LatellaItalian Possibly derived from the Calabrian word tella or tiella, meaning "baking tray, pan", ultimately from Latin tegula "tile". Alternatively, it could be a habitational name from the town of Atella.
LatimerEnglish Occupational name for an interpreter or clerk who wrote documents in Latin, ultimately derived from Latin latinarius "interpreter, speaker of Latin".
LatinoItalian From the medieval personal name Latino, originally an ethnic name for someone of Latin as opposed to Germanic, Byzantine or Slavic descent.
LatoHungarian, Polish From Hungarian látni meaning ‘to see’, hence a nickname for a wise person or an occupational name for a clairvoyant, or possibly for an official who checked the quality of products at markets.... [more]
LatourFrench Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a tower usually a defensive fortification or watchtower from Old French tūr "tower"; or a habitational name from any of various places called Latour or La Tour named with this word.
LattanzioItalian From the given name derived from Latin Lactantius, which could derive from the minor Roman agricultural deity Lactans, or directly from the Latin word lactans "suckling, milking".
LauGerman nickname for a physically strong person from Middle High German louwelauwe "lion". In some cases the surname may have been a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or inn distinguished by the sign of a lion... [more]
LauEstonian Lau is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "lauk" meaning "table" or "desk" or "laul" meaning "song".
LauderScottish, Northern Irish From a village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It derives from the Celtic Lauuedder, probably indicating a rapidly flowing river, cognate with Modern Welsh llifer meaning 'to gush'.
LäuferGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from a place called Lauf, also an occupational name for a messenger or a nickname for a fast runner, from an agent derivative of Middle High German loufen, German laufen ‘to run’.
LaufferGerman The lauffer name is generally thought to have evolved from a place name to a surname. ... Versions of the name that evolve from the word "läufer," which meant "runner," are thought to have originally been an occupational name for a messenger.
LaunderEnglish From English launder, itself from French lavandier both meaning "washerman".
LauperGerman (Swiss) From the short form of a Germanic personal name composed of the elements liut 'people', 'tribe' + berht 'famous'. topographic name for someone who lived at a Lauben, a row of houses and stores with an arcade in front, from Middle High German loube 'arbor', 'bower', 'gallery'.
LaurEstonian Laur is an Estonian surname, a shortened for of "Lauri"; a masculine given name.
LauraItalian Either from the given name Laura or a topographic name from Latin laurea meaning "laurel".
LauraSpanish Of uncertain origin; in some cases, it is possibly a habitational name from a place named Laura.
LaurelSpanish, Portuguese, Filipino, Tagalog, Cebuano Topographic name for someone who lived by a laurel tree, Spanish laurel (Latin laurus), or a habitational name from Laurel in the Canary Islands.
LauterbachGerman From the name of various places in Germany, for example the village of Lauterbach in the district of Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg.
LautermilchGerman (Modern) Comes from German words Lauter, meaning 'pure', or 'nothing but', and Milch, meaning 'milk'. This could mean that the people who first used this name were farmers.
LavecchiaItalian Means "the old (one)" or "the old lady" in Italian, a nickname for a man who fussed like an old woman, or for someone from an old family. It can also denote someone from a toponym containing the element vecchia.
LavenderEnglish, Dutch Occupational name for a washerman or launderer, Old French, Middle Dutch lavendier (Late Latin lavandarius, an agent derivative of lavanda "washing", "things to be washed"). The term was applied especially to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool or rinsed the cloth after fulling... [more]
LaverEnglish Occupational name for a washer, from French laveur (see Lavers). Also the name of a parish in Essex, England.
LaverdièreFrench Habitational name from various places named La Verdière in France, or a variant of the name Leverdier (see Verdier).
LaverdiereFrench (Quebec) Said to be a locational or occupational name related to land and greenery. Related to the Cauchons, descended from Quebec. A noble Paris woman was sent to Quebec for marriage in the 17th century.
LaverdureFrench From the French place name La Verdure meaning "greenness, greenery".
LaverickEnglish Derived from Old English lāferce meaning "lark", making it a cognate of Lark.
LaversEnglish English (chiefly Devon and Cornwall): Medieval English and occupational, from pre-10th century Old French "lavandier". Introduced by the Normans after 1066, originally described a worker in the wool industry, and was a metonymic or nickname for a person employed to wash raw wool or rinse the cloth after fulling... [more]
LaveryIrish, Northern Irish From the Gaelic Ó Labhradha, "descendants of Labhradha" (speaker, spokesman, the father of Etru, chief of the Monagh of the Irish over-kingdom of Ulaid); the name of an ancient family originating from Magh Rath (present-day Moira, County Down, Northern Ireland)... [more]
LavieFrench Dialectal variant of French voie "way, road", ultimately from Latin via "road, street, path", combined with the French feminine article la.
LavioletteFrench, French (Quebec), French (Acadian) A secondary surname, associated with some forty family names in Canada and also used independently since 1698, a nickname from the flower violette ‘violet’, with the definite article la. In feudal France it was a name given to soldiers and domestic servants.
LawfordEnglish From any of several places in England called Lawford, derived from the personal name Lealla (cognate with Old High German Lallo), and ford "ford, river crossing".
LawlerIrish, Scottish This Irish surname is of Gaelic language origin. The surname derives from the original Gaelic 'O'Leathlobhair' meaning 'descendant of leathlobhair'. Leathlobhair derives from 'Leath' meaning 'Half' and 'Lobhar' meaning 'leper'.... [more]
LawlessEnglish, Scottish, Irish From a nickname for someone who was undisciplined or an outlaw, derived from Middle English laweles "not following the law or discipline".
LawtonEnglish Habitational name from the village called Church Lawton in Cheshire, derived from Old English hlaw "mound, small hill" and tun "enclosure, town".
LayKhmer Means "marbled, patterned, striped" in Khmer.
LaybournEnglish Habitational name from Leyburn in North Yorkshire, High Leybourne in Godalming in Surrey, or Leybourne in Kent. The North Yorkshire name may derive from Old English hlēg “shelter” and burna “spring, stream”... [more]
LaycockEnglish The name comes from a small village in England called "Laycock" and has something to do with "the place of the birds."... [more]
LearEnglish Means (i) "person from Leire", Leicestershire ("place on the river Leire", a river-name that may also be the ancestor of Leicestershire); or (ii) "person from Lear", any of several variously spelled places in northern France with a name based on Germanic lār "clearing"... [more]
LearnEnglish (American) The surname Learn is traced to an 18th-century settler and his family who lived in what is now Tannersville, Pa. It is an Anglicized version of the Germanic "Loehrner," which name the settler and his family also used.
LeatherEnglish, Scottish A metonymic occupational name for a leatherworker or seller of leather goods, and derived from Middle English and Old English lether meaning "leather".
LebaronFrench Either a variant of Baron "baron" with the French masculine definite article le. Or a habitational name from Le Baron the name of several places in various parts of France.
LebleuFrench From French bleu "blue" with the masculine element le from a nickname for someone who wore blue clothes with blue eyes or a person with a bluish complexion.
LeBoeufFrench Nickname for a powerfully built man, derived from French boeuf meaning "bull", with the definite article le. In some cases it may have been originally a metonymic occupational name for a herdsman.
LebonFrench Approbatory (or ironic) nickname from le bon "the good" a variant of Bon with fused masculine definite article le.
LebrónGalician This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of A Pobra do Brollón.
LebrónSpanish Lebrón is a surname most prevalent in the Autonomous Community of Andalucía. It is an augmentative of liebre (meaning "hare" in Spanish).
LechnerGerman This name finds its origin in the Austrian Lechtal, where the Lech river flows.
LeckeyScottish, English, Irish Originally Scottish, but also found in England, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Possibly derives from the barony of Leckie (meaning "place of flagstones", from Gaelic leac, "flagstone") in Stirlingshire.
LeddaItalian, Sardinian Probably from the former Medieval town of Lella, in northern Sardinia. The transformation of -ll- into -dd- is common in Sardinian.
LedesmaSpanish, Spanish (Philippines), Spanish (Latin American), Galician Habitational name from any of the numerous places in Spain called Ledesma, particularly in Salamanca or Boqueixón, possibly derived from a superlative form of the Proto-Celtic root *ɸletos "breadth, side" or *ɸleitos "grey".
LedgerEnglish From the given name Leodegar or Legier. Alternatively, could be an occupational name for a stonemason, ultimately derived from Old English lecgan "to put, place, lay (down)".
LedoCatalan Variant spelling of Lledó, a habitational name from Lledó d’Empordà in Girona province.
LedouxFrench, Belgian Means "the amiable" from French doux meaning "sweet, soft, gentle".
LeducFrench, Breton From the Old French title of rank duc "duke" (from Latin dux "leader" genitive ducis) with the French masculine definite article le used as a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces or else as a metonymic occupational name for a servant employed in a ducal household.
LeedsEnglish From the city of Leeds in Yorkshire. The name was first attested in the form Loidis in AD 731. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as 'Ledes'. This name is thought to have ultimately been derived from an earlier Celtic name... [more]
LeekEstonian Leek is an Estonian surname meaning "blaze" and "flame".
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".
LefflerGerman, Swedish Occupational name for a spoonmaker. Derived from German Löffel "spoon".
LefilsFrench, Haitian Creole Derived from French le "the" and fils "son". This was originally a nickname to distinguish a son from his father with the same given name.
LefortFrench, Walloon Either a nickname from French le fort "the strong" (see Fort ). It is also found in Germany where it is probably of Alsatian origin (compare Lefor ) and in Haiti where it most likely originates from the nickname Lefort... [more]
LefrançoisFrench From the given name François. It may also mean "the Frenchman", probably used to denote someone who came from the region of Île de France in France.
LeggEnglish From a nickname for someone with a peculiarity on their legs, ultimately derived from Old Norse leggr "leg, stem".
LeggioItalian From Sicilian leggiu "light, not heavy; superficial", a nickname for someone considered unreliable or irresponsible. Variant of Leggièri.
LegoreItalian (Americanized, ?) Possibly related to the Italian surname Legori, derived from a Lombard dialect form of lepre "hare". However, Legore is not attested in Italian records.
LehaneIrish Lehane (Irish: Ó Liatháin) is an uncommon Irish surname, typically from County Cork. Ó Liatháin is more frequently anglicized as Lane or Lyons. The surname is also found in County Donegal where it was also anglicized from the Ulster branch of O'Liathain into Lehane, Lane, Lyons,and Lawn.
LehighGerman, Irish Derived from a Native American word "Lechauwekink", meaning "where there are forks in the stream". Variant of Lechau .
LehmkuhlGerman, Low German topographic or occupational name for someone working or living by a clay pit from Middle Low German lēm "clay" and kule "pit" a habitational name from any of several places called with this term for example Lehmkuhlen near Kiel.
LehnerGerman Status name for a feudal tenant or vassal, from an agent derivative of Middle High German lehen 'to hold land as a feudal tenant'. variant of Leonhardt.
LehtoFinnish Finnish: from lehto ‘grove’; either a habitational name, recorded since the 17th century, from any of the farms in eastern Finland named for their location by a grove, or in other cases a more recent ornamental adoption... [more]
LehtomäkiFinnish Lehto means "grove" and Mäki means "hill" in Finnish. This type of surname (combination of two nature related words) is very common in Finland.
LeichGerman A coworker at my job has this surname and they told me that it’s German. I know nothing more about this surname.
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’.
LeinbachGerman German topographic name from any of several streams called leinbach, from Middle High German lin ‘flax’ or Middle Low German leie (genitive leien) ‘rock’, ‘stone’ + bach ‘stream’.
LeinenGerman Name means LINEN in German. The first known Leinen was a tailor
LeiningerGerman Smeone from any of several places called Leiningen.
LeinoFinnish Derived from Finnish leina, leini and leino meaning "sad, weak".