Submitted Surnames Starting with L
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
LAAGER EstonianLaager is an Estonian surname meaning "camp"; ultimately from the German "lager" with the same meaning.
LAAKSO FinnishFrom
laakso ‘valley’, generally an ornamental name adopted during the name conversion movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Often, it was adopted by Finnish bearers of Swedish names containing the Swedish element
dal ‘valley’.
LÄÄN EstonianLään is an Estonian surname meaning "liege" or "fief". May also derive from "lääne" meaning "western".
LAAN EstonianLaan is Estonian surname derived from "laanelill"; starflower and wintergreen (Trientalis europaea).
LAANEMÄE EstonianLaanemäe is an Estonian surname meaning "wintergreen hill/mountain".
LAANEOTS EstonianLaaneots is an Estonian surname meaning "wintergreen tip" or "edge".
LAANEPÕLD EstonianLaanepõld is an Estonian surname meaning "chickweed-wintergreen field".
LAANOJA EstonianLaanoja is Estonian surname derived from "laanelill", meaning "starflower" and "wintergreen" (Trientalis europaea) and "oja" meaning "stream/creek".
LAAR EstonianLaar is an Estonian name meaning "gyle" (wort in the process of fermentation added to a stout, beer, or ale).
LAAS EstonianLaas is an Estonian surname meaning "greenwood" (wood that has been recently cut) and "woodland".
LAASIK EstonianLaasik is an Estonian surname meaning "woodland area/stand".
LAASMAA EstonianLaasmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "forest/woodland land".
LAASPERE EstonianLaaspere is an Estonian surname meaning "forest/woodland folk".
LAATS EstonianLaats is an Estonian name derived from "laat", meaning "fair" or "attractive".
LABAKHUA AbkhazAbkhaz name derived from Arabic لَاحَظَ
(lāḥaẓa) meaning "to notice, to look" combined with بَهِيجَة
(bahīja) meaning "delightful, joyous" (see
Bahija). The spellings were altered by historical changes in the Abkhaz language, and the name was traditionally used to refer to descendants of ancestors named "Lavahiz" and "Bahija".
LABORDE FrenchOccupational or status name for a tenant farmer, from
borde "small farm" (from Frankish
bord "plank") and the definite article
la.
LABRADOR Spanish, Portuguese, FilipinoFrom the root word "labora" meaning labor or work. This means laborer or worker but often associated to farmers as in San Isidro Labrador
LABRIE FrenchTopographic name from l’abri meaning "the shelter", or a habitational name from a place named with this word.
LACERDA Portuguese, SpanishNickname for someone with remarkably thick or long hair, or with an unusually hairy back or chest. From Spanish and Portuguese
la cerda ‘the lock (of hair)’.
LACHTRUP DutchMeans 'laughing group' in Dutch. Also occurs in Germany, but mostly in the Netherlands.
LACKEY IrishLackey was originally a name for a horse servant.
LACOMBE FrenchFrench (western and southwestern): topographic name for someone living in or near a ravine, from la combe ‘the ravine’ (a word of Gaulish origin, related to English Combe)....
[more] LACROIX FrenchMeans "the cross" in French. It originally denoted someone who lived near a cross.
LADLEY EnglishProbably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place.
LADULÅS Old SwedishMost likely from Swedish
ladulås "barnlock", but it could also be derived from the Slavic name
Ladislaus. Magnus Ladulås, sometimes known as Magnus Birgersson or Magnus III in English, was the king of Sweden between 1275 and 1290.
LAES EstonianLaes is an Estonian surname meaning "fore" and "overhead".
LAFLÈCHE French (Quebec)A French-Canadian secondary surname from "Richer dit Laflèche," used independently since 1746. Laflèche is derived from the French town of La Flèche, in the former province of Anjou.
LAFRANCHI AlpinePossibly, the Frank. Thought by some to indicate a group of merchants in Middle Ages responsible for the transalpine trade to the French.
LAGASSE FrenchFrench: nickname from Old French agace, agasse ‘magpie’ + the definite article l’.
LAGE EstonianLage is an Estonian surname meaning "plain" or "flat".
LAGERLÖF SwedishA notable bearer was Swedish author
Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature (1909).
LAGERQUIST SwedishOrnamental name composed of the elements
lager ‘laurel’ +
quist, an old or ornamental spelling of
kvist ‘twig’.
LAGHI ItalianPossibly originated to denote someone from the Italian town of Laghi.
LAGLE EstonianLagle is an Estonian surname (and feminine given name) meaning "goose".
LAGRANGE FrenchFrench: topographic name for someone who lived by a granary, a variant of
Grange, with the definite article la.
LAHAIE FrenchLocational name for someone who lived near a hedge or large bush, from old French "La" the and "Haie" hedge.
LAHE EstonianLahe is an Estonian surname meaning both "spacious" and "easy-going".
LAHEY IrishLahey and Leahy originate from two different Gaelic surnames. Lahey, Lahy, Lahiff, Lahiffe, Laffey, and Lahive all originate from the Gaelic surname O Laithimh, which itself is a variant of O Flaithimh...
[more] LAHIFFE Irish (Rare)From Irish
Ó Laochdha meaning "descendant of the hero" or "descendant of the heroic", ultimately from
laoch "warrior, hero".
LAHLOU Arabic (Maghrebi)Derived from Arabic حُلْو
(ḥulw) meaning "sweet" or "nice, charming", chiefly used in Moroccan Arabic.
LAHNER German, HungarianHabitational name for someone from any of various places called Lahn in Hungary and Germany. In southern Germany and Austria, Lahn denotes a place where there had been an avalanche or landslide, from Middle High German laen, lēne meaning "avalanche".
LAHT EstonianLaht is an Estonian surname, meaning "bay" or "gulf".
LAHTINEN FinnishA combination of Finnish
lahti "bay" and the common surname suffix
-nen.
LAI EstonianLai is an Estonian surname meaning "wide", "vast" and "spacious".
LAIK EstonianLaik is an Estonian surname meaning "blotch", "stain" and "spot".
LAINEVOOL EstonianLainevool is an Estonian surname meaning "flowing wave" (literally, "wave flow").
LAING ScottishScottish form of
LANG. A famous bearer was the explorer Alexander Gordon Laing.
LAISAAR EstonianLaisaar is an Estonian surname meaning "wide/expansive island".
LAKE EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Old English lacu, or a habitational name from a place named with this word, for example in Wiltshire and Devon. Modern English lake (Middle English lake) is only distantly related, if at all; it comes via Old French from Latin lacus...
[more] LAKERBAIA AbkhazMingrelian form of the Abkhaz aristocratic family name
Lakrba possibly from Abkhaz а-лакра
(a-lakra) meaning "in thickets, to catch in thickets" or "to rank, to include". It was most likely used to refer to a hunter or a member of a large group of peasants.
LAKK EstonianLakk is an Estonian surname meaning "hay loft".
LAKOBA AbkhazFrom the nickname
Lako, possibly meaning "swamp" in Abkhaz (denoting someone who lived in a marshy area).
LAKUNTZA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Navarrese municipality.
LAL Indian, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Malayalam, Nepali, BengaliMeans "darling, precious, beloved", from Sanskrit
lala meaning "cajoling". It can also mean "boy" or "red, ruby" in Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali.
LALATOVIC SerbianPossibly derived from the slavic word for "tulips",
lale or from son of
Lala (a nickname for
Lazar)
LALIEV Ossetian (Russified)Russified form of an Ossetian surname derived from Georgian ლალი
(lali) meaning "ruby", ultimately from Sanskrit लाल
(lāl).
LALONDE FrenchFrench (Normandy): habitational name from any of various places in Normandy, so named from Old Norse
lundr ‘grove’, with the definite article
la.
LAMA Tibetan, NepaliA Buddhist name found among people of Tibet and Nepal, from the Tibetan
blama, meaning "priest" or "monk".
LAMALFA SicilianVariant of
Malfa, most probably a habitational name for someone from Malfa on the island of Salina (Messina), although the name has also been linked with Amalfi in Salerno and Melfi in Potenza.
LAMANTIA ItalianItalian:vail, the last name of a general in Palrmo, Sicily, Italy.
LAMARRE FrenchHabitational name from any of the places in Normandy called La Mare, from Old Northern French
mare "pool, pond" (Old Norse
marr).
LAMB EnglishA nickname for a gentle or malleable person or an occupational name for someone who raised or cared for young sheep. Can take the form
Lum.
LAMBERG GermanHabitational name from any of several places so called in Bavaria, Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein.
LAMBERG SwedishPossibly of German origin, but perhaps an ornamental name composed of an unexplained first element combined with
berg "mountain".
LAMBILLOTTE French (Modern)Currently, a common name in Wallonia, Belgium with some descendants in USA. Believed to be derived from three terms..."lamb" "ill" "otte". The first term has remained unchanged from early Germanic term; the second is latin for "of the" and the third a dimiuative or feminine form suffix...
[more] LAMOND ScottishScottish classical pianist and composer; Henry George Lamond has this surname. It means lawyer.
LAMPELA FinnishFrom Finnish word
lampi which means "pond" or "pool". There is almost 2000 Finns and 127 people from other countries with this name.
LAMSHED EnglishSurname common in Australia & the UK. A variation of
Lambshead which was originally a mis-spelling of Lambside which was the area from which the family originated in Pommyland. Other variations include
Lambshed,
Lamshead,
Lammyside and
Lamesta...
[more] LANBARRI BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Gueñes.
LANCASHIRE EnglishShire of Lancaster; One who came from Lancashire, a county in the North of England.
LANCASTER EnglishHabitational name from Lancaster in northwestern England, named in Old English as ‘Roman fort on the Lune’, from the Lune river, on which it stands, + Old English
cæster ‘Roman fort or walled city’ (Latin
castra ‘legionary camp’)...
[more] LANCE EnglishFrom the Germanic personal name
Lanzo, originally a short form of various compound names with the first element land ‘land’, ‘territory’ (for example, Lambert), but later used as an independent name...
[more] LANCER JewishOrnamental name from German
Lanze "lance, spear" combined with the agent suffix
-er.
LANCKOROŃSKI PolishThis denotes familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Lanckorona.
LAND English, GermanTopographic name from Old English
land, Middle High German
lant, "land, territory". This had more specialized senses in the Middle Ages, being used to denote the countryside as opposed to a town or an estate.
LĀNDA PunjabiLānda (ਲਾਨਦਾ) is a Punjabi surname that is used amongst families belonging to the Bhat tribe. The bearers of this surname belong to the gotra Lākhanpal, which is of Kshatriya origin.
LANDA PolishNickname for a persistent and irritating person, from a derivative of the dialect verb
landzić "to ask insistently, badger someone".
LANDAZURI BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Mimetiz.
LANDE French, Norwegian, JewishFrench: topographic name for someone living on a heath,
lande (from Gaulish
landa ‘space’, ‘land’), or a habitational name from any of numerous minor places named La Lande from this word....
[more] LANDETXO BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Mungia.
LANDIBAR BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Urdazubi.
LANDIN SwedishA combination of Swedish
land "land" and the common surname suffix
-in, derived from Latin
-inus,
-inius "descendant of"
LANDIS German, German (Swiss)German and Swiss German nickname for a highwayman or for someone who lays waste to the land, from Middle High German
landoese.
LANDRY French, EnglishFrom the Germanic personal name
Landric, a compound of
land "land" and
ric "powerful, ruler".
LANEZO SpanishMeans "Lanezo's street" from Basque abas "Lanezo" and kale "street".
LANGARIKA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Iruraitz-Gauna.
LANGELAND NorwegianDerived from the elements
lang meaning "long" and
land meaning "land" or "farmstead".
LANGFIELD EnglishCombination of Old English
lang meaning "long" and
feld meaning "stretch of open country". It could serve either as a topographic surname or a habitational surname for someone from one of the many locations named "Langfield" (ex...
[more] LANGFORD Literature, EnglishAn English habitational name from any of the numerous places named in Old English as ‘long ford’, from
lang,
long ‘long’ +
ford ‘ford’, except for Langford in Nottinghamshire, which is named with an Old English personal name
Landa or possibly
land, here used in a specific sense such as ‘boundary’ or ‘district’, with the same second element.
LANGHORN English, Danish, DutchNorthern English: probably a habitational name from a minor place in Soulby, Cumbria, called Longthorn, from Old English
lang ‘long’ +
horn ‘projecting headland’, or a topographic name with the same meaning....
[more] LANGSTON EnglishMeans "long stone"; derived from Old English
lang meaning "long" and
stan meaning "stone". It can also be used as a given name.
LÅNGSTRUMP LiteratureLast 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".
LANSDOWNE French, EnglishThe first marquis lansdowne, land owners for there lords and farmers also know as tenants.
LANSING EnglishDerived from the name of
Lancing, a place in West Sussex, which was composed of the Old English personal name
Wlanc and
-ingas meaning "family of" or "followers of".
LÄNTS EstonianLänts is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "lant", meaning "drail".
LANTZ GermanHabitational name from places called Lanz or derived from the given name
Lanzo.
LANTZIEGO BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
LANUZA AragoneseThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Sallén de Galligo.
LAOS EstonianLaos is an Estonian surname meaning "in-store".
LAPLANDER EnglishA surname referring to someone who had immigrated from Lapland, northern Scandinavia.
LAPORTE FrenchTopographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town (and often was in charge of them; thus in part a metonymic occupational name), from Old French
porte "gateway", "entrance" (from Latin
porta, "door", "entrance"), with the definite article
la...
[more] LAPP GermanFrom 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] LARDIZABAL BasqueThis indicates familial origin within Lardizabal Palace, a mansion in Segura, Comarca of Goierri.
LARIVIÈRE French (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.
LAROSE ItalianTopographic 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] LARRAGA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Navarrese municipality.
LARRAIN BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Adios.
LARRALDE BasqueThis indicates familial origin within any of several eponymous localities in the former French province of Lapurdi.
LARRAÑAGA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the vicinity of the eponymous farmhouse in the municipality of Azpeitia.
LARRAZABAL Basque, SpanishThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Arteaga, Comarca of Arratia-Nerbioi.
LARRION BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Allin.
LARTER EnglishFrom the old Teutonic word 'lahtro' which is to do with a place that animals bear their young. This was modifed in several dialects to be 'lahtre', 'lattr', 'lauchter' and 'lawchter'. ...
[more] LASALLE French1. 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] LASCELLES FrenchFrench location name from Lacelle in Orne, northern France and referring to "small rooms or cells inhabited by monks".
LASICHANH UnknownLasichanh is the surname of Pharrell Williams wife Helen Lasichanh.
LASIEWICKI PolishI don't know meaning history.Please tell me the meaning and history of my name
ŁASKA PolishFrom a homonym meaning "weasel." Actual surname means "favour, grace." A famous bearer is Polish singer Katarzyna Łaska (1979-present) professionally known as Kasia Łaska.
LASKARIS GreekFrom 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".
LASKI Polish, Hungarian, JewishPolish (Laski) and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name from Lasko (now Lask) in Sieradz voivodeship, named with laz, lazy ‘clearing in a forest’. ...
[more] LASS EstonianLass is an Estonian surname, a corruption of "laas", meaning "woodland".
LÄTE EstonianLäte is an Estonian surname meaning "fountain" or "wellspring".
LATHAM English (British)Habitational name from any of the places in England named with the Old Norse word
hlaða meaning "barn".
LATIMER EnglishEnglish occupational name for a Latinist, a clerk who wrote documents in Latin, from Anglo-Norman French
latinier,
latim(m)ier. Latin was more or less the universal language of official documents in the Middle Ages, displaced only gradually by the vernacular—in England, by Anglo-Norman French at first, and eventually by English.
LATINO ItalianFrom the medieval personal name Latino, originally an ethnic name for someone of Latin as opposed to Germanic, Byzantine or Slavic descent.
LATOSZYŃSKI PolishThis indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Latoszyn.
LÄTT EstonianLätt is an Estonian surname, probably derived from "Läti", meaning "Latvia", or "läte" meaning "spring" and "fountain".
LATTANZIO ItalianMy 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] LÄTTEMÄE EstonianLättemäe is an Estonian surname derived from "läte" meaning "spring" or "fountain" and "mäe" meaning "hill" and "mountain"; "spring mountain".
LATTIK EstonianLattik is an Estonian surname meaning "bar" or "lathe".
LAU EstonianLau is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "lauk" meaning "table" or "desk" or "laul" meaning "song".
LAUDER Scottish, Northern IrishFrom 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'.
LÄUFER German, JewishHabitational 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’.
LAUGHTON EnglishHabitational 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] LAUK EstonianLauk is an Estonian surname meaning both "leek" and "coot" (Fulica).
LAUR EstonianLaur is an Estonian surname, a shortened for of "Lauri"; a masculine given name.
LAURI EstonianLauri is an Estonian surname (and given name); from the masculine given name "Lauri", a shortened form of "Laurits".
LAURIMAA EstonianLaurimaa is an Estonian surname meaning "Lauri's land" (Lauri is an Estonian masculine given name).