Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
LangerakDutch A habitational name from any of several places called Langerak, derived from lang "long" and rak "straight section of a waterway".
LangfieldEnglish Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Langfield, from Old English lang meaning "long" and feld meaning "field".
LanghoferGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places called Langhof.
LanghornDanish Habitational name from Langenhorn (Danish Langhorn), a settlement in the north of Germany that was at one point under Danish rule.
LanghorneEnglish From Middle English lang "long" and horn "horn". Can be a habitational name from a place named with the elements, with horn used in the sense of a promontory or extending piece of land... [more]
LangtryEnglish From the Old English ‘lang’, meaning long, and ‘treow’, meaning tree. The name of several settlements across England.
LangwadeEnglish From an English village Langmead, in the county of Devon. It was used to refer to those individuals who lived at the lang-mead, which literally means "the long meadow".
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".
LapčevićSerbian Serbo-Croatian surname meaning "river" or "white". Likely from the river Elbe in Germany, which is called Labe and Laba in Slavic languages. Lab also having the meaning "white" in archaic Slavic (like the bird labud - swan).
LaplanderEnglish A surname referring to someone who had immigrated from Lapland, northern Scandinavia.
LapsleyScottish, English, Medieval English Combination of Old English læppa ”end of a parish” and leah ”woodland clearing”. Another meaning could be possible.
LaramieEnglish From the French la ramée "the small wood, the arbour".
LardinoisFrench Originally denoted a person from the Ardennes, a forest-covered region situated in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. A notable bearer of this name was the Dutch politician and diplomat Pierre Lardinois (1924-1987).
LardizabalBasque, Filipino Habitational name derived from Basque lahardi "brushland, place of brambles" and zabal "wide, broad, ample".
LareduCantabrian It indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
LarivièreFrench (Modern) From the region of Bourgoigne, in France, meaning 'the river'. The name is likely a topographic reference to the physical location, likely a river in this case.
La RosaItalian Derived from Italian rosa meaning "rose", used as a name for someone who lived by a rose bush.
LaroseFrench Topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew; or a habitational name from a town house bearing the sign of a rose. It may also have been a nickname for a man with a ‘rosy’ complexion, as well as a nickname of a soldier... [more]
LarragaBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque larre "pasture, meadow, prairie" and the locative suffix -aga "place of, group of".
LarrainBasque Means "threshing floor" in Basque. This is also the name of a hamlet in Navarre, Spain.
LarraldeBasque Derived from Basque larre "pasture, meadow, prairie" and -alde "near, by; side".
LarramendiBasque Means "pastureland, mountain grassland", derived from Basque larre "pasture, meadow, prairie" and mendi "mountain".
LarrañagaBasque, Spanish From the name of a farmhouse in Azpeitia, Spain, derived from Basque larrain "threshing yard" and -aga "place of, group of".
LarrazabalBasque, Spanish Habitational name derived from Basque larre "field, pastureland, prairie" and zabal "wide, open, ample".
LaskiPolish, Hungarian, Jewish Polish (Laski) and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name from Lasko (now Lask) in Sieradz voivodeship, named with laz, lazy ‘clearing in a forest’. ... [more]
LaskurainBasque Possibly derived from Basque lats "creek, brook, small stream" and the locative suffixes -ko and -ain.
LathamEnglish (British) Habitational name from any of the places in England named with the Old Norse word hlaða meaning "barn".
LatoszyńskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Latoszyn.
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.
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'.
LaudrupDanish Possibly from the name of homesteads in Denmark, most likely derived from Old Norse laut meaning "barn", combined with the Danish suffix -drup (itself from Old Norse thorp) meaning "outlying farmstead, village, settlement"... [more]
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’.
LaughtonEnglish Habitational name from any of the numerous places in England so called. Most of them, as for example those in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (near Gainsborough), Sussex, and West Yorkshire, are named with Old English leac ‘leek’ + tun ‘enclosure’... [more]
LauncestonCornish Derived from the Cornish place name Lannstevan. Besides the Cornish town, there is also a Launceston in Tasmania (Australia).
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'.
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.
LaurieFrench Habitational name from a place in Cantal derived from Latin laurus "laurel" with the suffix -ea.
LauterbachGerman From the name of various places in Germany, for example the village of Lauterbach in the district of Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg.
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".
LaviadaAsturian This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of Xixón.
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]
LawtonEnglish Habitational name, common in Lancashire and Yorkshire, from Buglawton or Church Lawton in Cheshire, or Lawton in Herefordshire, named in Old English as ‘settlement on or near a hill’, or ‘settlement by a burial mound’, from hlaw ‘hill’, ‘burial mound’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
LaxnessIcelandic (Rare) Derived from the name of a farm in Mosfellsbær parish in southwest Iceland. A notable bearer was author and Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness (1902-1998).
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]
LaymanEnglish Habitational name for someone living near a meadow. Derived from Middle English leye. ... [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]
LeaskScottish Named after the village of Leask in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.... [more]
LeavisEnglish Possibly from the Gallo-Roman name Laevius meaning "left", related to Levy.
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.
Le BretonFrench Describes someone from the French region Breton.
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.
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]
LeegstraDutch Probably derived from either leeg "empty, hollow" or laag "low" combined with the West Frisian suffix -stra.
LeelynEnglish Locational surname denoting a person from Leyland, in Lancashire.
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".
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.
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.
LehispuuEstonian Lehispuu is an Estonian surname meaning "larch tree".
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.
LeholaEstonian Lehola is an Estonian surname derived from the name of a village in ancient Sakala County.
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.
LeibnizGerman The German surname Leibnitz emerged in the lands that form the modern state of Lower Saxony, which is presently bordered by the North Sea, the Hartz mountains and the Elbe and Ems rivers. Lower Saxony was previously a medieval dukedom... [more]
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’.
LeinbergGerman Habitational name for someone in Bavaria, or a topographic name from Middle High German lin meaning "flax" and berg meaning "mountain".
LeiningerGerman Smeone from any of several places called Leiningen.
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.
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".
LeminenFinnish Derived from the the name of the municipality of "Lemi" in Finland
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.
LemsaluEstonian Lemsalu is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from the masculine given name "Lembit" and "salu", meaning "grove"; "Lembit's grove".
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’.
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".
LeszczyńskiPolish Name for someone from any of various places called Leszczyna, Leszczyno, Leszczyny or Leszczynek, all derived from Polish leszczyna meaning "hazel".
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.
LevaiJewish Comes from the Levitic surnames of 'Levi' and 'Levy', signifying the descendants from the Tribe of Levi. All bearers today are of Hungarian–Jewish descent.
LevandiEstonian Levandi is an Estonians surname meaning the "Levant".
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
LickfoldEnglish Derives from a hamlet in West Sussex, England. All known holders, worldwide, of this rare surname can be traced back to Lickfolds who lived within 20 miles of Lickfold in the 16th century.
LiconaSpanish Habitational name from a place called Likoa in Basque Country.
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.
LiellEnglish (British) Meaning: from the isle, from an island. Early versions of the name can be traced back to the Norman invasion in 1066, and a variation (de Insula) can be found in the Domesday Book... [more]
LiemDutch Habitual surname for Lieme in Eastphalia, which is from lim meaning "mire".
LieshoutDutch Originally indicated a person from the village of Lieshout in the province of North-Brabant, Netherlands. It is possibly derived from either Dutch lies meaning "great manna grass" (a grasslike plant that grows near riverbanks and ponds) or Middle Dutch lese meaning "track, furrow", combined with hout meaning "forest".
LietzenGerman Lietzen is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany.... [more]
LiễuVietnamese Vietnamese form of Liu, from Sino-Vietnamese 柳 (liễu).
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.
LigiEstonian Ligi is an Estonian surname meaning "near" or "accessible".
LiistroItalian From Sicilian lijistru "privet", a kind of shrub or small tree.
LiivamägiEstonian Liivamägi is an Estonian surname meaning "sand mountain".
LijewskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Lijewo in Włocławek voivodeship.
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".
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]
LillardBelgian Habitational name from either of two places called Li(e)laar, in Gavere and Sint-Maria-Oudenhove, East Flanders.
LillingstoneEnglish It indicates familial origin within either of 2 villages in Buckinghamshire: Lillingstone Dayrell or Lillingstone Lovell.
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone who lived on the banks of the Lima River in Portugal, most likely derived from Indo-European *léymō meaning "lake".
LimanowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish town of Limanowa.
LimbMedieval English Rare name of medieval English origin. A dialectal variant of the locational name 'Lumb', from places so called in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, and derives from the Old English pre-7th Century 'lum(m)'... [more]
LimbachGerman Derived from any of numerous places in Germany named with Germanic lindo meaning "lime tree" and bach meaning "stream". Several of these places are in areas such as the Palatinate, which contributed heavily to early German immigration to the United States.
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
LindellEnglish Derived from various places in England named with Old Norse lind "lime tree" and dalr "valley".
LindenbaumGerman, Jewish topographic name for someone who lived by a lime tree Lindenbaum or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a lime tree. Derived from the elements linta "linden" and boum "tree".
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]
LindenmeyerGerman Habitational name for the tenant of a farm identified by a lime tree, derived from Middle High German linde meaning "lime tree" and meier meaning "tenant farmer".
LinderGerman Derived from the German word linde, which means lime tree.
LindleyEnglish, German English habitational name from either of two places in West Yorkshire called Lindley, or from Linley in Shropshire and Wiltshire, all named from Old English lin ‘flax’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘glade’, with epenthetic -d-, or from another Lindley in West Yorkshire (near Otley), named in Old English as ‘lime wood’, from lind ‘lime tree’ + leah ‘woodland clearing’... [more]
LinekerEnglish From a place name composed of Old English lin meaning "flax" and æcer meaning "field". A famous bearer is retired English soccer player Gary Lineker (1960-).
LinfordEnglish habitational name from Great and Little Linford in Buckinghamshire or Lynford in Norfolk. The former may have Old English hlyn "maple" as its first element; the latter is more likely to contain lin "flax" or alternatively the first element may relate to the river Lynn... [more]
LinklaterScottish Scottish (Orkney) habitational name from either of two places named Linklater (in South Ronaldsay and North Sandwick).
LinleyEnglish This surname can be derived from a place of the same name in Shropshire, which is derived from Old English lín meaning "flax, linen" and leah meaning "clearing." As a modern surname, it can also be a variant of Lindley (Lindley is used in 2 places in Yorkshire), which is derived from Old English lind meaning "lime tree" and leah.