Submitted Surnames on the List of Olympic Medalists
This is a list of submitted surnames in which the name appears on the list of Olympic Medalists.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone who lived on the banks of the Lima River in Portugal, most likely derived from Indo-European *léymō meaning "lake".
LindberghSwedish (Rare), English (Rare) Rare variant spelling of Lindberg. A famous bearer was American aviator Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) who was the first person to fly non-stop from America to mainland Europe in 1927.
LindeSpanish From Spanish linde "boundary" or a habitational name from places called La Linde in Spain.
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
LindforsSwedish Combination of Swedish lind "lime tree, linden" and fors "rapid, waterfall".
LinnGerman (Silesian), Jewish (Ashkenazi) Derived from the Slavic word lin "tench (fish)", a nickname for a fisherman, or for a person who somehow resembled a tench.
LipińskiPolish Name for someone from any of various places named Lipno, Lipin, Lipiny or Lipino, all derived from Polish lipa meaning "lime tree".
LippincottEnglish A habitational name meaning "of Luffincott," a parish in Devon, England. Named from Old English uncertain first element + cot ‘cottage’.
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).
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 Means "apple tree" in Spanish, denoting a habitational name from the various minor places so called or a topographic name for someone who lives near an apple tree or orchard. A famous bearer of the name is Filipino actor Luis Manzano (1981-).
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.
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]
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".
MattoItalian Means "mad, crazy" or "madman" in Italian, regionally used in the sense of "rascal, joker", derived from Latin mattus "drunk, intoxicated".
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.
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.
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".