MadridSpanish habitational name from what is now Spain's principal city Madrid. Throughout the Middle Ages it was of only modest size and importance and did not become the capital of Spain until 156 Its name is of uncertain origin most probably a derivative of Late Latin matrix genitive matricis "riverbed" much changed by Arabic mediation (see Madrigal ). There are other smaller places of the same name in the provinces of Burgos and Cantabria and these may also be sources of the surname.
MadrigalSpanish "Madrigal" comes from from the Venetian madregal "simple, ingenuous," from Late Latin matricalis "invented, original," literally "of or from the womb," from matrix (gen. matricis) "womb."
MadrizSpanish, Catalan patronymic surname meaning "son of Madrileño"; given to a person that came from Madrid, Spain.
MagadiaFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog mag-adya meaning "protect, help, deliver from danger".
MagaldiItalian, South American Patronymic or plural form of the Old German personal name Magoald (from the elements megin, magan "strength, might, power" and wald "power"), or else a nickname from magaldo meaning "evil, wicked", which was derived from the personal name... [more]
MagallanesSpanish Spanish: Castilianized Form Of A Habitational Name From The Village Of Magaláns (Castilian Magalanes) In Pontevedra Province Galicia (Spain).
MagañaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Castilian municipality.
MaggioItalian From a nickname or personal name from the month of May, maggio, from Latin Maius (mensis), from Maia, a rather obscure goddess of fertility, whose name is derived from the same root as maius "larger" and maiestas "greatness"... [more]
MaggsEnglish Metronymic from the medieval personal name Mag.
MagnumEnglish Possibly derived from the given name Magnus. It is borne by the fictional character Thomas Magnum, the protagonist on the American television series Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988).
MagsaysayFilipino, Tagalog Means "relate, narrate, declare" in Tagalog. A notable bearer was Ramon Magsaysay (1907-1957), the seventh president of the Philippines.
MagsinoFilipino, Tagalog Means "to look closely", derived from Tagalog sino meaning "who". It was probably used as an occupational name for an investigator.
MagsombolTagalog From Tagalog magsumbol meaning "to signal, to wave a flag".
MahajanIndian, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali Means "great (number of) people" or "tradesman, merchant" from Sanskrit महा (maha) meaning "great" combined with जन (jána) meaning "person, people".
MaharjanNepali Either from Sanskrit महाजन (mahajana) meaning "great, distinguished, eminent" or महा (maha) meaning "great" combined with अर्जन (arjana) meaning "acquisition, earning".
MaherIrish (Rare) The originally spelling was "O'Meachair" which means the 'kindly' or the 'generous'. The Maher family resided in the O'Carrol... [more]
MahomesAmerican With Gaelic origins, Mahomes is a surname that is derived from the word “mathghamhan”, which means “bear”. A famous individual with the name is NFL Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
MaiChinese From Chinese 麦 (mài) meaning "wheat, barley, oats". It was adopted as a family name by the descendants of Maiqiu, a figure from the Spring and Autumn Period, or Mai Tiezheng, a Sui dynasty military general.
MaiGerman Derived from German der Mai meaning "May", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
MaiaPortuguese Habitational name from any of several places named Maia, especially one in Porto.
MaiaBasque From the name of a village in Navarre, Spain, called Amaiur in Basque, derived from amai "end, boundary, limit" (compare the given name Amaia).
MaiàCatalan Habitational name from Maià de Montcal, a village in Girona, or any of several other places named with Maià, which is of pre-Roman origin.
MaialeItalian Nickname from Italian meaning "pig, swine, hog".
MaidmentEnglish Occupational name for a servant of maidens (such as nuns), from Middle English maiden (ultimately from Old English mægden) meaning "young girl, virgin, maiden" and man ending with an excrescent -t.
MainEnglish, Scottish A nickname for a strong or very large man, derived from Old French magne "great, strong, large".
MaineFrench French topographic name from Old French maine ‘dwelling’, ‘residence’, ‘abode’, or a habitational name from any of numerous places so named.
MaiselYiddish, German, French Predominantly seems to be a matronymic surname from the Yiddish feminine name Mayzl. Although it is believed that it derived from the Hebrew name Meïser, which means “representative of God”... [more]
MaisonFrench, Walloon Derived from Old French maison "residence", this name used to be given to someone who lived by an important house.
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.
MaitraBengali Habitational name from either the village of Maitreya or Mohit (present-day locations unknown).
MaîtreFrench occupational name for the head of a craft or trade guild from Old French maistre "master" (from Latin magister)... [more]
MaitreFrench occupational name for one who was the head of a craft or trade guild, from Old French maistre ‘master’ (Latin magister).
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.
MajorsNorman Based on the Norman given name Mauger. The name indicates one who is the son of Maugier, an Old French personal name, which is derived from the Old Germanic name Malger, which means council spear.
MakepeaceEnglish From a nickname for a professional arbitrator or someone known for fixing hostilities. It may have also been used ironically. A famous bearer of the name was English novelist and illustrator William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863).
MakerDutch (Rare) An occupational name for someone who makes or repairs things, from Dutch maken "to make, mend, create".
MakerEnglish From the name of a village in Cornwall, England, derived from Old Cornish magoer meaning "wall" or "ruin".
MakishimaJapanese From Japanese 牧 (maki) meaning "shepard" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".
MakitaJapanese I'm not sure how the surname is usually written, but 真 (Ma) means "Genuine, Real, Sincere" and 北 (Kita) means "North". On the other hand, 牧 (Maki) means "Shepard, Tend cattle" and 田 (Ta) means "Rice Field, Rice Paddy"... [more]
MakkarPolish Polish and Ukrainian: from the personal name Makary (Polish), Makar (Ukrainian), vernacular forms of the Greek ecclesiastical name Makarios meaning ‘blessed’.
MalatestaItalian Means "bad head" in Italian, a nickname for a stubborn or perhaps malicious person. It could have also indicated the bearer had a misshapen head. ... [more]
MalczewskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Malczewo in Poznań voivodeship, or Malczew in Radom voivodeship.
MaleEnglish Nickname for a virile man, from Middle English male meaning "masculine".
MalebrancheFrench (Rare) Means "bad branch" in French, denoting a person who is on the bad side of a family tree. It could also possibly be a variant of Malherbe. Nicolas Malebranche was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher.
MalewskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of the places called Malewo in Masovian, Łódź, Pomeranian and Greater Poland voivodeships, or Malewice in Podlaskie Voivodeship. Both place names are named with the personal name Mal, a short form of Old Polish Małomir, based on Old Slavic malъ ‘small, little’.
MalinFrench, Flemish From the masculine given name Madalin, a short form of names composed of the Germanic element mahal "council, assembly, meeting" such as Madalbert.
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]
MallettEnglish Possible origins Malet a medieval diminutive of Mal(le) being a pet form of and name Mary, could also be of Norman origin from the Old French personal name Malhard.
MallikBengali Means "owner, proprietor, head, leader" in Bengali, ultimately from Arabic مالك (mālik).
MälloEstonian Mällo is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "mälu" meaning "memory".
MallochScottish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic MacIain Mhalaich "son of Ian of the bushy eyebrows", which was the family name of the MacGregors of Balhaldie. The Ian from whom the name is derived died in the early 16th century.
MalloryEnglish, Anglo-Norman The more common variant of the surname Malory. Originally an Anglo-Norman byname for an unfortunate or unhappy person, from the Old French word "maleuré" meaning "unfortunate", "wretched" "wicked"... [more]
MaloryAnglo-Norman, English The older variant of the surname Mallory. Originally an Anglo-Norman byname for an unfortunate or unhappy person, from the Old French word "maleuré" meaning "unfortunate", "wretched" "wicked"... [more]
MalpassEnglish, Scottish, French Habitational name from any of various places named Malpas, because of the difficulty of the terrain, from Old French mal pas "bad passage" (Latin malus passus). It is a common French minor place name, and places in Cheshire, Cornwall, Gwent, and elsewhere in England were given this name by Norman settlers... [more]
MaltaItalian, Spanish, Portuguese habitational or ethnic name for someone from the Mediterranean island of Malta (from Latin Melita Greek Melitē).
MalteseItalian habitational or ethnic name for someone from the island of Malta.
MaltezPortuguese Likely has origins in the Portuguese word "maltez," now written as "maltês," which translates to "Maltese" in English. This surname might have been adopted by families with connections to the Mediterranean island of Malta or by individuals who had some association with Maltese culture or trade.
MamarilFilipino, Pangasinan, Tagalog Means "shooter, one who shoots" in Pangasinan and Tagalog, derived from the professional or habitual prefix mang- and baril meaning "gun, firearm".
MamboSouthern African Mambo is a surname of the Kaonde tribe, meaning: danger. A warning to would be detractors.
MamiyaJapanese From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "true, genuine" or 茉 (ma) meaning "Arabian jasmine, white jasmine" combined with 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace".
MamoMaltese A bearer of this surname is Anthony Mamo (1909 - 2008), the first president of Malta.
ManabeJapanese From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or 間 (ma) meaning "among, between" and 鍋 (nabe) meaning "pot, pan" or 部 (be) meaning "part, section".