MarquisEnglish, French From the title of nobility, which originally denoted an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. A march was originally denoted as a border region at a frontier. The word marquis was derived from Late Latin marchensis, from Frankish *marku "boundary, border"... [more]
MarreroSpanish Occupational name for a stonecutter, derived from Spanish marrear "to hit with a sledgehammer", ultimately from Latin marra "hoe, hook, spade".
MarschallGerman, English occupational name for a man in the service of a member of the nobility originally one who looked after the horses derived from Middle High German marschalc from Latin mariscalcus, ultimately from Old High German marah "horse" and scalc "servant"... [more]
MarselliCatalan Catalan family that appears in the feudal list of 1355 with a Francis, lord of Chia.
MarslandEnglish Probably derived from some place named as being a boggy place, from Old English mersc meaning "marsh" and land meaning "land". Alternatively, it may be a variant of Markland.
MarsmanDutch Derived from Middle Dutch marsch, mersch (Southern Dutch meers), meaning "marsh". In some cases, however, it can also be a variant of Meersman.
MarstellerGerman Occupational name for a stable boy in or for the supervisor of the stables on a noble estate, from Middle High German mar(c) 'noble horse' stall 'stable' + the agent suffix -er.
MartaOld Celtic (Latinized, Archaic) It is a small animal from the variety of mammals living in Spain and is prized for its skin has great finesse. Also known like Beech Marten (Stone Marten or White Breasted Marten).
MartelloItalian Southern Italian: nickname for someone with a forceful personality, from Italian martèllo ‘hammer’ (Late Latin martellus), or a metonymic occupational name for someone who used a hammer in their work.
MártirSpanish from mártir "martyr" probably a nickname for someone devoted to the religious cult of a Christian martyr or perhaps one who had played the part of a Christian martyr in a religious play.
MartiranoItalian Likely a habitational surname from a place in Catanzaro province in the Calabria region of Italy.
MartireItalian from martire "martyr" probably a nickname for someone who had played the part of a Christian martyr in a religious play. However there was a Saint Martire and so the surname may be derived from a personal name.
MartonEnglish habitational name from any of several places so called Marton principally in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, and North Yorkshire named in Old English as "settlement by a lake" (from mere or mær "pool, lake" and tun "settlement") or as "settlement by a boundary" (from gemære "boundary" and tun "settlement").
MarttinenFinnish Derived from the given name Martti and the name suffix -nen, which is sometimes patronymic. John Morton (1725-1777), Pennsylvania/American politician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was descended from a Marttinen family whose name had been anglicized as Morton.
MaruggRomansh Derived from the given name Maurus, combined with the diminutive suffix -ugg. Another theory, however, derives this name from Late Latin maior domus "mayor of a palace" (compare Meyer 1).
MarvelEnglish Either (i) from a medieval nickname (often ironic) for someone regarded as a prodigy; or (ii) "person from Merville", the name of two places in northern France ("smaller settlement" and "settlement belonging to a man with a Germanic name beginning with Meri-, literally 'famous'")... [more]
MarwahaIndian, Punjabi From a place called Marwah in Jammu and Kashmir, India, meaning uncertain.
MarwoodEnglish From the name of two places named Marwood in England, or a nickname for a person who "casts an evil eye", derived from Norman French malreward meaning "evil eye, glance".
MarxGerman From a short form of the given name Markus. A famous bearer was Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German philosopher known for his work in socioeconomic theory.
MarzoukiArabic (Maghrebi) From the given name Marzouq (chiefly Tunisian and Moroccan). A notable bearer is Moncef Marzouki (1945-), who was the fourth President of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.
MasakiJapanese Surname of Japanese origin meaning "true blossoms" which comes from combing 真 (ma) meaning "true, genuine" with 咲 (saki) meaning "blossom".
MasakiJapanese From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".
MasakiJapanese From Japanese 正 (masa) meaning "right, proper" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
MasatoJapanese From Japanese 正 (masa) meaning "right, proper", 雅 (masa) meaning "elegant, graceful" or 真 (masa) meaning "real, genuine, true" combined with 人 (to) meaning "person". Other combinations of kanji that have the same pronunciation can also form this name... [more]
MascarenhasPortuguese Possibly from the place Mascarenhas in the city Mirandela. Originated by Estêvão Rodrigues, Lord of Mascarenhas.
MaschPolish Possibly a rough translation of marsh, given to people who lived near marshes.
MascheranoItalian Occupational name for maker of masks, derived from Italian mascherare meaning "to mask". The Argentine former soccer player Javier Mascherano (1984-) is a famous bearer of this name.
MaseratiItalian Most notably the Italian luxury car manufacturer Maserati, founded in Bologna, Italy all the way back in December 1914.
MaseyEnglish, Scottish, French, Norman English and Scottish (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of various places in northern France which get their names from the Gallo-Roman personal name Maccius + the locative suffix -acum.... [more]
MasihUrdu, Indian (Christian), Hindi From Urdu مسیح (masih) or Hindi मसीह (masih) referring to the Christian messiah (Jesus Christ), both ultimately from Arabic مسيح (masih). This name is common among Pakistani and North Indian Christians.
MasihuddinArab The name Masih Uddin combines Masih, meaning “Messiah” (a title for Jesus Christ in Christian and Islamic traditions), and Uddin, meaning “of the faith” or “of the religion.” The name can be understood as “Messiah of the Faith”.
MaslinEnglish Derived from the Middle English and Old French given names Mazelin and Mazelin, double diminutives of names containing the Germanic element mahal "meeting, assembly; speech, court"... [more]
MaslovRussian, Jewish Derived from Russian масло (maslo) meaning "butter", originally used as an occupational name for someone who worked as a dairyman or sold dairy products.
MasopustmCzech From a Czech nickname meaning "carnival", originally given to a festive person. A famous bearer was the Czech soccer player Josef Masopust (1931-2015).
MassaItalian A habitational name from any of the various places named Massa (for example, Massa Lubrense or Massa di Somma, both in the Metropolitan City of Naples, or Massa d’Albe in the Province of L'Aquila), which were all named from the medieval Latin word massa, meaning ‘holding’ or ‘estate’.
MassaraItalian, Greek Either a feminine form of Massaro or from the equivalent occupational or status name in medieval Greek, (massaras meaning ‘peasant’ or ‘share cropper’) which is from the word massaria meaning ‘small farm’.
MassaroItalian Regional or archaic form of Italian massaio meaning "tenant farmer, share cropper".
MasseDutch Derived from Middle Dutch masse "clog; cudgel", this name might have been a metonymic occupational name for someone who wielded a club. In some cases, however, it may also have been a patronymic of Maas.
MasseterEnglish Perhaps means "brewery worker" (from Middle English mash "fermentable mixture of hot water and grain" + rudder "rudder-shaped stirrer").
MassinghamEnglish From the name of either of two villages in Norfolk, England, meaning "Mæssa’s village", composed of the personal name Mæssa and possessive suffix ing combined with ham "home, settlement".
MassipCatalan Derived from Latin mancipium, meaning "(purchased) slave".
MastDutch Derived from Middle Dutch mast "(ship's) mast; pole", a nickname for a tall, lanky man. Alternatively, it can derive from the homonym mast "pig fodder, animal fodder".
MastGerman, Dutch Derived from Middle High German and Middle Dutch mast "mast (fodder made of acorns and beechnuts); the process of fattening livestock", an occupational name for a pig farmer or a swineherd. In some cases, however, the German name may also have been derived from Middle High German mast, mastic "fat, stout".
MastenEnglish This surname came from when a family lived in the settlements named Marsden in Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
MastenbroekDutch Originally indicated a person from the polder area of Mastenbroek in the Dutch province of Overijssel, as well as a small village built around a church in the middle of that polder area. The place names derive from Middle Dutch mast meaning "pole, mast" or "pig feed, fodder" combined with broek meaning "marsh, wetland".
MastermanEnglish occupational name meaning "servant of the master" from Middle English maister "master" (Latin magister "teacher, master, leader") and mann "man".
MastinFrench, Flemish, Walloon occupational name for a household servant or guard from Old French mastin "watchdog, manservant" (from Latin mansuetudinus "domestic"). The Old French word had the further sense of a bad-tempered dog and was used as an adjective in the sense of "bad cruel".
MastrangeloItalian From Italian mastro "master, expert craftsman" combined with the given name Angelo.
MastrantonioItalian From the Italian title mastro meaning "master craftsman", combined with the given name Antonio. A famous bearer is American actress and singer Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (1958-).