LivingstonEnglish, Scottish This surname is thought to be derived from Middle English Levingestun meaning "Leving's town" or "Leving's settlement."
LivingstoneScottish, Irish, Jewish Scottish: Habitational name from a place in Lothian, originally named in Middle English as Levingston, from an owner called Levin (Lewin), who appears in charters of David I in the early 12th century.... [more]
LöschLow German, Upper German North German metonymic occupational name for a maker of fine leather, from Middle Low German losche ‘fine leather’. South German variant of Lesch (see Loesch).
LouganisGreek Variant of Loukanis. A famous bearer is American former olympic diver Greg Louganis (1960-).
LovelockEnglish From a medieval nickname for a dandy or a man conceited about his appearance (from lovelock, a term for an elaborately curled lock of hair). This surname is borne by British scientist James Lovelock (1919-), formulator of the "Gaia" concept.
LoveraItalian, Spanish Either a topographic name from lovera "wolf pack" or "wolves’ lair" or a habitational name from a place called Lovera. Spanish variant of Lobera.
LøvlandNorwegian Habitational name derived from Norwegian løv "leaf" (Old Norse lauf) and land "land", probably referring to areas where deciduous trees grew.
LowryLumbee The surname is prominent. The earliest time this name is scene is when a grandchild of man named James Lowery is called James Lowry in the 1700s. This name was self-identified as an Indian Name in the Robeson County, North Carolina 1900 census... [more]
LuChinese From Chinese 陆 (lù) referring to the ancient territory of Lu, which existed in the state of Qi in what is now Shandong province. Alternately, it may be from 陸渾 (Lù Hún), the name of an ancient nomadic tribe that established a state in the area that is now Henan province.
LuChinese From Chinese 鲁 (lǔ) referring to the ancient state of Lu, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
LưVietnamese Vietnamese form of Lu 2, from Sino-Vietnamese 盧 (lư).
LữVietnamese Vietnamese form of Lu 1, from Sino-Vietnamese 呂 (lữ).
LykovRussian Derived from Russian лыко (lyko) meaning "bast". The founder of the surname may have been a shoemaker or a ropemaker.
LysovmRussian From Russian лысый (lysyy), meaning "bald". Compare Ukrainian Lysenko.
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.
MaherIrish (Rare) The originally spelling was "O'Meachair" which means the 'kindly' or the 'generous'. The Maher family resided in the O'Carrol... [more]
MaitlandEnglish, Scottish Possibly from Mautalant, the name of a place in Pontorson, France meaning "inhospitable" or "bad temper" in Norman French (ultimately from Late Latin malum "bad" and talentum "inclination, disposition"), which was so named because of its unproductive soil; or perhaps it was originally a nickname for an ungracious individual, derived from the same source.
MajPolish, Jewish Surname adopted with reference to the month of May, Polish maj. Surnames referring to months were sometimes adopted by Jewish converts to Christianity, with reference to the month in which they were baptized or in which the surname was registered.
MajerleSlovene Slovene surname Majerle, a variant of the Polish, Czech, and Slovak Majer, which was a status name for "steward, bailiff, tenant farmer, or village headman", from the German Meyer 1.
MalletAnglo-Norman, Medieval English, French, Catalan Originated in Norman France and spread to England following the Norman conquest of 1066. The surname comes from the given name Malle, an Old English diminutive of Mary or from the given name Malo, a popular form of the name of Saint Maclovius, a 6th-century Welsh monk who the church of Saint Maclou in Rouen is named for.... [more]
ManleyEnglish Habitational name from places in Devon and Cheshire, named in Old English as "common wood or clearing", from (ge)mǣne "common, shared" and lēah "woodland clearing". The surname is still chiefly found in the regions around these villages.
MannSanskrit (Anglicized) Originally Sanskrit, now in Punjabi and Hindi - used by Jats predominantly in Punjab area of NW India. Well represented in Sikhs. Also spelled as {!Maan} when anglicized. Belonged to landholding nobility of warrior caste (knights) that at one time held a strong and established kingdom.... [more]
ManzanoSpanish (Mexican) Habitational name from any of various minor places named Manzano, or a topographic name for someone who lived by an apple tree or orchard, from Spanish manzano ‘apple tree’, Old Spanish maçano, from maçana ‘apple’, Late Latin (mala) Mattiana, a type of apple named in honor of the 1st century bc horticultural writer Gaius Matius.
MarínGalician This indicates familial origin within either of 4 eponymous localities: the municipality in the Comarca of O Morrazo, the neighborhood of the parish of Xubial, the neighborhood of the parish of Camos in the municipality of Nigrán, or the neighborhood of the parish of Fiestras in the municipality of Silleda.
MarquisFrench, English for someone who behaved like a marquis or an occupational name for a servant in the household of a marquis, from Old Northern French marquis... [more]
MarsmanDutch Derived from Middle Dutch marsch, mersch (Southern Dutch meers), meaning "marsh". In some cases, however, it can also be a variant of Meersman.
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").
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".
MauerGerman, Jewish Topographic name for someone who lived near a wall, from Middle High German mure "wall".
MaxsonPopular Culture, English Means son of Max. This is the surname of the hereditary leaders of the Brotherhood of Steel in the popular Fallout game. The first bearer of the name was Captain Roger Maxson, who founded the BOS, with the most recent bearer being Arthur Maxson, the current leader of the BOS in Fallout 4.
McCartneyScottish Gaelic Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Artaine, (meaning ‘son of Artan’) which is a diminutive of the personal name Art, meaning ‘bear’ or ‘hero’. Compare Irish Mac Artáin (see McCartan), of which this surname is a variant.
McCluskeyIrish Anglicized version of Gaelic Mac Bhloscaidh, which comes from "Bloscadh", a personal name probably derived from "blosc" meaning "blast".
MccolganIrish, Scottish Has several possible meanings. It might mean someone from the village of Kilcolgan, County Galway; a follower of St. Columba; or the son of someone named Colga... [more]
McewenScottish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Eoghain ‘son of Eoghan’, a widespread and ancient personal name, possibly derived from eo ‘yew’, meaning ‘born of yew’. It was Latinized as Eugenius (see Eugene), and was also regarded as a Gaelic form of John... [more]
McgillivrayScottish From Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Bhràtha from a patronymic from a personal name meaning ‘servant of judgment’.
McgrathIrish (Anglicized) Derives from the Irish surname Mac Craith. Famous bearers of the name include the Meic Craith from the Gaelic kingdom of Thomond in the present-day Republic of Ireland. They were historians and poets connected to the Ui Bhriain kings and earls of Thomond.
MejiaSpanish Spanish (Mejía): probably from a religious byname (possibly under Jewish influence), from a vernacular form of Latin, Greek Messias ‘Messiah’, from Hebrew māšīaḥ ‘anointed’.
MejiaGalician A very ancient surname, infrequent and widely spread across Spain, mostly in Madrid, Barcelona, Ciudad Real, Valencia, Cuenca, Sevilla and Toledo; and also in Pontevedra, Lugo, Guadalajara, Almería, Granada, Alicante and Málaga.... [more]
MengChinese From Chinese 孟 (mèng) meaning "eldest brother". It was also adopted by descendants of Meng Sun, a prince from the state of Lu that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
MeredithWelsh From the personal name Maredudd. In Welsh the stress is on the second syllable. The Old Welsh form is Morgetiud, of which the first element may mean "pomp, splendor" and the second is iudd "lord".
MerriottEnglish Either a habitational name from Merriott in Somerset. The placename may derive from Old English meremiere "mare" mere "pool" or gemære "boundary" and gæt "gate gap"... [more]
MesaSpanish Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations in Spain called Mesa meaning "table" or "mesa" in Spanish (referring to a flat area of land).
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]
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".
MijićCroatian The surname Mijić is one of those surnames that are very common in Croatia, but also in other countries. This surname sounds very simple and modest, but it has deep roots in history. It is interesting how surnames often arose from some nicknames or personal characteristics of the person who bore that surname... [more]
MimsEnglish (British) Habitational name from Mimms (North and South Mimms) in Hertfordshire, most probably derived from an ancient British tribal name, Mimmas.
MinamiJapanese From the Japanese "皆" (Mina) meaning "all" and "実" (mi) meaning "fruit", as well as other kanji and kanji combinations that are pronounced in the same way.
MinamotoJapanese From 源 (minamoto) meaning "fountainhead, river source; source, origin," derived from a combination of 水 (mi), the combining form of mizu meaning "water," and 元/本 (moto) meaning "source, origin" with the addition of the Old Japanese possessive particle na.... [more]
MisawaJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "swamp, wetland, marsh".
MitchamEnglish Habitational name from Mitcham in Surrey so named from Old English micel "big" and ham "village homestead" or ham "water meadow" meaning either "the great homestead" or "the great meadow".
MitsuiJapanese From the Japanese 三 (mi or san) and 井 (i) "well." The grammatical and phonetic add-on ツ (tsu) is not always included in this name's spelling.
MiwaJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 輪 (wa) meaning "wheel, ring, circle".
MiyamaJapanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 間 (ma) meaning "among, between". It can also be formed from 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" or 深 (mi) meaning "deep, profound" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
MiyazawaJapanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".
MiyoshiJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 好 (yoshi) meaning "fond, pleasing" or 芳 (yoshi) meaning "perfume; balmy; favorable; fragrant".
MorceliArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly from Arabic مُرْسِل (mursil) meaning "sender, dispatcher" or "sent, transmitted" from أَرْسَلَ (ʾarsala) "to send, to dispatch".
MoreFrench nickname for a dark-skinned man from Old French more "Moor" (from Latin Maurus). French cognitive of Moore 3.
MoreEnglish, Scottish Variant of Moore 3. A famous bearer was the English lawyer, humanist, and martyr Saint Thomas More (1478-1535).
MoreIndian, Marathi Derived from Marathi मोर (mor) meaning "peacock", ultimately from Sanskrit मयूर (mayura).
MoscatoItalian Variant of the personal name Muscato, also Americanized spelling of Greek Moskatos, a metonymic occupational name for a grower of muscat grapes.
MosleyEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Mos(e)ley in central, western, and northwestern England. The obvious derivation is from Old English mos "peat bog" and leah "woodland clearing", but the one in southern Birmingham (Museleie in Domesday Book) had as its first element Old English mus "mouse", while one in Staffordshire (Molesleie in Domesday Book) had the genitive case of the Old English byname Moll.
MosqueraSpanish, Catalan Spanish topographic name for someone who lived in a place that was infested with flies or mosquitos from a derivative of mosca "fly" (from Latin musca)... [more]
MoultonEnglish Derived from various places with the same name, for example in the counties of Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and North Yorkshire in England. It is either derived from the Old English given name Mūla, the Old Norse name Múli or Old English mūl meaning "mule" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".