MesmerGerman Occupational name for a maker of knives from Middle High German messer meaning "knife". A famous bearer was Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), a German doctor known for his theory of "animal magnetism", which was eventually incorporated into the field of hypnosis.
MesquitaPortuguese Means "mosque" in Portuguese, used as a topographic name for someone who lived near a mosque.
MessamEnglish (British) originates from a place called Measham in the county of Leicestershire. The placename is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, as Messeham, and in the Pipe Rolls of the county of 1182 as Meisham... [more]
MesserGerman Occupational name for an official in charge of measuring the dues paid in kind by tenants, from an agent derivative of Middle High German mezzen "to measure".
MesserScottish Occupational name for someone who kept watch over harvested crops, Middle English, Older Scots mess(i)er, from Old French messier (see Messier).
MesserschmidtGerman Name given to a knife smith. From German "messer" meaning knife, and "schmidt" meaning smith.
MessiItalian, Spanish (Latin American) Possibly from Italian messi meaning "messengers". Aamous bearer of this surname is Lionel Messi (born 1987-), an Argentinian footballer of Italian descent.
MessiaenDutch, French, Belgian Derived from Messiaen, the (archaic) Dutch form of the latinate first name Messianus, which itself is ultimately derived from the Roman praenomen Messus.
MessierFrench Occupational name for someone who kept watch over harvested crops, Old French messier 'harvest master' (Late Latin messicarius, agent derivative of messis 'harvest').
MessingGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German messinc meaning "brass", referring to a person who makes or repairs brass objects. A famous bearer is American actress Debra Messing (1968-).
MetcalfeEnglish An occupational name from Northern England, from Old English mete, 'food' and calf, 'calf', i.e calfs being fattened for consumption in late summer. Thus, making this surname an occupational name for either a slaughterer or herdsman... [more]
MetrejonLouisiana Creole (?), French (?) Maiden surname of Constance Leto (nee Metrejon). She was born in Louisiana and has Cajun(French) ancestry. The Metrejon line is traced back to Joseph Marie Maitrejean, who was born c. 1778, in Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, an island off the coast of Brittany.
MetsikEstonian Metsik is an Estonian surname meaning "wild" and " ferocious".
MetslaEstonian Metsla is an Estonian surname meaning "forest area".
MetslangEstonian Metslang is an Estonian surname meaning "forest cutting area"; derived from the compounds "mets "forest" and "lank" (cutting area).
MetsnõmmEstonian Metsnõmm is an Estonian surname meaning "forest heath/moorland".
MetsolaFinnish From Finnish metso meaning "wood grouse, capercaillie" and the suffix -la indicating a place. Metsola is the realm of forests in Finnish mythology.
MetsurEstonian Metsur is an Estonian surname meaning "forester".
MetwallyArabic (Egyptian) From Arabic متولي (mutawalli) meaning "responsible, entrusted with, charged with", ultimately from the word تَوَلَّى (tawalla) meaning "to take charge of, to take control of".
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]
MeutstegeDutch Possibly from Dutch meute meaning "pack, crowd" and steeg meaning "alleyway, lane, narrow path". Dutch former soccer player Wim Meutstege (1952-) bears this name.
MewbornEnglish Rare English name. The only place I have found it in the phone directory (other than several small towns in eastern North Carolina) is in Northumberland, UK. The word mew has to do with stables, and of course born is an English word.
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".
MheenakThai From Thai มีนัก (Minak) meaning "of Khmer royalty or nobility".... [more]
MianUrdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi From an honorific title used on the Indian subcontinent meaning "lord, master, sir" or "prince", derived from Persian میان (miyan) meaning "middle, centre, between".
MianoItalian Habitational name from Miano in Naples, Parma, and Teramo; Miane in Treviso; or Mian in Belluno.
MiaoChinese From Chinese 缪 (miào), another name for Duke Mu of Lu, an ancient official whose name (穆) had the same pronunciation as the character 缪. After his death, his descendants adopted 缪 as their surname.
MiaoChinese From Chinese 苗 (miáo) meaning "seedling, shoot, sprout", also referring to the ancient fief of Miao, which existed in the state of Chu during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
MichalskyPolish A variant of Michalski. "Polish and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name for someone from a place called Michale in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or Michały in Masovian Voivodeship both named with the personal name Michał (see Michal ). Jewish (from Poland): patronymic from the personal name Michal." ... [more]
MicklethwaiteEnglish Habitational name for a person from several places inside West Yorkshire, all derived from Old Norse mikill "great, large" and þveit "clearing, pasture".
MickleyFrench It originated when an immigrant family named Michelet came to New York from Northern France. Because they had a foreign surname, they made up the names Mickley and Michelin. The originator was Jean Jacques Michelet (John Jacob Mickley), a private in the Revolutionary War... [more]
MidlerEnglish Nickname for a person who causes trouble or meddles in the affairs of others, derived from Middle English medeler meaning "meddler, troublemaker, one who interferes". This name is borne by the American singer, actress and comedienne Bette Midler (1945-).
MidnightIrish Middle of the night, darkness, dark blue
MidōmaruJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 御 (mi-), a prefix added to emphasize beauty, 堂 (dō) meaning "temple, shrine, hall", and 丸 (maru) meaning "circle, sphere", referring to a round land.
MidorinoJapanese Midori means "green" and no means "field, plain".
MidoriyaJapanese (Rare), Popular Culture Combination of 緑 (midori) meaning "green" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley," used on the main character Izuku Midoriya (緑谷 出久) in 'My Hero Academia'.... [more]
MikalEthiopian The Origin of Mikal comes from the Hebrew meaning... [more]
MikalauskasLithuanian A Lithuanian surname. Lithuanian surnames have a base which would be Mikalausk for this name. If you are a male in the family your name would change to Mikalauskas. If you are female that is married your surname would be Mikalauskiene... [more]
MikamiJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 上 (kami) meaning "above, top, upper".