HuxfordEnglish Habitational name from a place in Devon called Huxford (preserved in the name of Huxford Farm), from the Old English personal name Hōcc or the Old English word hōc ‘hook or angle of land’ + ford ‘ford’.
IrelandEnglish, Scottish Ethnic name for someone from Ireland, Old English Iraland. The country gets its name from the genitive case of Old English Iras "Irishmen" and land "land". The stem Ir- is taken from the Celtic name for Ireland, Èriu, earlier Everiu... [more]
JaggardEnglish The name Jaggard is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It was originally a name for someone who worked as a person who tends draughthorses.
JanewayEnglish Derived from Middle English Janaways, the name for someone from the city of Genoa, Italy. A notable fictional bearer is Kathryn Janeway, the captain of starship USS Voyager on the TV-series 'Star Trek: Voyager' (1995-2001).
JeffreyEnglish From a Norman personal name that appears in Middle English as Geffrey and in Old French as Je(u)froi. Some authorities regard this as no more than a palatalized form of Godfrey, but early forms such as Galfridus and Gaufridus point to a first element from Germanic gala "to sing" or gawi "region, territory"... [more]
JocelynEnglish Another of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
JunkinsEnglish Derived from the Middle English given name Jenkin, which was in turn created from a diminutive of the name John, with the suffix "kin," added to the name.
KelsallEnglish Habitational name probably derived from Kelsall in Cheshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Kell combined with halh "nook, recess", or possibly from Kelshall, Hertfordshire, meaning "Cylle’s hill", or Kelsale, Suffolk, meaning "Ceol’s nook"... [more]
KemptonEnglish From the name of a place in Shropshire meaning "Cempa's town" or "warrior town", from a combination of either the Old English word cempa "warrior" or the byname derived from it and tun "farmstead, settlement".
KennerkEnglish The surname Kennerk was first found in Westphalia, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families in the western region. From the 13th century onwards the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.
KensleyEnglish This surname might derive from the surname Kinsley or from the locational surname Kelsey (denoting someone who is from either North or South Kelsey in Lincolnshire).
KenwoodEnglish From the settlement of Kenwood in the parish of Kenton, county of Devon, England. ... [more]
KevilleEnglish Denoted someone from Keevil (recorded in the Domesday book as Chivele), a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, probably derived from Old English c¯f meaning "hollow" and leah meaning "woodland clearing".
KidwellWelsh, English The origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be derived from Middle English kidel "fish weir", denoting a person who lived by a fish weir or made his living from it, or from an English place called Kiddal, probably meaning "Cydda's corner of land" from the Old English given name Cydda and halh "nook or corner of land".
KilvertEnglish Probably from an Old Norse personal name Ketilfrith, literally "cauldron peace". The surname was borne by British clergyman and diarist Francis Kilvert (1840-1879).
KindredEnglish From the Anglo-Saxon given name Cenered meaning "bold counsel" from the elements cene, cen (later kene) meaning "bold, brave, proud" and raed meaning "counsel".
KinslowEnglish habitational name from Kingslow in Worfield (Shropshire). The placename means "king's tumulus" from Old English cyning "king" (genitive cyninges) and hlaw "tumulus burial mound hill".
KirkmanEnglish A name originally found in both Scotland and England. From Kirk- meaning "church" and -man for someone who lived near or worked at a church.
KirkseyEnglish English: probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. This surname is also common in the American South.
KitcherEnglish (British) This name derives from the Old English word "Cyta", and describes 'the cat' or perhaps more specifically a wild cat. This name may also refer to someone who worked in a Kitchen.
LaithenEnglish English habitational name from any of various places so called, for example in Lancashire (near Blackpool) and in North Yorkshire. The former was named in Old English as ‘settlement by the watercourse’, from Old English lad ‘watercourse’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’; the latter as ‘leek enclosure’ or ‘herb garden’, from leac ‘leek’ + tun... [more]
LammersEnglish Habitational name from either Lamas in Norfolk or Lamarsh in Essex, derived from Old English lām "loam, clay" combined with ersc "plowed field" or mersc "marsh".
LampardEnglish Derived from the given name Lambert. A famous bearer of this surname is the retired English soccer player Frank Lampard (1978-).
LamshedEnglish Surname common in Australia & the UK. A variation of Lambshead which was originally a mis-spelling of Lambside which was the area from which the family originated in Pommyland. Other variations include Lambshed, Lamshead, Lammyside and Lamesta... [more]
LangtryEnglish From the Old English ‘lang’, meaning long, and ‘treow’, meaning tree. The name of several settlements across England.
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".
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".
LatimerEnglish English occupational name for a clerk who could translate documents to and from Latin and/or other languages, from Anglo-Norman French latinier, latim(m)ier.
LaunderEnglish From English launder, itself from French lavandier both meaning "washerman".
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".
LeatherEnglish, Scottish A metonymic occupational name for a leatherworker or seller of leather goods, and derived from Middle English and Old English lether meaning "leather".
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".
LindellEnglish Derived from various places in England named with Old Norse lind "lime tree" and dalr "valley".
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]
LingardEnglish Habitational name from Lingart, Lancashire, or Lingards Wood in Marsden, West Yorkshire.
LombardFrench, English, South African French and English cognate of Lombardi, or derived from the given name Lambert. A famous bearer of this name was the American actress Carole Lombard (1908-1942), born Jane Alice Peters.
LongleyEnglish Geographic name referring to multiple places by the same name in Yorkshire, England. The name comes from the word "long" plus Old English leáh "meadow".
LorimerEnglish Means "maker or seller of metal items of a horse's harness and associated equipment (e.g. bits and spurs)" (from Anglo-Norman loremier, a derivative of Old French lorain "harness").
LovedayEnglish Means either (i) "person particularly associated with a 'loveday'" (a day when, by custom, old differences were settled and reconciliations were made); or (ii) from the medieval female personal name Loveday, a descendant of Old English Leofdæg, literally "beloved day"... [more]
MabbettEnglish From a pet-form of the medieval female personal name Mabbe, a shortened form of Amabel (ultimately from Latin amābilis "lovable")... [more]
MadeleyEnglish English: habitational name from places so named in Shropshire and Staffordshire, named in Old English with the personal name Mada + leah ‘woodland clearing’.
MallardEnglish Either (i) from the Old French male personal name Malhard, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin and meaning literally "council-brave"; or (ii) from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a male wild duck.
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.
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]
MallowsEnglish From Anglo-Saxon origins, meaning "The cross or mark on the hill". This surname is taken from the location 'Mallows Green' in England.
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]
ManfordEnglish Place name for "Munda's ford" from an Old English personal name Munda, the same element in the second syllable of Edmund and ford meaning a waterway crossing.
MansellEnglish (Canadian), Norman Of Norman origin, a habitational or regional name from Old French mansel ‘inhabitant of Le Mans or the surrounding area of Maine’. The place was originally named in Latin (ad) Ceromannos, from the name of the Gaulish tribe living there, the Ceromanni... [more]
MarableFrench, English From the feminine personal name Mirabel, equated in medieval records with Latin mirabilis "marvelous", "wonderful" (in the sense "extraordinary").
MarinerEnglish, Catalan Occupational name from Middle English mariner "sailor seaman boatman" (Anglo-Norman French mariner Old French mariniermarniermerinier) Catalan mariner (from Late Latin marinarius a derivative of marinus "marine").
MarkellEnglish Habitational name from various locations in England containing the Old English element mearc (from Old Germanic markō) meaning "border, boundary".
MarkhamEnglish English name from a place in Nottinghamshire, named in Old English as 'homestead at a (district) boundary', from mearc 'boundary' + ham 'homestead'. English surname used as an equivalent of Gaelic Ó Marcacháin 'descendant of Marcachán', a diminutive of Marcach (see Markey).
MarkleyEnglish From Old English mearc meaning "border, mark" combined with leah meaning "clearing, grove."
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]
MarwoodEnglish From the name of two places named Marwood in England, or a nickname for a person who "casts an evil eye", derived from Norman French malreward meaning "evil eye, glance".
MatlockEnglish From the name of a town in Derbyshire, England, meaning "moot oak, oak where meetings were held", derived from Old English mæðel "meeting, gathering, council" (see mahal) and ac "oak (tree)".
MatontiEnglish My grandfathers last name from Italy . He grew up in Naples but the name is from a small country village by Tuscany named Matonti. That's all we know so far.
MaughanIrish, English Anglicized from the original Irish Gaelic form Ò Mocháin meaning 'descendant of Mochain'. This name was one of the earliest known Irish surnames brought to England and remains a fairly common surname in the North East of the country.