LeiterGerman From Leiter ‘leader’, status name for a foreman or for the leader of a military expedition, from Middle High German leiten ‘lead’.German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Leitner.
LeithEnglish From the name of a Scottish town (now a district of Edinburgh), which is derived from Gaelic lìte "wet, damp". It is also the name of the river that flows though Edinburgh.
LemaîtreFrench Means "the master" in French, either used as a nickname for someone who behaved in a masterful manner or an occupational name for someone who was a master of their craft.
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.
LemonAfrican American This surname is a Middle English personal name Lefman, Old English Leofman, composed of the elements leof ‘dear’, ‘beloved’, and mann ‘man’, person. This surname came to be used as a nickname for a lover or sweetheart, from Middle English Lemman.
Le MonnierFrench Occupational surname for a miller, literally meaning "the miller" in French.
LenoirFrench Means "the black" in French, from noir "black", a variant of Noir combined with a definite article le. A famous bearer of the name was Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir (1822-1900), the inventor of the internal combustion engine.
LentEnglish, German, Dutch Nickname from either Old English lencten meaning "spring season, springtime" or from Germanic langa-tinez meaning "long days" which refers to the increasing daylight of spring. Likely a nickname for someone who was born or baptized during springtime.
LentonEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Lenton, which can be derived from the name of the River Leen (from a Celtic word meaning "lake, pool") in Nottinghamshire, from the Old English given name Lāfa (see Leif) in Lincolnshire, or possibly from Old English lin "flax" in some cases, all combined with tun "town, enclosure, settlement".
LeonardoItalian, Spanish, German Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese from the Germanic personal name Leonhard, formed from the elements leo ‘lion’ + hard, ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’; this was an early medieval saint’s name (see Leonard).
LeopardiItalian From the medieval given name Leopardus. A famous bearer of this surname is Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837), one of the most influential Italian poets.
LescherGerman German metonymic occupational name for a mediator or arbitrator, or possibly for a fireman, from Middle High German leschære ‘extinguisher’.
LesieurFrench From old French sieur "lord, overlord" (from Latin senior "elder") fused with le either an occupational name for someone in service of a great lord or an ironic nickname for someone who gives himself airs or graces.
LesińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of the places called Lesin Lesina or Leśna named with les dialect form of standard Polish las ‘forest’.
LeskinenFinnish From Leski, meaning "widow". Notable people with this name are Otto Leskinen, a Finnish ice hockey player, and Alexis Leskinen, a character from Steins;Gate 0
LesnarGerman Variant spelling of German Lessner, a habitational name from any of various places in eastern Germany called Lessen, all named with Slavic les 'forest'.
LessardFrench Name for someone who lived in a clearing, derived from French l'essart meaning "the assart" (a term for cleared forest land used for agriculture). It is also a habitational name for someone from any of various locations named Lessard or Lessart, of the same origin and meaning.
LesterEnglish Habitational name from Leicester which is recorded as Ligeraceastre in the 10th century. The placename derives from an Old English folk name Legore "the dwellers by the river Legor (a lost river name)" and Old English ceaster "city Roman fortification" (from Latin castrum) "camp fortress".
LestonEnglish Habitational name from Leiston in Suffolk, so named from Old English leg "beacon fire" and tun "farmstead, settlement".
LestradeLiterature The name of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional head of Scotland Yard. Possibly from the French surname Lestrange
LeszczyńskiPolish Name for someone from any of various places called Leszczyna, Leszczyno, Leszczyny or Leszczynek, all derived from Polish leszczyna meaning "hazel".
LetcherEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream. From Old English læcc, plus the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
LetendreFrench From 'tendre', meaning "tender" or "delicate".
LethbridgeEnglish Believed to have derived from a location in Devonshire around the 16th century.
LetoItalian From the personal name Leto. From Latin Laetus meaning "happy, joyful"... [more]
LétourneauFrench Nickname for a chatty, gregarious person or an occupational name for a birdcatcher, derived from French l'étourneau meaning "the starling".
LeusinkMedieval Dutch Descendants from farmers from the Overijssel Province in the Netherlands. History can be traced to the middle ages, perhaps to a farm called Lossyng in the village of Neede.
LevantEnglish Derived from the Italian word levante, meaning "rising" and the French word levant, meaning "to rise". The term entered the English language in 1497 and was used to describe the "Mediterranean lands east of Italy" by referring to the rising of the sun in the east... [more]
LevensteinJewish, Yiddish Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name, or perhaps an ornamental elaboration associated with the name Leyb; from Middle High German lewe ‘lion’, translating the Yiddish male personal name Leyb (see Low) + German stein ‘stone’, ‘rock’... [more]
LeverFrench, English Nickname for a fleet-footed or timid person, from Old French levre "hare" (Latin lepus, genitive leporis). It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a hunter of hares.
LeverEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived in a place thickly grown with rushes, from Old English lǣfer "rush, reed". Compare Laver. Great and Little Lever in Greater Manchester (formerly in Lancashire) are named with this word, and in some cases the surname may also be derived from these places.
LeverettEnglish Diminutive of Lever, from the Middle English personal name Lefred, Old English Leofræd, composed of the elements leof ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ + red ‘counsel’.
LeverichEnglish The surname Leverich was first found in West Yorkshire at Liversedge, a township that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Livresec, a manor belonging to Radulf, a vassal of Ilbert de Lacy... [more]
LevertFrench Means "the green", from French vert "green".
LevertonEnglish This surname combines the Old English personal female name Leofwaru or the Old English word læfer meaning "rush, reed" with another Old English word tún meaning "enclosure, field, farm, dwelling." The etymology with the female name addition fits in with the town of the same name in Berkshire while the etymology with the word addition fits in with the one in Lincolnshire.
LhommeFrench From the name of the commune of Lhomme, located in the Sarthe department in northwestern France.
L'HuillierFrench Denoted a person who produces or sells oil, from French huile "oil" with fused definite article l'. Anne Geneviève L'Huillier (1958-) is a French physicist who beat the world record for the shortest laser pulse, of 170 attoseconds.
LhuillierCebuano, Filipino Borrowed from French L'Huillier used in the Philippines. Jean Henri Diago Lhuillier (1969) is a Filipino businessman, diplomat, and sports patron.
LianChinese From Chinese 连 (lián) meaning "link, join, connect".
LichtJewish From the German word meaning "light", possibly derived from a given name meaning "light" such as Uri or Meir.
LichtGerman, Dutch, Yiddish Means "light" or "candle". Could be an occupational name for a chandler, a topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing (see Lichte), or a nickname for someone who had light hair, or who was agile and slender.
LichtblauYiddish Means "light blue" in German. Leon Lichtblau was a pro-revolution communist who was imprisoned in Romania in 1921.
LichteGerman Habitational name for someone who lived in a clearing (see Lucht) or topographic name from a town in Germany, situated by the Lichte river. Alternatively, a variant of Licht.
LichtenGerman, Jewish From German licht meaning "light". Nickname for someone with a light complexion.
LichterGerman, Jewish Occupational name for someone who made candles or possibly for someone who tended a light, from an agent derivative of from Middle High German lieht, Yiddish likht "candle, light".
LickertGerman (East Prussian) Derived from the German feminine name Luitgard, and thus ultimately from Old High German liut "people" and garto "garden; enclosure".
LiconaSpanish Habitational name from a place called Likoa in Basque Country.
LicursiItalian Of Albanian origin, either an occupational name for a tanner from lëkurë "skin, leather", or a habitational name.
LiddellEnglish From the Liddel river, which takes its name from Okd English hl̄de “loud” + dæl “valley”.
LiddiardEnglish From Celtic place names in England meaning "gray hill".
LiddingtonEnglish, Scottish (Rare) This surname is derived from a geographical locality. "of Liddington", a parish in Rutland, near Uppingham; a parish in Wiltshire, near Swindon.
LidénSwedish Combination of the Swedish place name element lid "slope, hillside" and the common surname siffix -én.
LidmanSwedish Combination of Swedish place name element lid "slope, hillside" and man "man". A notable bearer was Swedish writer Sara Lidman (1923-2004).
LidströmSwedish Combination of the Swedish place name element lid "slope, hillside" and ström "stream, flow". A notable bearer is Swedish ice hockey player Nicklas Lidström (b. 1970).
LiebGerman, Jewish Nickname for a pleasant or agreeable person, from Middle High German liep "dear, beloved"; Yiddish lib or German lieb. This word was also used as a personal name, both alone (German) and in compounds (German and Jewish).
LiebGerman From a short form of the various compound Slavic personal names formed with lubo- "love" as the first element.
LiebermannGerman, Jewish Derived from German lieb or Yiddish lib meaning "dear, beloved". Many Liebermann families originally spelled the name in Hebrew or Cyrillic characters, so variations in the spelling occurred during transliteration to the Latin alphabet.
LiebhartGerman From a Germanic personal name, composed of the elements liub "beloved, dear" and hard "brave, strong".
LieblingGerman, Yiddish, Jewish Derived from German lieb meaning "dear, beloved" or German liebling meaning "darling".
LiebmanJewish Variant of German Liebmann, itself a variant of Libman and derived from the Yiddish personal name Lipman, from Middle High German liep "dear, beloved" and man "man"... [more]
LiemDutch Habitual surname for Lieme in Eastphalia, which is from lim meaning "mire".
LiemanDutch From a Germanic personal name composed of liut "people", or possibly liob "dear, beloved", combined with man "person, man" (see Liutman, Liefman).
LightfootEnglish From a nickname for a messenger or a swift runner, derived from Middle English light "having little weight" and fot "foot".
LighthallEnglish A habitational name from a place called Lightollars in Lancashire, so named from Old English leoht ‘light-colored’ + alor ‘alder’. The surname, however, is not found in current English sources.
LilienthalJewish Means "valley of lilies" in German, being this word derived from Lilie "lily" and Thal "valley".
LilienthalGerman Habitational name from any of the places called Lilienthal in Schleswig-Holstein Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemburg named with Middle High German liljen "lilies" (from Latin lilium) and tal "valley".
LiljaSwedish, Finnish Means "lily" in Swedish and Finnish. It is also used as a first name (see Lilja).
LiljedahlSwedish, Norwegian Ornamental name derived from Swedish lilje, a genitive form of lilja "lily" used in compounds, and the archaic word dahl (Old Norse dalr) meaning "valley"... [more]
LiljegrenSwedish Combination of Swedish lilja "lily" and gren "branch".
LillyEnglish Derived from Lilly, a pet name for Elizabeth. It was also used as a nickname for someone with fair skin or hair, and is derived from Old English lilie meaning "lily (the flower)"... [more]
LillywhiteEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with very fair hair or complexion. It was borne by English cricketers James Lillywhite (1842-1929), first captain of England, and William Lillywhite (1792-1854), pioneer of overarm bowling, uncle of James... [more]
LilyEnglish Derived from Lily, a pet name for Elizabeth. It was also used as a nickname for someone with fair skin or hair, and is derived from Old English lilie meaning "lily (the flower)"... [more]
LimKorean 12th most common surname in Korea. ... [more]
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone living on the banks of the river of this name (of pre-Roman origin, probably akin to a Celtic element lemos, limos 'elm').