KilburgGerman, Luxembourgish "Kyll castle," from German burg (castle) near the Kyll river in Germany. Also "wedge mountain" in Swedish: kil (wedge) and berg (mountain).
KlugGerman (Austrian) First recorded in the early 14th century in present-day Austria (southeastern region of the Holy Roman Empire at that time). The surname was derived from the ancient Germanic word kluoc meaning "noble" or "refined".... [more]
KoenigsbergJewish Associated with the Polish, then Prussian, then German, now Russian town Königsberg.
KongChinese From Chinese 孔 (kǒng) meaning "hole, opening". According to legend, this name was created by Cheng Tang, the founder and first king of the Shang dynasty. He formed it by combining the character for his family name, 子 (zǐ) (his full personal name was Zi Lü), with 乙 (yǐ), the second part of his style name, Da Yi (or Tai Yi)... [more]
KongHmong From the clan name Koo or Xoom associated with the Chinese characters 龔 (gōng) or 鞏 (gǒng) (see Gong) or 宋 (sòng) (see Song).
KönigsbergJewish Associated with the Polish/Prussian/German/Russian town Königsberg, now called Kaliningrad. This surname was borne by the parents of American actor, writer, teacher, and director Walter Koenig (1936-) before they emigrated to the United States.
KrogNorwegian, Danish Habitational name from places named with krog "corner, bend".
KronbergGerman, Swedish German habitational name from any of the places called Kronberg near Frankfurt in Hesse and in Bavaria from the elements krone "crown" and berg "mountain, hill". Swedish ornamental name from kron "crown" and berg "mountain hill".
KronenbergGerman, German (Swiss) Habitational name from a place called Kronenberg (there is one near Wuppertal) or possibly from any of the places called Kronberg (see Kronberg ) from German Krone "crown" and German Berg "mountain, hill".
KurzbergGerman, Yiddish, Jewish From a location name meaning "short mountain" in German, from Middle High German kurz meaning "short" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
KuyengChinese (Russified) Russified form of Kuang used by ethnic Chinese living in parts of the former Soviet Union (based on the Cantonese romanization of the name).
LaingScottish Scottish form of Lang. A famous bearer was the explorer Alexander Gordon Laing.
LambergGerman Derived from any of several places so named in Germany.
LambergFinnish, Swedish Perhaps combination of an unexplained first element (maybe taken from a place name) and Swedish berg "mountain". It could also be of German origin (see other submission).
LangEstonian Lang is an Estonian surname meaning "relative" and "in-law".
LangPopular Culture From 狼 (láng) meaning "wolf". Shi-Long Lang is a character in the game Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, a wolf-themed Interpol agent who speaks mainly in quotes and metaphors about wolves... [more]
LansingEnglish Derived 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".
LeemingEnglish Habitational name from either of two places, in West Yorkshire near Keighley and in North Yorkshire near Northallerton. Both are named with a river name, derived from the Old English word lēoma "gleam, sparkle".
LeggEnglish From the Old Norse: 'long legged' or 'fast runner' (or both).
LeidigGerman From a short form of any of several Germanic personal names composed with the first element liut ‘people’, ‘tribe’. Also a nickname for a disagreeable, cantankerous person, from Middle High German leidic ‘disagreeable’, ‘tiresome’.
LeinbergGerman Habitational name for someone in Bavaria, or a topographic name from Middle High German lin meaning "flax" and berg meaning "mountain".
LembergJewish Habitational name from the city of Lviv in Ukraine, from its German name Lemberg.
LembergGerman Habitational name from a place called Lemberg in Silesia, originally Löwenberg, from Middle High German lewe, löwe "lion" and berg "mountain".
LemmingDanish Derived from any of the places in Denmark called Lemming where the first element lem "lamb" is combined with the suffix -ing denoting a place.
LengChinese From Chinese 冷 (lěng), which was probably derived from 泠伦 (línglún), an ancient title used by court officials in charge of music.
LindenbergGerman, Jewish, Dutch As a German and Jewish name, it is derived from any of numerous places called Lindenberg in Germany, composed of Middle High German linde meaning "lime tree" and berg meaning "mountain, hill"... [more]
LindskogSwedish Derived from Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and skog meaning "forest".
LingChinese From Chinese 凌 (líng) meaning "ice", originally used as an occupational name for a palace official who was in charge of storing and handling ice.
LudenbergGerman From Latin ludere meaning "to play" and German berg meaning "mountain".
LuggEnglish English (Devon) probably from a local vernacular derivative of Lucas. However, Reaney posits an Old English personal name, Lugga, from which this name could be derived.
LumbantobingBatak From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and tobing meaning "riverbank, edge".
LusongTagalog From Tagalog, which is referring to a particular kind of large wooden mortar used in dehusking rice.
LustigSwedish, German, Jewish, Dutch A nickname for a cheerful person, derived from Swedish and German lustig "humorous, funny, enjoyable" or Middle High German lustig "merry, carefree". Usually ornamental as a Jewish surname.
MaagGerman Comes from the Middle High German “mage”, meaning “relative” or “kinsman”.
MacadangdangFilipino, Cebuano, Ilocano Derived from Cebuano dangdang "to broil, to grill" or Tagalog dangdang "heating, toasting, or drying through exposure to fire or glowing coals", possibly an occupational name for someone who dries things by the fire.
MacadindangMaranao From Maranao dindang meaning "stir, trouble, confuse".
MacalindongTagalog From Tagalog makalindong meaning "to provide shelter".
MacorigItalian Patronymic from a shortened form of Ermacora, an Italian form of the Greek given name Hermagoras combined with the Slavic patronymic suffix -ic.
ManalangFilipino, Tagalog, Pampangan Derived from Tagalog talang referring to the fruit of the mabolo tree (genus Diospyros), probably used as a topographic name for a place where talang grew in abundance.
ManisengLao From Lao ມະນີ (mani) meaning "gem, jewel" and ແສງ (seng) meaning "light".
ManivongLao From Lao ມະນີ (mani) meaning "gem, jewel" and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".
MaquilingFilipino, Tagalog (Hispanicized) Derived from Tagalog makiling meaning "uneven, crooked, bent." This name was given in honor of Maria Makiling. She is said to be the protector of Mount Makiling, a volcano in the Philippines.
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).
MaudlingEnglish From the medieval female personal name Maudeleyn, the English form of Greek Magdalene, the sobriquet in the New Testament of the woman Mary who was cured of evil spirits by Jesus... [more]
MaytwayashingOjibwe Unknown meaning, most commonly found in Anishinaabe communities in Manitoba. A notable bearer is Clifford Maytwayashing, a legendary fiddle player.
McclungScottish (Anglicized) Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Luinge ‘son of Lunge’, a personal name probably meaning ‘seafarer’, although the literal meaning is ‘ship’, from Latin navis longa.
MecklenburgGerman, Jewish Regional name for someone from this province in northern Germany. Derived from Old Saxon mikil "big, great" and burg "castle".
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.
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-).
MetsaorgEstonian Metsaorg is an Estonian surname meaning "forest valley".
MetslangEstonian Metslang is an Estonian surname meaning "forest cutting area"; derived from the compounds "mets "forest" and "lank" (cutting area).
MitagCroatian From german Mittag, redacted during WWII.
MittagGerman Means "midday, noon" in German, with an archaic meaning of "south". Habitational name given to someone who lived south of a main settlement.
MobergSwedish Combination of Swedish mo "sandy heath" and berg "mountain". A notable bearer was Swedish author and playwright Vilhelm Moberg (1898-1973).
MungChin From a part of a Chin masculine compound personal name of unexplained meaning.
MyongKorean Myung, also spelled Myeong, Myong, or Myoung, is a Korean family name, a single-syllable Korean given name, and an element in some two-syllable Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.
MyungKorean Korean form of Ming, from Sino-Korean 明 (myeong).
NadigGerman (Swiss), Romansh Derived from from Old High German (gi-)nadig "kind", this was a nickname for a kind and benevolent person.
Natt och DagOld Swedish, Swedish (Rare) Means "night and day" in Swedish. This is the name of one of the oldest noble families in Sweden. The name is believed to be a reference to the family's coat of arms which consisted of a blue and a golden field, the blue symbolizing night and the gold symbolizing day.
NerenbergJewish Variant of the Ashkenazic Jewish surname Nierenberg, which is derived from Nirnberg, the Yiddish form of Nuremberg (German Nürnberg), hence becoming an Ashkenazic Jewish habitational surname for someone living in that city.
NettingEnglish As Needham the derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th century elements 'ned' meaning need, with 'ham', a homestead or village, the name indicating a place that provided a poor living.
NingChinese From Chinese 宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, tranquil", also referring to the ancient county of Ningyi, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
NongChinese, Vietnamese From Chinese 农 (nóng) meaning "farming, agriculture, cultivation", also referring to the ancient official position Nong Zheng (農正) meaning "agriculture officer". It is also used as a simplified variant of Vietnamese Nông, which is of the same origin.
OggScottish Anglicized form of a nickname from the Gaelic adjective óg meaning "young", used to distinguish the junior of two bearers of the same personal name.
ÔngVietnamese Vietnamese form of Weng, from Sino-Vietnamese 翁 (ông).
OngEstonian Ong is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "õng", meaning "fishing rod/hook".
OrgEstonian Org is an Estonian surname meaning "valley".
OuyangChinese From Chinese 歐 (ōu) referring to Mount Sheng in present-day Huzhou, China, combined with 陽 (yáng) meaning "southern face (of a mountain)". The name supposedly originated with a prince of the Yue state that settled in the area surrounding the mountain... [more]
PenningEnglish, Dutch, Low German From early Middle English penning, Low German penning, and Middle Dutch penninc, all meaning "penny". It was used as a topographic surname from the name of a field, or a nickname referring to tax dues of one penny.
PiggEnglish Derived from Middle English pigge meaning "young hog".
PijnenburgDutch From the name of an estate or hamlet called Pijnenburg in the town of Soest in Utrecht, Holland, composed of Middle Dutch pijn meaning "pine tree" and burg meaning "fortress, manor, mansion".
PiliangMinangkabau Probably derived from Indonesian pili meaning "a lot, many" and hyang meaning "god, deity" or the phrase pili hyang meaning "the god, the deity" (most likely referring to the Hindu-influenced gods that were worshiped before the arrival of Islam in the Indonesian archipelago)... [more]
PürgEstonian Pürg is an Estonian surname derived from "pürg" meaning both "avidity (eagerness or enthusiasm") and a colloquial name for the European bison ("Bison bonasus").
PuusaagEstonian Puusaag is an Estoian surname meaning "wood saw".
QuislingNorwegian A treacherous person who sides with opposing forces, this meaning comes from Vidkun Quisling of Norway. He helped the Germans during the German rule of Norway in the 1940's. Original meaning "One from" (-ling) "Quislemark", (quis) A romanization of the place name of Kvislemark.