translates into English as “milk”. This surname belonged to those who worked in the dairy industry.
LouisvilleEnglish 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.
LöwensteinGerman Habitational name from any of several places called Löwenstein.
LowensteinJewish Combination of German Löwe "lion" and stein "stone". In some cases an ornamental name associated with the name Levi (see also Levy and Lew 2).
LumbanbatuBatak From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and batu meaning "stone".
LumbangaolBatak From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and gaol meaning "banana".
LustgartenJewish An invented Jewish name based on German Lustgarten "pleasure garden" (perhaps alluding to the Garden of Eden). It was borne by British barrister, writer and broadcaster Edgar Lustgarten (1907-1978), presenter of television crime reconstructions.
LytvynenkoUkrainian It indicates being a descendant of someone who lived in the medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania but wasn't necessarily of the Lithuanian ethnicity.