McelhenneyIrish This interesting surname is of Irish origin, and is an Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic "MacGiolla Chainnigh". The Gaelic prefix "mac" means "son of", plus "giolla", devotee of, and the saint's name "Canice".
McnicholasIrish The McNicholas family stretches back through time to the Viking settlers who populated the rugged shores of Scotland in the Medieval era. The name McNicholas was derived from from the personal name, Nicholas... [more]
MeiklejohnScottish A Scottish distinguishing name for identifying the larger or eldest (Older Scots meikle "large") or elder of two men called John. (See also Mickle).
MendenhallEnglish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous place in Wiltshire.
MendigurenBasque From the name of a hamlet meaning "edge of the mountain" in Basque.
MendinuetaBasque From the name of a village in Itzagaondoa, Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque mendino "small mountain" and the toponymic suffix -eta "place of, abundance of".
MendizabalBasque Means "wide mountain", derived from Basque mendi "mountain" and zabal "wide, broad, ample". This was also the name of a neighborhood of Arratzua-Ubarrundia that the falangists demolished in 1959 to make way for a reservoir.
MerrifieldEnglish English habitational name from any of various places, such as Merryfield in Devon and Cornwall or Mirfield in West Yorkshire, all named with the Old English elements myrige 'pleasant' + feld 'pasture', 'open country.' See also Merivale.
MetsäniemiFinnish Finnish surname derived from metsä meaning forest and niemi meaning peninsula.
MeusburgerGerman (Austrian) The history of this last name is that it means "Mountain Dweller." Being as part of the Austrian surnames, it's a widely used one in it's home country. A few brothers had gone to various countries, as of now there is Meusburgers in Columbia, as well as the United States and throughout Europe... [more]
MezzadonnaItalian Means "half a woman" in Italian, from mezza "half" and donna "lady, woman".
MezzanotteItalian Means "midnight" in Italian, perhaps given to someone who was born at midnight.
MezzasalmaItalian From Italian mezza "half" and salma, an archaic term for a small unit of land, indicating that the bearer was not very wealthy. Salma also coincides with an Italian word meaning "corpse".
MikkelborgNorwegian Norwegian variant of the originally German surname Mecklenburg, which came to Norway during the hanseatic era.
MikkelsaarEstonian Mikkelsaar is an Estonian surname derived from the masculine given name "Mikkel (Mihkel)" and "saar", meaning island; "Mikkel's island".
ModiglianiItalian Used by Sepharditic Jews, this surname comes from the Italian town of Modigliana, in Romagna. Famous bearers of this surname include painter Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920) and Nobel Prize in Economics recipient Franco Modigliani (1918–2003).
MolinaroloItalian Probably from a person's occupation, with molino/mulino meaning "mill" in Italian. The second part may come from rullo, meaning "a roller" or "I roll."
MonasterioSpanish Means "monastery" in Spanish, denoting a person who lives or works in a monastery.
MoncrieffeScottish Clan Moncreiffe is a Scottish clan. The name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic Monadh croibhe which means "Hill of the sacred bough". The plant badge of Clan Moncreiffe is the oak, this presumably comes from the sacred tree.... [more]
MondithokaTelugu (Modern) they are honest people and having helping nature. at history one person has bull cart some time it was went into dig then all people was trying and trying for lift the cart. but no use from those,after that people were shouting as a bigger like come on 'mondithoka' this word not surname of farmer his bull has short tail... [more]
MondscheinGerman, Jewish topographic or habitational name referring to a house name meaning "moonshine" or a nickname for someone who was bald from the same word Middle High German mōnemān(d)e "moon" and schīn "shine".
MoneymakerEnglish (American) Translated form of German Geldmacher or Geldschläger, occupational names for a coiner.
MoneypennyEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a rich person or a miser. A fictional bearer is Miss Moneypenny, secretary to M (the head of MI6) in the James Bond novels of Ian Fleming and in the films based on them.
MonomachosGreek Meaning gladiator or 'the one that fights alone.' A surname of a Byzantine family from Nicomedia (Izmit).
MontalbanoItalian Habitational name from Montalbano di Elicona in northeastern Sicily (earlier simply Montalbano), Montalbano Jonico (Matera province), or the district of Montalbano in Fasano, Brindisi.
MontapertoItalian My father tells me this name means "open mountain." It seems to have come from a small area around Agrigento in Sicily, Italy.
MonteagudoSpanish Habitational name from any of numerous places called Monteagudo (‘pointed mountain’) from monte ‘mountain’ + agudo ‘sharp pointed’ (from Latin acutus from acus ‘needle’) for example in the provinces of Murcia Teruel A Coruña and Navarre.
MontecalvoItalian Habitational name from any of various places called Montecalvo ("bald mountain") especially Montecalvo Irpino in Avellino province, from the elements monte "mountain" and calvo "bald".
MontefioreItalian, Jewish Derived from Montefiore, which is the name of several places in Italy. For example, there is Castle Montefiore in the town of Recanati (province of Macerata), the municipality of Montefiore Conca (province of Rimini) and the municipality of Montefiore dell'Aso (province of Ascoli Piceno)... [more]
MonteleoneItalian From various place names, meaning "mountain lion", or "mountain of the lion".
MontemayorSpanish Habitational name from any of several places called Montemayor, from monte meaning "mountain" + mayor meaning "main", "larger", "greater", in particular in the provinces of Cordova, Salamanca, and Valladolid.
MontenegroSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in Spain and Portugal named Montenegro, from Spanish and Portuguese monte meaning "mountain, hill" and negro meaning "black".
MonterrosoGalician This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
MontesinosSpanish Topographic name for someone who lived on a mountain from a derivative of monte 'mountain' (from Latin mons gentive montis).
MonteverdeGalician Habitational name from Monteverde in Ourense province, Galicia.
MonteverdeItalian Habitational name from any of various places called Monteverde, for example in Avellino province, from monte meaning "mountain" + verde meaning "green".
MonteverdiItalian Derived from Italian monte meaning "mountain" and verdi meaning "green"; literally means "green mountain".
MontpelierEnglish, French English and French variant of Montpellier. This is the name of several places in the United States, for example the capital city of the state of Vermont, which was named after the French city of Montpellier.
MoranvilleFrench Habitational name from a commune in France named Moranville, probably derived from the personal name Morand and Old French ville "city, town, settlement".
MosbruckerGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a bridge over a swamp, from Middle High German mos meaning "bog", "swamp" + brucke meaning "bridge".
MoscatelliItalian The name Moscatelli has its origins in a type of grape called Moscatel. This grape has its origin in ancient Egypt or Greece, but it was in Italy that it became famous. Here the farmers that planted the grape became known as the Moscatelli.
MoszkowskimPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Mosaki in Masovian Voivodeship.
MotherwellScottish Means "person from Motherwell", North Lanarkshire ("Our Lady's well"). American artist Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) was a known bearer.
NascimentoPortuguese (Brazilian) Means "birth, nativity" in Portuguese, from Late Latin nascimentum, a derivative of Latin nasci "to be born". This was originally a religious byname. It was also an epithet of the Virgin Mary (Maria do Nascimento), and was used as a given name for children born on Christmas.
Natt och DagOld Swedish, Swedish (Rare) Means "night and day" in Swedish. This is the name of one of the oldest noble families in Sweden. The name is believed to be a reference to the family's coat of arms which consisted of a blue and a golden field, the blue symbolizing night and the gold symbolizing day.
NeuenfeldtGerman Habitational name for someone from places so named in Brandenburg and Pomerania, or from places in Lower Saxony or Westphalia called Neuenfelde.
NightshadeLiterature Meaning unknown. Possibly derived from the English word night or just a combination of night and shade. A notable fictional bearer is Enid Nightshade from Jill Murphy's books, The Worst Witch, as well as the television adaptations.
NordlanderSwedish Combination of Swedish nord "north" and the common surname suffix -lander (a combination of land "land" and the habitational suffix -er).
NørregaardDanish An alternate spelling of Nørgaard. Literally meaning north farm in Danish.
NorzagaraiBasque (Rare) From the name of a house in the municipality of Álava, Spain, derived from Basque garai "high, tall, top" and an uncertain first element.
NottinghamEnglish (British) A habitational name from the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands. Comes from the Old English name, meaning "homestead (ham) of Snot’s people". The initial S- was lost in the 12th century, due to the influence of Anglo-Norman French.... [more]