MemonUrdu From the name of the Memon people who inhabit parts of India and Pakistan. The name itself is derived from Arabic مؤمن (mu'min) meaning "believer".
MendiolaBasque From the name of a village in Álava, Basque Country, derived from mendi "mountain" combined with either ola "hut, cabin; foundry, factory" or -ola "place of".
MendizabalBasque Means "wide mountain", derived from Basque mendi "mountain" and zabal "wide, broad, ample". This was also the name of a neighborhood of Arratzua-Ubarrundia that the falangists demolished in 1959 to make way for a reservoir.
MendlerGerman Occupational name for a maker of coats from an agent derivative of Middle High German mantel, mandel, mendel "coat".
MendolaItalian topographic name for someone who lived by an almond tree or trees or a habitational name from any of the places called with the dialect term amendolamendula "almond almond tree" (see Amendola ). Compare Lamendola.
MenearCornish, English (British) English (Devon; of Cornish origin): topographic name for someone who lived by a menhir, i.e. a tall standing stone erected in prehistoric times (Cornish men ‘stone’ + hir ‘long’). In the United States, it is a common surname in Pennsylvania & West Virginia.
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.
MenkeGerman Derived as a diminutive of several Germanic given names whose first element was derived from Germanic *magin- and *megin- "strength; force; power".
MenonMalayalam Means "accountant" in Malayalam, itself derived from the title മേലവൻ (melavan) meaning "overseer, boss, exalted one", from മേല (mel) meaning "top, above, high" and the third person pronoun അവൻ (avan) meaning "he".
MenottiItalian From the medieval given name Menotto, a diminutive of Domenico via its short form Menico.
MentzerGerman Habitational name with the agent suffix -er, either from Mainz, earlier Mentz, derived from the medieval Latin name Mogontia (Latin Mogontiacum, probably from the Celtic personal name Mogontios), or from Menz in Brandenburg and Saxony.
MenzieScottish Menzie (originally spelled Menȝie) derives from the surname Menzies, which in turn derives from the Norman commune Mesnières (known as Maneria in the 1300s)... [more]
MerlJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) metronymic from the Yiddish female personal name Merl, a pet form of Hebrew Miryam (see Mirkin).
MerletteFrench Feminine diminutive of French merle "blackbird", this name was given as a nickname to a cheerful person or to someone who liked to sing.
MerlinEnglish, French, German From the given name Merlin as well as referred to the blackbird, that is named merle in French and merlo in Italian and Spanish... [more]
MerlinoItalian Either from the given name Merlino the Italian form of Merlin, a diminutive of Merlo, or for someone who came from Merlino in the Milano province.
MerriamWelsh Derived from either the personal name Meuric, which is the Welsh form of Maurice, or ultimately from the Latin personal name Mauritius, which means "dark".
MerrifieldEnglish English habitational name from any of various places, such as Merryfield in Devon and Cornwall or Mirfield in West Yorkshire, all named with the Old English elements myrige 'pleasant' + feld 'pasture', 'open country.' See also Merivale.
MerriganIrish Irish: Anglicized Form Of Gaelic Ó Muireagáin ‘Descendant Of Muireagán’-'The son of the descendant of Mary'/or/ A Personal Name Derived From Muir ‘Sea’.
MerrihewEnglish, Irish Likely an altered form of Welsh Meredith (which is found as Meriday in 16th- and 17th-century English sources; also compare Merridew) or possibly of English Mayhew.
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]
MervynEnglish (i) from the medieval personal name Merewine, literally "fame-friend"; (ii) from the Old English personal names Mǣrwynn, literally "famous joy", and Merefinn, from Old Norse Mora-Finnr; (iii) from the Welsh personal name Merfyn, literally probably "marrow-eminent"
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).
MesmerGerman Occupational name for a maker of knives from Middle High German messer meaning "knife". A famous bearer was Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), a German doctor known for his theory of "animal magnetism", which was eventually incorporated into the field of hypnosis.
MesquitaPortuguese Means "mosque" in Portuguese, used as a topographic name for someone who lived near a mosque.
MessamEnglish (British) originates from a place called Measham in the county of Leicestershire. The placename is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, as Messeham, and in the Pipe Rolls of the county of 1182 as Meisham... [more]
MessengerEnglish Occupational name for someone who brings messages, from Middle English messangere, a compound of message "communication" with an agent suffix. A famous bearer of the name was Australian footballer Dally Messenger, real name Herbert Henry Messenger (1883-1959), known as Australasia's first professional rugby footballer.
MesserGerman Occupational name for an official in charge of measuring the dues paid in kind by tenants, from an agent derivative of Middle High German mezzen "to measure".
MesserScottish Occupational name for someone who kept watch over harvested crops, Middle English, Older Scots mess(i)er, from Old French messier (see Messier).
MesserschmidtGerman Name given to a knife smith. From German "messer" meaning knife, and "schmidt" meaning smith.
MessierFrench Occupational name for someone who kept watch over harvested crops, Old French messier 'harvest master' (Late Latin messicarius, agent derivative of messis 'harvest').
MessingGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a brazier, from German Messing "brass".
MetalloItalian Means "metal" in Italian, ultimately derived from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (metallon) "mine, quarry; metal". Probably a metonymic occupational name for a miner or a metalworker, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a clear, metallic tone of voice... [more]
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]
MetwallyArabic (Egyptian) From Arabic متولي (mutawalli) meaning "responsible, entrusted with, charged with", ultimately from the word تَوَلَّى (tawalla) meaning "to take charge of, to take control of".
MewbornEnglish Rare English name. The only place I have found it in the phone directory (other than several small towns in eastern North Carolina) is in Northumberland, UK. The word mew has to do with stables, and of course born is an English word.
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".
MianoItalian Habitational name from Miano in Naples, Parma, and Teramo; Miane in Treviso; or Mian in Belluno.
MiaoChinese From Chinese 缪 (miào), another name for Duke Mu of Lu, an ancient official whose name (穆) had the same pronunciation as the character 缪. After his death, his descendants adopted 缪 as their surname.
MiaoChinese From Chinese 苗 (miáo) meaning "seedling, shoot, sprout", also referring to the ancient fief of Miao, which existed in the state of Chu during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
MichalskyPolish A variant of Michalski. "Polish and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name for someone from a place called Michale in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or Michały in Masovian Voivodeship both named with the personal name Michał (see Michal ). Jewish (from Poland): patronymic from the personal name Michal." ... [more]
MickleyFrench It originated when an immigrant family named Michelet came to New York from Northern France. Because they had a foreign surname, they made up the names Mickley and Michelin. The originator was Jean Jacques Michelet (John Jacob Mickley), a private in the Revolutionary War... [more]
MidlerEnglish Nickname for a person who causes trouble or meddles in the affairs of others, derived from Middle English medeler meaning "meddler, troublemaker, one who interferes". This name is borne by the American singer, actress and comedienne Bette Midler (1945-).
MidthunNorwegian (?) A habitational name of western Norway descent from Old Norse mith 'middle' + tún 'enclosure farmstead.'
MiedemaWest Frisian, Dutch Derived from West Frisian miede "meadow, hayfield" and the suffix -ma "one of the men of".
MignognaItalian Probably derived from Italian mignone "small, cute, pretty, graceful; favourite", or perhaps from a river of the same name in Lazio, Italy.
MikalauskasLithuanian A Lithuanian surname. Lithuanian surnames have a base which would be Mikalausk for this name. If you are a male in the family your name would change to Mikalauskas. If you are female that is married your surname would be Mikalauskiene... [more]
MikamiJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 上 (kami) meaning "above, top, upper".