MarquisFrench, English for someone who behaved like a marquis or an occupational name for a servant in the household of a marquis, from Old Northern French marquis... [more]
MarsmanDutch Derived from Middle Dutch marsch, mersch (Southern Dutch meers), meaning "marsh". In some cases, however, it can also be a variant of Meersman.
MaseyEnglish, Scottish, French, Norman English and Scottish (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of various places in northern France which get their names from the Gallo-Roman personal name Maccius + the locative suffix -acum.... [more]
MasseDutch Derived from Middle Dutch masse "clog; cudgel", this name might have been a metonymic occupational name for someone who wielded a club. In some cases, however, it may also have been a patronymic of Maas.
MastGerman, Dutch Derived from Middle High German and Middle Dutch mast "mast (fodder made of acorns and beechnuts); the process of fattening livestock", this used to be an occupational name for a pig farmer or a swineherd... [more]
MastDutch Derived from Middle Dutch mast "(ship's) mast; pole", this was a nickname for a tall, lanky man.
MastinFrench, Flemish, Walloon occupational name for a household servant or guard from Old French mastin "watchdog, manservant" (from Latin mansuetudinus "domestic"). The Old French word had the further sense of a bad-tempered dog and was used as an adjective in the sense of "bad cruel".
MathenyFrench (Anglicized) Of French origin. According to Matheny family tradition, this surname comes from the name of a village in France named Mathenay. This may also have been a French Huguenot surname.
MattenFlemish One possibility of origin is of the French word motte which means a hill or mound. to this were added several tiny suffix of -et, and -ot, to give motet or motton meaning "small motte" or "son of motte" or to describe one who lived for a place- mottier.
MaturinFrench From the French male personal name Maturin, from Latin Mātūrīnus, a derivative of Mātūrus, literally "timely". It was borne by the Irish "Gothic" novelist Charles Maturin (1782-1824).
MeauxFrench Habitational name from a place in Seine-et-Marne, so named from the Gaulish tribal name Meldi, or from Meaux-la-Montagne in Rhône.
MéeFrench French habitational name from places called (Le) Mée in Mayenne, Eure-et-Loir, and Seine-et-Marne, derived from Old French me(i)s ‘farmstead’ (Latin mansus).
MeesterDutch, Flemish, German Occupational name for a teacher, lecturer or a master craftsman, or a nickname for someone who had a bossy demeanor, derived from Dutch meester meaning "master". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actress, singer and model Leighton Meester (1986-).
MénardFrench From the Old German given name Meginhard, making it a cognate of Maynard. A notable bearer was André Ménard, Governor General in the French colonial empire.
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]
MessiaenDutch, French Derived from Messiaen, the (archaic) Dutch form of the latinate first name Messianus, which itself is ultimately derived from the Roman praenomen Messus. The meaning of Messus is not wholly certain; it may be derived from the Latin verb meto "to reap, to harvest, to cut, to sever", or from the latinized form of Greek mesos or messos "(the) middle, (the) middle one"... [more]
MessierFrench Occupational name for someone who kept watch over harvested crops, Old French messier 'harvest master' (Late Latin messicarius, agent derivative of messis 'harvest').
MetrejonLouisiana Creole (?), French (?) Maiden surname of Constance Leto (nee Metrejon). She was born in Louisiana and has Cajun(French) ancestry. The Metrejon line is traced back to Joseph Marie Maitrejean, who was born c. 1778, in Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, an island off the coast of Brittany.
MickGerman, Dutch, Irish Short form of the given name Mikolaj or an occupational name from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch micke "(wheat or rye) bread"... [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]
MilletFrench, Catalan metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of millet or panic grass or a topographic name for someone who lived by a field of millet from French and Catalan millet (from Latin milietum a derivative of milium in Old French mil "millet").
MolyneuxFrench Possibly a habitational name from Moulineux, meaning "mill of the waters", or derives from the Old French name De Molines or De Moulins, meaning "mill". The surname has been linked to a large French family that settled in Lancashire from France.
MonfilsFrench Monfils is a surname of French origin, meaning "my son."
MonierFrench, English, French (Huguenot) French variant of Monnier and occupational name for a moneyer from Middle English monier "moneyer" (Old French monier) or for a miller from Old French monier "miller".
MoniqueFrench A notable bearer is Kylie Monique, a singer.
MonteblancoFrench, Spanish Originally from France "Mont Blanc" but translated when arrived in Spain.
MontesquieuFrench From French montagne, meaning "mountain" and possibly also from queue, meaning "line". Charles Montesquieu was a 17th-century French aristocrat, philosopher and politician.
MontignyFrench habitational name from (Le) Montigny the name of several places in various parts of France (from a Gallo-Roman estate name Montiniacum formed either from a personal name or from a derivative of mons "mountain" and the locative suffix acum)... [more]
MontpelierEnglish, French English and French variant of Montpellier. This is the name of several places in the United States, for example the capital city of the state of Vermont, which was named after the French city of Montpellier.
MontpellierFrench Means "woad mountain", derived from French mont (itself from Latin mōns) meaning "mountain" and pastel (Latin pastellus, pestellus) meaning "woad, dye", referring to someone who lived near a mountain that was covered with woad (a plant that produces a blue dye)... [more]
MontyFrench, English Topographic name for a mountain dweller, from Old French mont 'mountain' (Latin mons, montis).
MonvoisinFrench Married surname of a infamous 17th century fortune teller and poisoner, Catherine Monvoisin nee Deshayes, known as La Voisin. Executed for witchcraft in 1680 in the affair of the poisons. Her clients included the elite of Paris including a mistress of Louis XIV.
MoraleeEnglish, French First found in Norfolk where they were seated from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings.
MorandFrench, French (Swiss) from the medieval Latin personal name Maurandus Morandus derived from Maurus "Mauritanian Moor" and the suffix -andus (following the pattern of names formed from a verbal noun such as Amandus) or shortened from Moderandus which appears to be Latin for "he who is (able) to be guided"... [more]
MorantEnglish, French From the Old French personal name Morant, perhaps from a nickname meaning "steadfast", or alternatively of Germanic origin and meaning literally "courage-raven". A known bearer was the British-born Australian soldier and poet Breaker Morant, original name Edwin Henry Murrant (?1864-1902).
MoranvilleFrench Habitational name from Moranville, probably derived from the personal name Morand + Old French word ville "settlement".
MoreFrench nickname for a dark-skinned man from Old French more "Moor" (from Latin Maurus). French cognitive of Moore 3.
MorshuisDutch 'Mors' is 'swamp' in old Dutch and 'huis' is 'home', so the name is basically Swamphouse. It is thought that the person who registered the name when Napoleon ruled the Netherlands they lived in a swamp.
MotelFrench Topographic name from a derivative of Old French motte ‘fortified stronghold’.
MotteFrench, Walloon, Flemish, German from old French motte "motte" a word of Gaulish origin denoting a man-made protective mound or moat surrounding a castle or other fortified strongholds; or a habitational name from any of the various places in France and in Belgium named with this word.... [more]
MoutonFrench Nickname from Old French mouton "sheep" used for a docile mild-mannered person for someone easily led or perhaps for a curly-haired man. Original French cognitive of Mutton.
MullensFlemish A name referring to someone who lived at or by a mill.
MullinixFrench A locational name "of de Moloneaux" probably from the noble family who trace their descent from William the Conqueror, from Molineaux-sur-Seine, near Rouen. The name came to England during the wake of the Norman Conquest... [more]
MultatuliDutch From the Latin phrase multa tulī meaning "I have suffered much" or "I have borne much". This was the pen name of the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887), who wrote Max Havelaar, which denounced the abuses of colonialism in the Dutch East Indies, now called Indonesia... [more]
MunchDanish, French, Norwegian (Rare) Either a variant of Münch or Munk, both meaning "monk". A notable bearer was Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944), whose best known work is 'The Scream'.
MünsterGerman, Dutch habitational name from any of the places called Münster (in Germany) or Munster derived from Latin monasterium "monastery" or a topographic name for someone living near a monastery.
NassauGerman, Dutch, Jewish From the name of the town of Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (formerly the seat of an independent duchy in the 19th century), derived from Old High German naz meaning "damp, wet" and ouwa meaning "water meadow"... [more]
NaultFrench From a short form of various medieval personal names derived from Germanic personal names formed with wald 'rule' as the final element, in particular Arnold.
NavarreFrench The name means "By the sea". Originally a country of its own, located between Spain and France, Navarre became a part of France in 1284 when the Queen of Navarre married King Philip IV of France. After much war, becoming independent once again, and falling into Spanish rule, the Kingdom of Navarre is now split between Spain and France.
NeesonIrish, Dutch, German Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Naois ‘son of Naois’, usually Anglicized as Mcneese. Can also be an altered form of Dutch or German Niesen... [more]
NeugerGerman, French (?) Was popularized by the German community. Famous bearers include investors Win Neuger and Dan Neuger, author Christie Cozad Neuger.
NobleEnglish, Scottish, Irish, French Nickname from Middle English, Old French noble "high-born, distinguished, illustrious" (Latin nobilis), denoting someone of lofty birth or character, or perhaps also ironically someone of low station... [more]
NoirFrench Means "black" in French, originally used in Northern France as an ethnic nickname for someone from Southern France, Spain, Italy or North Africa. It also may have been used for someone who wore dark clothing or for someone who had an occupation during the night or was associated with the night.
NolfGerman, Dutch From a short form of the personal name Arnolf, composed of the Germanic elements arn 'eagle' + wulf 'wolf'. Dutch: from a reduced form of Nodolf, derived from the personal name Odolf by transfer of the final -n in a preceding personal name such as Jan, Simoen
NostradamusHistory, French (Latinized) Latinized form of de Nostredame. This surname was borne by the French physician and writer Michel de Nostredame (1503-1566), famous for his collection of prophecies Les Prophéties (1555) allegedly predicting the apocalypse and danger from the Arab world.
NugentEnglish, Irish, French An English, Irish (of Norman origin) and French habitational surname derived from any of several places in northern France (such as Nogent-sur-Oise), From Latin novientum and apparently an altered form of a Gaulish name meaning "new settlement".
OdelinFrench Not to be confused with the similarly spelled Odelín, which is Spanish rather than French, though they could have similar origins in name.
OlinEnglish, Dutch English or Dutch name meaning either "from a low lying area" or from the word Hollander meaning "one from the Netherlands" a country well known for a low lying landscape.
OliveFrench Given to someone who worked with olives from old french olive "olive" ultimately latin oliva "olive".
OmtzigtDutch Derived from Dutch omzicht meaning "cautious, careful, circumspection", ultimately from the verb omzien meaning "to look around". It may have originated in a Dutch village with several farms named Omzicht, or as a nickname for a cautious person... [more]
OosterhuisDutch Oosterhuis is a Dutch surname meaning "eastern house".
OostwalDutch From the Dutch words oost meaning "East" and wal meaning "shore" or "bank".
OranjeDutch means "orange" in Dutch, in reference to the Dutch Royal Family
OrleansFrench From Orléans, a city in France sieged by the English in 1429. Orléans is derived from Aurelianum, meaning "of Aurelius" in Latin.
OrleyDutch, Flemish, English A surname of uncertain origin found among the Dutch, Flemish and English. In England the name is primarily found in Yorkshire and Devon. Orley may be an adapted form of a French name D'Orley or a nickname for Orlando... [more]
OsterhoutDutch From the town of Oosterhout,, meaning "East Wood", as it is located nearby forests in the east of the Netherlands. Primary modern usage is in the United States can be traced back to Jan Jensen van Oosterhoudt, who immigrated to New Amsterdam in the 17th Century, and has been generally been simplified to Osterhout, where the O is pronounced as "AW"... [more]
OstiguyBasque, French Worn Quebec (Ostéguy variant), the name is visibly Basque and assumes initially a Ostegi form, which could designate a place where the foliage is abundant (osteo = + -egi sheet suffix). Alternatively, place the cold, cold house (Ortz, otz, followed -egi or -tegi).