South American names include those from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
KayanoJapanese (Rare), Brazilian Kaya means "yew tree",and No means "field,meadow,wilderness".People with this last name are Kayano Gonbei (a samurai),Ai Kayano(a voice actress of MANY characters /more than 30),and Shigeru Kayano(an Ainu politician who lived well up to 2006)... [more]
KraisGerman, Brazilian Brazilian adaptation of the German surname Greis; altered for easier comprehension by the Portuguese-speaking population of Brazil.
LabradorSpanish, Portuguese, Filipino From the root word "labora" meaning labor or work. This means laborer or worker but often associated to farmers as in San Isidro Labrador
LacerdaPortuguese, Spanish Nickname for someone with remarkably thick or long hair, or with an unusually hairy back or chest. From Spanish and Portuguese lacerda ‘the lock (of hair)’.
La CoteraSpanish Spanish variant for Hill and/or someone living in a slope, A "cota" in Spanish.
LafuenteSpanish Means "the fountain" in Spanish derived from fons "fountain" with fused definite article la. Variant of Fuentes and cognate to Lafontaine.
LagoItalian, Spanish, Portuguese Topographic name for someone living by a lake from lago "lake" (from Latin lacus) or a habitational name from any of the many places called with this word.
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.
LebrónSpanish Lebrón is a surname most prevalent in the Autonomous Community of Andalucía. It is an augmentative of liebre (meaning "hare" in Spanish).
LedesmaSpanish Habitational name from any of the numerous places in Spain called Ledesma, possibly derived from a Celtic root meaning "broad, wide".
LeonadoSpanish The color tawny which is an orange, brown color. This descriptive surname was given to the Filipino people by the Spanish when the Philippines was colonized.
LeonardoItalian, Spanish, German Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese from the Germanic personal name Leonhard, formed from the elements leo ‘lion’ + hard, ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’; this was an early medieval saint’s name (see Leonard).
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone living on the banks of the river of this name (of pre-Roman origin, probably akin to a Celtic element lemos, limos 'elm').
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".
LimonSpanish An occupational name for a grower or seller of the fruit.
LinharesPortuguese Portuguese: habitational name from any of several places called Linhares, for example in Braganca, Guarda, and Vila Real, from the plural of linhar ‘flax field’ (Latin linare, a derivative of linum ‘flax’).
LinzmeyerGerman, Portuguese (Brazilian) Means "bailiff of Linz, Austria" in German, derived from Proto-Celtic *lentos (“bend”) and Middle High German meier meaning "bailiff, administrator", derived from Latin maior meaning "greater".... [more]
LobatoSpanish, Portuguese nickname from lobato "wolf cub" (from Latin lupus "wolf") or from a medieval personal name based on this word.
LoberaSpanish Either a topographic name from lobera "wolf pack" or "wolves' lair" or a habitational name from any of several places called La Lobera. variant of Lovera.
LosadaSpanish, Portuguese topographic name for someone who lived by an area paved with flagstones Spanish losada (from losar "to pave" a derivative of losa a word of pre-Roman origin meaning a "flat stone slab").
LourinhoPortuguese Possibly from Lourinhã, a portuguese city to the northwest of Lisbon who possibly originated in the Roman period, when a villa named "Laurinana" existed in the area. Lourinho is a diminutive form of "louro", deriving from Latin laurus, "laurel".
LousadaPortuguese Name given from the village of Lousada, in Northern Portugal.
LovatoSpanish (Latin American), Italian Northern Italian from the Late Latin personal name Lupatus, derivative of Latin lupus "wolf". This is one of several medieval personal names which became popular under the influence of Germanic compound personal names formed with wolf-.
LoveraItalian, Spanish Either a topographic name from lovera "wolf pack" or "wolves’ lair" or a habitational name from a place called Lovera. Spanish variant of Lobera.
LugardoSpanish Spanish (Mainly Huelva): From The Personal Name Lugardo A Variant Of Lutgardo Of Ancient Germanic Origin (See Luckhardt ). This Surname Is Most Common In Mexico.
LugoSpanish Galician and Spanish habitational name from Lugo, a city in Galicia. This was a Roman settlement under the name of Lucus Augusti ‘grove or wood of Augustus’, but that may have been no more than an adaptation of an earlier name derived from that of the Celtic god Lugos.
LumbrerasSpanish Habitational Name From A Place Called Lumbreras In La Rioja From The Plural Of Lumbrera ‘Lamp’ Possibly Referring To An Old Signal Tower.
LunavelascoSpanish (Latin American, Rare) Un-hyphenated combination of the last names, Luna, and Velasco forming its’ own name. Luna meaning “the moon” in Latin as well as multiple languages. Velasco meaning “crow” or “raven”.
LuqueSpanish Habitational name from the city of Luque in Córdoba, Spain, derived from Latin lucus meaning "sacred grove, wood, forest".
MacedoPortuguese, Spanish (Latin American) Referred to a person who worked or lived at an apple orchard. It is derived from Vulgar Latin mattianēta meaning "place with apple trees."
MadeirasPortuguese Came from the Portuguese Madeira word "wood" or "timber". perhaps the portuguese version of the surname Woods or someone who's from the Portuguese island Madeira
MaderaSpanish describing someone who lived or worked in a forest. the word Madera means "wood" in Spanish. Spanish meaning of surname Wood
MadridSpanish habitational name from what is now Spain's principal city Madrid. Throughout the Middle Ages it was of only modest size and importance and did not become the capital of Spain until 156 Its name is of uncertain origin most probably a derivative of Late Latin matrix genitive matricis "riverbed" much changed by Arabic mediation (see Madrigal ). There are other smaller places of the same name in the provinces of Burgos and Cantabria and these may also be sources of the surname.
MadrigalSpanish "Madrigal" comes from from the Venetian madregal "simple, ingenuous," from Late Latin matricalis "invented, original," literally "of or from the womb," from matrix (gen. matricis) "womb."
MagaldiItalian, South American Patronymic or plural form of the Old German personal name Magoald (from the elements megin, magan "strength, might, power" and wald "power"), or else a nickname from magaldo meaning "evil, wicked", which was derived from the personal name... [more]
MagallanesSpanish Spanish: Castilianized Form Of A Habitational Name From The Village Of Magaláns (Castilian Magalanes) In Pontevedra Province Galicia (Spain).
MagañaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Castilian municipality.
MaltaItalian, Spanish, Portuguese habitational or ethnic name for someone from the Mediterranean island of Malta (from Latin Melita Greek Melitē).
MaltezPortuguese Likely has origins in the Portuguese word "maltez," now written as "maltês," which translates to "Maltese" in English. This surname might have been adopted by families with connections to the Mediterranean island of Malta or by individuals who had some association with Maltese culture or trade.
ManceboSpanish Spanish: Occupational Or Status Name For A Serf Or Servant Also ‘Youth Single Man’ Old Spanish Mancebo (From Late Latin Mancipus From Classical Latin Mancipium ‘Slave’).
MandujanoSpanish Spanish: Possibly An Altered Form Of A Basque Habitational Name From Mandoiana A Town In Araba/Álava Province Basque Country. This Surname Is Most Common In Mexico.
ManjarrésSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Riojan municipality.
ManjarrezSpanish Habitational Name From Manjarrés A Village In La Rioja Province.