Browse Surnames

Kersey is an English surname of toponymic origin, derived from the name of a village in Suffolk, England. The place name itself comes from the Old English elements cærse, meaning “watercress,” and ieg, meaning “island,”...

Key 1 is an English surname with two possible origins, both ultimately derived from medieval given names. It can be a variant of Kay 1, which itself is a short form of Katherine and other names beginning with K. Alternat...

Keyes is an English surname that serves as a variant of Kay, though the full etymology and historical usage reflect deeper connections to both a short form of the name Katherine and an independent given name with a separ...

EtymologyKeys 1 is an English surname that primarily represents a variant of the given name Kay 1 or Kay 2. As a patronymic or metronymic surname, it likely originated as a possessive form meaning 'of Kay' or 'son of Kay...

Kidd is an English surname of occupational or nickname origin, derived from the Middle English kid meaning “young goat,” itself from Old Norse kið. It likely originated as a nickname for someone thought to re...

Killam is an English habitational surname with geographic roots reaching back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be an habitational name derived from the village of Kilham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which means...

Kitchen is an English surname with an occupational origin, referring to a person who worked in a kitchen, such as that of a monastery, castle, or large household. The name derives from the Old English word cycene, which...

Kitchen is an English surname of occupational origin, derived from the Middle English kichene and Old English cycene, meaning a kitchen. The ultimate root is the Latin coquina, denoting a place used for cooking. The name...

Knaggs is an English surname derived from the Middle English word knagg, meaning "small mound, projection". The name is toponymic in origin, likely referring to someone who lived near a small hill or rocky outcrop. It is...

Knight is a surname of English origin, originally given to someone who served as a mounted soldier or a knight. It derives from the Old English term cniht, meaning “knight” or “servant,” which evolved to denote a tenant...

EtymologyKnowles is an English topographic surname derived from the Middle English word knol and Old English cnoll, meaning "small hill" or "knoll." It originally referred to someone who lived near a hilltop or a small h...

Lamb is an English surname with multiple possible origins. Most commonly, it derives from the Middle English word lamb, used as a nickname for a meek or gentle person, by the father of a child (see John Lamb), or from a...

Lane 1 is a locative English surname with a striking simplicity: it literally refers to someone who lived by a lane. In its earliest application, such a lane was a narrow way between fences or hedges—often used for drivi...

Langford is an English surname of topographic origin, derived from any of the various places in England named Langford. The place name comes from Old English lang "long" and ford "ford, river crossing", meaning "long for...

Langley 1 is an English surname with a toponymic origin, derived from any of the various places named Langley in England. The place name itself comes from the Old English elements lang "long" and leah "woodland, clearing...

Leach is an English surname with two distinct etymological origins. Primarily, it is an occupational name for a physician, derived from the Old English lǣċe (“physician”). This origin refers to the medieval practice of b...

Leavitt is an English surname with French roots, ultimately derived from the name of various places called Livet in Normandy, France. The toponym Livet is believed to have Gaulish origins, though its exact meaning remain...

Ledford is an English surname with topographic origins, derived from place names such as Lydford in Devon and Somerset. The etymology of Lydford combines the Old English elements hlud meaning "loud" or "noisy" and ford m...

Lee is a common English surname with topographic origins, derived from Old English lēah, meaning a woodland clearing or meadow. The name described someone who lived near such a feature, similar to other toponymic surname...

Leonardson is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Leonard". The surname follows the common pattern of adding the suffix "-son" to a father's given name to create a family name identifying descendants or followe...

Levitt is an English surname with two distinct origins: it is either a variant of the Anglo-Norman name Leavitt, or an Ashkenazi Jewish surname (often spelled Levit). The Leavitt root derives from Livet, places in Norman...

Origin and EtymologyThe surname Lewis 1 is a patronymic surname derived from the medieval English given name Lewis, an Anglicized form of the French name Louis, which ultimately comes from the Germanic Ludwig, meaning "f...

EtymologyLinville is an English surname with origins rooted in a place name, though the precise location remains uncertain. The name is believed to derive from an unidentified topographic or habitational source, possibly...

Little is an English surname derived from the Middle English adjective littel (meaning “small” or “not large”). Originally a nickname for a person of short stature, it belongs to a common class of European surnames descr...

Lock is an English surname with occupational and topographic origins. Derived from the Old English word loc, meaning 'lock', the name has traditionally been used to denote a locksmith, someone who made or repaired locks....

Lock is an English surname derived from the Old English word locc, meaning "lock of hair" or "curl." It likely originated as a nickname for someone with a distinctive tuft or curl of hair. This type of occupational or de...

Locke is an English surname with multiple possible origins. It is primarily a variant of the name Lock 1 or Lock 2. The first root, Lock 1, derives from Old English loc meaning "lock," and may have referred to a locksmit...

EtymologyLockwood is an English surname of locative origin. It derives from Old English loc (“lock; enclosure, fold”) and wudu (“wood”), together meaning “enclosed wood”. The name likely referred to someone who lived nea...

EtymologyLongstaff is an English surname of occupational or nickname origin. It derives from a combination of the Old English words "lang” (long) and “stæf” (staff). The primary meaning refers to an official who was enti...

Love is an English surname derived from the Old English given name Lufu, meaning "love." As a personal name, Lufu was a female given name, and its use dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period. The surname Love may also repre...

Lovelace is an English surname that originated as a nickname for a lothario or philanderer, deriving from the Middle English lufeles and Old English lufuleas, meaning "loveless." The name ironically described a person wh...

Low is an English surname with multiple potential origins. One common etymology is from Law, a medieval diminutive of Laurence, itself from the Roman cognomen Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum" (a city named after the...

Lowe 2 is an English surname. It is a variant of Law, which itself is a medieval diminutive of Laurence 1. The ultimate root is the Roman cognomen Laurentius, meaning “from Laurentum,” a city in ancient Italy whose name...

Lowry is an English and Scottish surname that originated as a diminutive of the given name Laurence 1. The name Laurence itself comes from the Roman cognomen Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum" — a city in ancient Italy...

Lukeson is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Luke." The suffic -son indicates descent, a common formation in English surnames that became hereditary around the 14th century. The root name Luke derives from th...

Lum is an English surname with multiple origins. One origin is toponymic, referring to someone who lived near or came from a place called Lumb in England. The name Lumb likely derives from Old English lum meaning "pool"...

Lyon 2 is a surname with roots in both English and French linguistic traditions. It is derived from a nickname based on the Old French and Middle English word lion, meaning "lion." The nickname likely referred to someone...

The surname Lyon 3 is of English and French origin, deriving from the given name Leon. Leon itself comes from the Greek λέων (leon), meaning "lion". During the Christian era, the Greek name merged with the Latin cognate...

Lyon 1 is an English and French surname with a geographic origin. It primarily denotes a person from the city of Lyon in central France, or alternatively from the small town of Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy.Etymology and To...

Lyons is an English surname. It is a variant of Lyon 1, which originally denoted a person from the city of Lyon in central France. The city's name derives from the Latin Lugdunum, itself from Gaulish elements meaning "hi...

Major 1 is an English surname derived from the Norman French given name Mauger, which itself originates from the Germanic name Malger. The name Malger is composed of the Old German elements mahal, meaning "meeting, assem...

Mann is a surname with multiple origins, most commonly associated with English and German-speaking populations. As an English nickname, it derives from Middle English mann meaning “man,” and was often used to distinguish...

Manning 1 is an English patronymic surname derived from the personal name Mann. The name Mann itself originates as a nickname meaning "man", distinguishing its bearer as the older of two individuals sharing the same give...

EtymologyMarchand is an occupational surname of French origin, derived from the Old French word marchand, meaning "merchant." The term ultimately traces back to Latin mercari "to trade." As a common surname in France, Qu...

Mark 1 is an English surname derived from the given name Mark. In onomastics, these patronymic or relational surnames were commonly created in England by directly adopting a father's given name as the family name, often...

Mark 2 is an English surname originally derived from the medieval given name Mark, which itself comes from the Latin Marcus, derived from the Roman god Mars, or from the Old English mearc meaning "border, boundary." As a...

Marlow is an English surname derived from a place name in Buckinghamshire, England. The name originates from the Old English elements mere meaning "lake" or "pool," and lafe (or hlǣw, meaning "hill") according to some so...

Marsden is an English surname with topographic origins, derived from a place name meaning 'boundary valley'. The name combines the Old English elements mearc ('mark, sign; boundary') and denu ('valley'), linked by the ge...

Marsh is an English surname of topographic origin, originally denoting someone who lived near a marsh or bog. The name derives from the Middle English mersh or Old English mersc, meaning "marsh" (a type of wetland domina...

Marston is an English locational surname derived from place names meaning "settlement by a marsh," from Old English mersc "marsh" and tun "enclosure, settlement." The name originally denoted someone who lived near or cam...

Martel is an English and French surname with a rich history rooted in the medieval nickname 'Martel', a diminutive of the given name Martin. Martin itself derives from the Roman name Martinus, which is connected to Mars,...

Martel is a surname of English and French origin, derived from the Old French word martel meaning "hammer". This occupational nickname was used for a smith, someone who worked with a hammer. The word itself traces back t...

Martell is a surname with both English and French origins, typically serving as a variant of Martel. The name Martel itself has two distinct derivations: one as a medieval diminutive of the given name Martin, and the oth...

Etymology and OriginMartinson is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Martin". The root name Martin itself derives from the Roman name Martinus, which originates from Martis, the genitive case of Mars, the Roman...

Massey is an English surname of Norman origin, introduced to Britain after the Conquest of 1066. As a toponymic surname, it derives from one of several places in Normandy named Massy, such as Massy in Seine-Maritime or M...

Etymology and OriginMasters is an English surname with occupational origins, derived from the Middle English term maister meaning "master". This term entered English through Old French from Latin magister, originally den...

Masterson is an English surname with a patronymic origin. It derives from the Middle English maister, meaning "master", which itself comes via Old French from Latin magister. The name essentially means "son of the master...

Mathers is an English surname with occupational origins, derived from the Old English term meaning "mower, cutter of hay". The name denotes someone who worked as a reaper or hay harvester, a common agricultural occupatio...

Mathews is an English surname derived from the given name Matthew, following the common patronymic pattern of adding an -s to a father's name to indicate “son of Matthew.” The surname is closely related to Matthews and M...

Mathewson is an English surname meaning "son of Matthew". It is a patronymic surname, following a common English practice of adding -son to a father's name to indicate lineage. The given name Matthew derives from the Heb...