LakeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lives by a streamlet or from the name of various places in England, so-called or similar, all derived from Old English lacu "pool, pond, stream". It may also be a topographic name for someone who lives by a lake, derived from Old French lac "lake", although this is unlikely.... [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".
LancashireEnglish Shire of Lancaster; One who came from Lancashire, a county in the North of England.
LancasterEnglish From the name of a city in northwestern England derived from Middle English Loncastre, itself from Lon referring to an ancient Roman fort on the River Lune combined with Old English ceaster meaning "city, town".
LandEnglish, German Topographic name from Old English land, Middle High German lant, "land, territory". This had more specialized senses in the Middle Ages, being used to denote the countryside as opposed to a town or an estate.
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".
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]
LanierFrench, English Occupational name designating one who worked in the wool trade (see Lane 2), derived from Old French lanier (ultimately from laine) meaning "wool", or for a keeper of donkeys, from Old French asnier literally "donkey keeper, donkey driver"... [more]
LanphereEnglish From the Languedoc region of southern France, it came from the ancient Greek personal name, Petros and the Biblical name, Peter, meaning "rock."
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".
LapishEnglish (British) Derives from the surname Lapage, referring to a "law-page", that is, someone who worked as a servant.
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".
LargeFrench, English Originally a nickname derived from Middle English and Old French large "generous".
LarginEnglish (American) The surname Largin origin is English. Largin is not common and it probably came from Larkin, or Lawerson. My mother is from North Carolina I don't know any information about her or her family. My dad's family who I live with is Holders which my name will be soon... [more]
LarkEnglish From the name of the bird, a nickname for a singer or a cheerful person, or perhaps someone who caught and sold larks. Alternatively, could be a shortened form of the personal name Larkin.
LarterEnglish Uncertain etymology. Possibly a variant of the French Habitational surname Latour. Other theories connect it to Old Teutonic lahtro "place where animals bear young", or to Old English lyrt "liar, deceiver; crooked", though the latter is unlikely.
LasbyEnglish (Hellenized, Rare), French (Quebec) Likely derived from a place in England. Associated with the Old English terms "laes" and "by", meaning pasture or village. Now rare in England, most people with this surname are American or Canadian, and are descended from a group of French Canadian furtrappers.
LasherEnglish Their are many possible meanings. 1. One who lashes ropes together. 2. One who lashes or wipps. 3. One who lashes out in anger.
LasterEnglish Occupational name for a shoemaker, or for someone who made lasts, a wooden tool in the shape of a foot used for stretching and shaping leather when making boots.
LatimerEnglish Occupational name for an interpreter or clerk who wrote documents in Latin, ultimately derived from Latin latinarius "interpreter, speaker of Latin".
LavenderEnglish, Dutch Occupational name for a washerman or launderer, Old French, Middle Dutch lavendier (Late Latin lavandarius, an agent derivative of lavanda "washing", "things to be washed"). The term was applied especially to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool or rinsed the cloth after fulling... [more]
LaverEnglish Occupational name for a washer, from French laveur (see Lavers). Also the name of a parish in Essex, England.
LaverickEnglish Derived from Old English lāferce meaning "lark", making it a cognate of Lark.
LaversEnglish English (chiefly Devon and Cornwall): Medieval English and occupational, from pre-10th century Old French "lavandier". Introduced by the Normans after 1066, originally described a worker in the wool industry, and was a metonymic or nickname for a person employed to wash raw wool or rinse the cloth after fulling... [more]
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".
LawlessEnglish, Scottish, Irish From a nickname for someone who was undisciplined or an outlaw, derived from Middle English laweles "not following the law or discipline".
LawmanEnglish Derived from Middle English lagman or lagheman "lawyer".
LawtonEnglish Habitational name from the village called Church Lawton in Cheshire, derived from Old English hlaw "mound, small hill" and tun "enclosure, town".
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]
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]
LearnEnglish (American) The surname Learn is traced to an 18th-century settler and his family who lived in what is now Tannersville, Pa. It is an Anglicized version of the Germanic "Loehrner," which name the settler and his family also used.
LearnedEnglish Means "educated" from Middle English lerned (Old English ġelǣred) meaning "educated".
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".
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.
LedgerEnglish From the given name Leodegar or Legier. Alternatively, could be an occupational name for a stonemason, ultimately derived from Old English lecgan "to put, place, lay (down)".
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]
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".
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.
LentEnglish, German, Dutch Nickname from either Old English lencten meaning "spring season, springtime" or from Germanic langa-tinez meaning "long days" which refers to the increasing daylight of spring. Likely a nickname for someone who was born or baptized during springtime.
LentonEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Lenton, which can be derived from the name of the River Leen (from a Celtic word meaning "lake, pool") in Nottinghamshire, from the Old English given name Lāfa (see Leif) in Lincolnshire, or possibly from Old English lin "flax" in some cases, all combined with tun "town, enclosure, settlement".
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".
LestonEnglish Habitational name from Leiston in Suffolk, so named from Old English leg "beacon fire" and tun "farmstead, settlement".
LetcherEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream. From Old English læcc, plus the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
LethbridgeEnglish Believed to have derived from a location in Devonshire around the 16th century.
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]
LeverFrench, English Nickname for a fleet-footed or timid person, from Old French levre "hare" (Latin lepus, genitive leporis). It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a hunter of hares.
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.
LeverettEnglish Diminutive of Lever, from the Middle English personal name Lefred, Old English Leofræd, composed of the elements leof ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ + red ‘counsel’.
LeverichEnglish The surname Leverich was first found in West Yorkshire at Liversedge, a township that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Livresec, a manor belonging to Radulf, a vassal of Ilbert de Lacy... [more]
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.
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.
LightEnglish Nickname for a happy, cheerful person, from Middle English lyght, Old English lēoht "light (not dark), bright, cheerful".
LightfootEnglish From a nickname for a messenger or a swift runner, derived from Middle English light "having little weight" and fot "foot".
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.
LillyEnglish Derived from Lilly, a pet name for Elizabeth. It was also used as a nickname for someone with fair skin or hair, and is derived from Old English lilie meaning "lily (the flower)"... [more]
LillywhiteEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with very fair hair or complexion. It was borne by English cricketers James Lillywhite (1842-1929), first captain of England, and William Lillywhite (1792-1854), pioneer of overarm bowling, uncle of James... [more]
LilyEnglish Derived from Lily, a pet name for Elizabeth. It was also used as a nickname for someone with fair skin or hair, and is derived from Old English lilie meaning "lily (the flower)"... [more]
LindberghSwedish (Rare), English (Rare) Rare variant spelling of Lindberg. A famous bearer was American aviator Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) who was the first person to fly non-stop from America to mainland Europe in 1927.
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]
LineEnglish Americanized form of German Lein: occupational name for a grower of or dealer in flax from Middle High German līn, meaning “flax”.... [more]
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]
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.
LinneyEnglish From an Old English female personal name Lindgifu, Lindgeofu, composed of the elements lind ‘lime (wood)’, i.e. ‘shield’ (a transferred sense) + gifu, geofu ‘gift’.
LippincottEnglish A habitational name meaning "of Luffincott," a parish in Devon, England. Named from Old English uncertain first element + cot ‘cottage’.
LitherlandEnglish From a place name: either Litherland in Merseyside or Uplitherland in Lancashire. The place names themselves derive from Old Norse hlið "hillside, slope" (genitive form hliðar) and Old English land "land".
LittlewoodEnglish Habitational name for a person from any of the various minor places in Yorkshire, derived from Old English lytel "small, little" and wudu "tree, wood".
LivelyEnglish A modern English surname possibly derived from a lost village called Laefer-leah which would give it the meaning "the farm by the lake".... [more]
LivelyEnglish From a nickname for a lively person, from Middle English lifly.
LivermoreEnglish Derived from Old English lifer "rush reed, muddy water" and mere "lake".
LiverpoolEnglish Derived from Old English lifer "rush reed, muddy water" and pol "pool".
LivingstonEnglish, Scottish This surname is thought to be derived from Middle English Levingestun meaning "Leving's town" or "Leving's settlement."
LockyerEnglish Variant of Locklear. Lockyer is an occupational name of anglo-saxon origin meaning "locksmith".
LodgeEnglish Local name for someone who lived in a small cottage or temporary dwelling, Middle English logge (Old French loge, of Germanic origin). The term was used in particular of a cabin erected by masons working on the site of a particular construction project, such as a church or cathedral, and so it was probably in many cases equivalent to an occupational name for a mason... [more]