Surnames starting with M

A short surname with several possible roots, most often tied to East Asian languages and meaning “mother,” “horse,” or a similar syllable depending on the writing system.

A surname most often meaning “of the Maas/Meuse River,” though in some Dutch cases it can also be a short form of Thomas.

A Cornish surname from the parish of Mabe, meaning someone who came from that place.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or regional spelling of an older name such as Mabrey, McBrierty, or a related form.

A Sicilian surname most likely meaning “son of Aluso” or “descendant of Aluso,” preserved in the island’s traditional Mac- patronymic form.

A Scottish surname meaning “son of Arthur,” long associated with a Highland clan of the same name.

An Irish and Scottish surname from a Gaelic personal name, often understood as “son of Amhalghaidh.”

A classic Gaelic patronymic meaning “son of Donald,” strongly associated with one of Scotland’s great Highland clans.

A Scottish Gaelic clan surname meaning “son of Dougal,” ultimately tied to the old Gaelic personal name Dubhghall.

A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning “son of Dougal,” originally from a nickname for a “dark stranger.”

A surname with more than one likely source, including a medieval occupational sense connected with a mace-bearer and a short-form nickname for Matthew.

A Portuguese and Galician surname meaning someone from Macedo or, more broadly, from a place named for boxwood.

A Scottish clan name meaning “son of Parlan,” with Parlan traditionally linked to Bartholomew.

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of Gregor,” traditionally linked to the descendants of Gregory, son of King Alpin.

A short surname found in German- and Central European naming traditions, often from a nickname, pet form, or shortened personal name.

A Portuguese and Spanish surname usually linked to an axe-maker, from a word for an axe or hatchet.

A Spanish surname likely born as a nickname for a forceful or hard-hitting person, from a verb meaning “to crush” or “to pound.”

A surname of several likely origins, most often linked to Iberian patronymic forms and sometimes to the Biblical name Matthias/Matthew.

A surname of Spanish and Portuguese use, probably from a place-name or old regional personal name.

A short surname that usually began as a clipped form of a Gaelic Mac-name, and in Scotland could also function as a nickname meaning “neat” or “tidy.”

A Gaelic surname meaning “son of Hugh” or “son of Aodh,” often linked with the idea of fire or ardor.

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of Kenneth.”

Usually an Anglicized form of a Gaelic Mac- name, generally meaning “son of” a personal name or nickname.

A Scottish and Irish surname that usually developed as a short form of MacKay or related Gaelic patronymics.

An Irish surname usually taken as a shortened form of Mac Eoin or related Gaelic names, meaning “son of John” or a similar personal-name origin.

A Scottish Gaelic surname traditionally linked to the old personal name Finghin, meaning roughly “fair-born.”

A surname usually treated as a form of MacLean or MacFlainn, meaning a descendant of Flann or a related Gaelic line.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Gillean,” later associated with a Highland clan name.

A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning “son of Leod,” with a long Highland clan association.

An Anglicized Gaelic surname meaning “son of the bald one.”

An American surname of uncertain origin, likely an altered form of a Gaelic-style Mac name, long established in New England.

A surname that can point to a French place name, most likely linked to the city of Mâcon in eastern France.

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of the parson,” from a priestly or churchman ancestor.

An English surname likely tied to the Norman place-name de Macey, later spelled Macy, Massey, and Massie.

An Irish surname usually understood as descending from O’Madaidhin, a diminutive of a word for “dog” or possibly “wolf.”

An English and Welsh surname usually taken from the Welsh personal name Madoc or Maddoc, meaning “fortunate” or “good.”

An English and Welsh surname usually explained as a variant of Maddox, meaning “son of Madoc” or, in some older accounts, “son of Hadoc.”

A surname that likely began as an occupational name for a mower or cutter of grass.

A surname most likely connected with Spanish and Portuguese words for “wood” or “timber,” sometimes also taken from place-names.

An Irish surname, most likely from a Gaelic name meaning “little devotee” or a related patronymic form.

A surname meaning “Maud’s son” or, in some lines, a form related to Matthew’s son.

A surname taken from the Spanish capital, originally identifying someone from Madrid.

A Spanish surname ultimately linked to a place-name, best known today from the word for a polyphonic song form.

A Danish and Norwegian surname meaning “son of Mads,” with Mads as a local form of Matthew.

A Dutch, Flemish, or Welsh surname usually linked to a meadow or open field.

A Hispanic surname most likely linked to the Spanish word for “majesty” or as a name of reverence and honor.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to the place-name Magallón or a related Iberian toponymic form.

A Spanish surname most likely taken from the place name Magallón in Aragón, with a name that also appears in the related form Magallanes.

A surname most often linked to Spanish-language roots, and in some cases to a place name or local nickname.

A surname drawn from the name Magdalene, ultimately linked to Mary Magdalene and the place name Magdala.

An Irish surname usually meaning “son of Aodh,” with some related forms also linked to a byname for “wind.”

A surname most likely from a reduced or altered form of an older personal name or nickname, with spelling shaped by English and American regional pronunciation.

An Italian surname from a word for the month of May, often taken as a seasonal or calendar-based name.

Usually an Anglicized Irish surname from Mac Gill, meaning “son of the servant of [a saint]” or related Gaelic forms; in some English records it was also treated as a local name from Maghull.

A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Magnus.”

An Irish surname of the Fermanagh ruling clan, usually explained as “son of Guaire” or as a form of the Gaelic Mac Uidhir/Mac Ghuibhir tradition.

An Irish surname, usually an Anglicized form of Gaelic names built on a personal name meaning “beloved” or “pleasant.”

Usually an Irish surname, likely from Gaelic forms related to Mahon or MacMahon, ultimately tied to the name Mathan/Mathghamhain.

An Irish surname that is often treated as a spelling variant of Maher or Mäher-type names, though its exact origin is not always certain.

An Irish surname, commonly understood as the anglicized form of O'Meagher, meaning a descendant of Meachair, 'the fair' or 'handsome.'

A German surname most often linked to a miller or painter, depending on local dialect and family line.

A Muslim given name turned surname, from Arabic words meaning “praised” or “praiseworthy.”

A surname taken from the Arabic given name Mahmoud, meaning “praised” or “worthy of praise.”

An Irish surname usually explained as coming from a Gaelic word for “bear,” and often linked to old Munster families.

An Irish surname most likely connected with a Gaelic word for “bear.”

An Irish surname usually understood as an Anglicized form of Mac Mathghamhna, meaning “son of the bear.”

A surname with multiple possible origins, including Irish Gaelic patronymic roots and, in some cases, a form related to May or a byname.

A surname that can be locational or a nickname, originally linked either to places called Maiden or to the idea of a maiden, serving woman, or young woman.

A German surname meaning “mayor,” “steward,” or “farm overseer,” originally tied to an estate manager or village official.

Usually from the old personal name Main, but in some families it may also point to the French province of Maine.

A surname that usually points to someone from the French province of Maine.

A surname most likely from an older place-name form, probably linked to Norman or French origins rather than a personal trait or occupation.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely from a place-name or a descriptive nickname, and sometimes linked to the old French phrase for “white hands.”

A Scottish surname most often linked to a place-name meaning “meadow land,” though some older writers proposed other local explanations.

A Polish surname usually meaning “from Majew” or “of Majów,” ultimately tied to a place-name rather than a personal trait.

A surname that usually began as a nickname for someone “greater” or more senior, from Latin major, “larger, greater.”

A surname that likely began as a nickname or status-based byname, originally tied to the military rank of major.

A short surname that is often a clipped form or spelling variant of longer names, and in some cases reflects a nickname or regional surname tradition.

A surname with several possible roots, often linked to Finnish naming, but in older sources it is not securely explained.

A Polish surname meaning “of Maków” or “from the place of poppies,” originally pointing to someone from a town or village with that name.

A surname most likely of Spanish or Hispanic origin, probably tied to a place-name or an old regional family name.

A Scottish surname that began as a personal name meaning “servant of Columba,” the beloved Irish saint.

A Scottish surname from the personal name Malcolm, meaning “disciple” or “servant” of St. Columba.

A Spanish surname with two main explanations: either from a place name, or from an old nickname meaning “badly shaped” or “poorly worked.”

A surname most likely from a word meaning “king” or “ruler,” especially in Arabic and related languages.

A surname that may be a short form or variant of older names based on Germanic male-name elements, though its exact origin is not fully certain.

A surname that can come from a title or personal name meaning “king” or “lord,” especially in South Asian and Arabic traditions.

A surname with more than one likely source, including a possible diminutive of Mary or a local name from Malines in Belgium.

A Polish surname meaning “from the place of raspberries” or “from Malinowo/Malina-type places.”

Usually an English nickname for a wild duck, with a second, less certain explanation from a Gaelic place-name meaning “high mound” or “hill.”

An English surname usually derived from the old French personal name Malet, with a long history in medieval England.

An Irish surname usually understood as a shortened form of O’Malley.

An Irish surname most often understood as a form of Maeldán, meaning roughly “devotee of St. Dán” or “bald monk.”

A surname usually explained as Norman French in origin, probably from a place-name or an old nickname meaning “ill-omened.”

An Irish surname usually treated as a form of Malone or Maloney, ultimately from a Gaelic personal name meaning "devotee of St. John."

An Irish surname from a Gaelic name meaning “devotee of St. John,” later Anglicized as Malone.

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “descendant of the servant or disciple of a saintly figure,” from an old Gaelic religious name.

A surname that most likely arose as a variant of a French or English name built from a personal name, though its exact origin is uncertain.

A surname that is usually a spelling variant of Irish names like Malloy or Molloy, meaning a descendant of a servant or follower.

A very old English surname that could mean “servant,” “vassal,” or, more broadly, simply “man.”

A surname found especially in the Philippines, likely built from a local personal name or nickname rather than a classic European occupational surname.

A surname most likely linked to La Mancha in Spain, or to a word for a mark or patch.

A locational surname originally used for someone from the English city of Manchester.

A surname with likely Italian or Spanish roots, probably from a place name or a nickname based on a related word form.

A Spanish surname whose roots are usually linked to a word for a mark or stain, and by extension to something blemished or spotted.

An Italian surname that began as a family name and is most likely tied to a nickname or an old personal name shape related to left-handedness.

An Italian surname most often understood as a nickname for someone with a hand disability or a bent hand/arm.

A surname with several possible roots, most commonly a German nickname or occupational name tied to almonds or commerce.

A surname with several possible roots, often treated as a variant of Mandle or a phonetic form shaped by spelling changes across English, French, and German.

A Spanish-language surname most likely tied to a place name or regional nickname in the Hispanic world.

A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a variant of names like Mann or Manus, or as an Anglicized form of a Germanic or Celtic personal name.

A surname of uncertain origin, most often treated as an Irish family name in English-language sources.

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “descendant of the hairy one,” though some bearers may come from other Irish family lines.

A German surname that likely began as a personal name built from old Germanic elements meaning “man” and “strength” or “power.”

A surname most likely built from an older place-name or personal name element, though its exact origin is uncertain.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably a regional or variant spelling shaped by older English place-name and dialect forms.

An Irish surname, often taken as an Anglicized form of an Irish Gaelic name now associated with a few different possible roots.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely a Scottish Gaelic family name in historical records.

A surname most often taken from the place name Manley in Cheshire, originally meaning “Manna’s clearing or meadow.”

An old surname that likely began as a personal name based on the ancient word for “man,” and in some cases may also reflect the sense “servant” or “vassal.”

A surname that can reflect a simple word for “man” in Germanic naming, though in some cases it may also be tied to other local or family-name traditions.

A surname that most likely means “son of Mann” or comes from an old personal name meaning a brave man.

An Italian surname most often understood as a diminutive or nickname form built on Manno or manno, with the sense of “little man” or “son of Man(n)o.”

A surname usually understood as a patronymic or possessive form of Mann, meaning “Mann’s (son/family).”

A surname usually tied to a manor or estate, especially as a locational name for someone who lived by or came from one.

A Spanish surname from a medieval personal name, likely meaning “son of Manric/Manrique” rather than a place or occupation.

A Spanish surname meaning “son of Manrique,” built from a medieval personal name of Germanic origin.

A surname of disputed French origin, most often explained as meaning “one belonging to a manse” or as a Norman-French place-name surname.

A habitational surname from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, originally meaning the open land by the River Maun.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Magnus” or “son of Man/Mann,” with strong Scottish and Shetland associations.

An Arabic name meaning “victorious” or “one who is given victory.”

A surname of biblical origin, usually meaning “son of Emanuel” or “God is with us.”

A Spanish surname tied to places or lands where apple trees grew.

A Spanish surname meaning “apple tree,” originally a nickname or house name from the tree itself.

A surname most likely from a short medieval personal name or nickname, especially in Germanic and related Romance contexts.

A Gaelic-style surname element meaning “son of” in many Celtic names, though on its own Mao is rare and often appears as part of longer forms.

An English surname that is probably a variant of Maples, though the exact family origin is not fully certain.

A surname usually referring to someone who lived by a maple tree or a place named for maples.

A surname that likely began as a place-name for someone who lived by maple trees, though some older scholars also linked it to a Channel Islands nickname form.

A surname with two plausible English origins: either from a short form of Mabel, or from a place-name linked to Kent.

A rare surname that may be a shortened or variant form of several different names, with origins not fully certain.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely tied to a place name or an older surname form that was reshaped over time.

A surname with likely Italian roots, most often tied to a place name rather than a personal nickname.

A Spanish surname meaning “wonder” or “marvel,” often originally a nickname or devotional name.

A surname most likely for a worker in marble or a mason, with a few cases possibly influenced by place-names or house signs.

A Romance-language surname that likely began as a patronymic or family-name form built from the personal name Marco/Marcos.

A surname that most often began as a place-name for someone living by a boundary or frontier, or from places called March.

A French occupational surname meaning “merchant” or “trader.”

An old spelling of Merchant, ultimately from a word for a trader or dealer.

An Italian surname meaning “marquis” or “nobleman,” originally a title of rank that later became hereditary as a family name.

An Italian surname that usually means “from the Marches” or “descendant of Marco.”

A surname from the Latin name Martialis, meaning “of Mars” or “warlike.”

A surname from the given name Marcos, ultimately linked to Mark and the Roman name Marcus.

A French surname most likely connected with a word for a plant layer or shoot used in propagation.

A surname likely developed as a variant spelling of Markham, ultimately tied to the personal name Mark.

A Latin-based surname from the personal name Marcus, the classical form behind Mark.

An uncommon surname whose form may be tied to a personal name such as Martin or to a Romance-language variant, but its exact origin is uncertain.

A surname of several possible Central and Eastern European origins, often related to the given name Mark/Marcus.

Usually a surname from a marshy place-name, especially Norman French le Marais, though in Scotland it could also be tied to the word for a marsh.

A Jewish surname usually linked to the Yiddish/Hebrew word for “pearl.”

A surname that often began as a given-name-based family name, ultimately tied to the Christian name Mary/Maria.

A surname of Italian origin meaning “descendant of Mariano” or “belonging to Mary,” common in Italy and among Italian diaspora families.

A Spanish and Italian surname ultimately from the personal name Mariano, meaning “of Marius” or, in Christian use, linked with the Virgin Mary.

A surname of French and Romance origin, often meaning “of the sea” or derived from a saint’s name.

A surname that usually began as a nickname or occupational label linked to the sea or to a marine soldier.

An Italian surname most often understood as a patronymic or diminutive form of Marino, meaning “of Marino” or “descended from Marino.”

An Italian surname, most likely from the personal name Marino or a family line associated with the sea.

A surname with Italian and Spanish roots, originally meaning “of the sea” or “sailor.”

Usually a medieval pet form of Mary, later used as a surname and sometimes also taken from French given-name use.

A surname from a military office title meaning “marshal,” originally a high-ranking officer in charge of horses and cavalry.

A surname that most often began as the given name Mark, though some families may also derive it from a boundary or landmark.

A surname most likely reduced from a Germanic personal name such as Markwart or Merkel.

Usually an English surname from a maker’s name, likely for someone who marked goods or measured land.

An Irish surname most likely meaning “horseman” or “rider,” with a long association in Irish and some English records.

A locational surname meaning “from Markham,” originally someone from a place-name built from Old English words for a boundary and a homestead or village.

A surname most likely taken from the place name Markle in East Lothian, Scotland.

A surname that may be an Anglicized or altered form of a German name such as Markel or Merkel.

A Jewish surname meaning “son of Mark” or “descendant of Mark,” formed with a Slavic-style patronymic ending.

A Polish surname meaning “of Marków” or “son/descendant of Mark,” originally pointing to a person from a place named Marków or to a Mark-based family line.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Mark,” though in some cases it can also come from the personal name Marcus.

A surname from the Latin personal name Marcus, meaning it began as a name tied to the Roman god Mars.

An occupational surname meaning “marl worker” or “one who dug or spread marl on fields.”

Usually an English habitational surname, originally meaning someone from a place called Marley or Merley.

A surname with several possible roots, including a link to the French personal name Marlin and a possible connection with the rope term marline.

A habitational surname taken from places called Marlow, especially the Buckinghamshire town by the river and hill.

An English surname probably referring to someone from Marlow or Marlowe, with famous literary associations through Christopher Marlowe.

A Spanish surname most likely taken from a place name, ultimately tied to the idea of marble or a stony place.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely an Anglicized Irish name that was reshaped in English spelling.

A surname of Italian origin, most likely from a personal name or a regional nickname rather than an occupation.

A German surname most likely built from the old name Markward, meaning “march-guardian” or “border protector.”

A Romance surname linked either to the noble title “marquess/marquis” or, in some cases, to the Latin-rooted idea of a border lord.

A surname and given name that likely began as a nickname or title-based byname, referring to a marquis or related aristocratic association.

A surname most likely taken from the place name Marr in Aberdeenshire or Yorkshire.

A surname with several possible roots, including an old Irish family name and a separate Italian or Latin-like name source.

A surname most likely of Spanish or Iberian origin, often treated as a regional or place-based name.

A surname usually taken as a diminutive of Mary, though some sources also link it to the Somerset place-name Merriott.

A surname found mainly in Ireland and France, with origins that may be Irish or a nickname from a French word for a chestnut.

A surname from the Italian word for “brown,” likely first used as a nickname for someone with brown hair, eyes, or complexion.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place or family line in medieval Spain, with the accent marking the stressed final syllable.

A surname with mixed origins: it may come from an old word for “companion,” or more often from a place-name like Moor Row.

Usually a locational surname, likely meaning someone from Marr in Scotland or from a place linked to a marsh or mere.

A likely Spanish surname, probably from a local place-name or a descriptive nickname based on an old regional word.

A rare surname that can come from a place-name, a byname, or in some cases from the old given name associated with the Roman god Mars.

A habitational surname meaning “marsh valley,” originally given to people from places called Marsden in northern England.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by or on marshy, low-lying ground.

An occupational surname that originally meant a horse servant or stable keeper, later rising to denote a high court or military officer.

A habitational surname from a place called Marston, meaning a farmstead or settlement by a marsh or pool.

A surname that may have developed from the Latin word for Mars, the Roman god of war, though in some cases it could be a variant or shortened form from other names.

A French surname meaning “hammer,” likely first used as a nickname for someone forceful or for a warrior associated with a hammer or mace.

A surname that can come either from the old French word for “hammer” or, in some cases, as a form of Martin.

Usually a form of Martin, though some early writers also linked it to the marten, a small fur-bearing weasel-like animal.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Martin,” especially common in Dutch and German-speaking areas.

A surname usually tied to the personal name Martin, ultimately from Latin and widely spread across western Europe.

A common surname that usually began as a name from Latin Martinus, linked to Mars, the Roman god of war.

A habitational surname meaning “from Martindale,” a place-name in Westmorland, England.

A French-derived surname built from Martin plus a diminutive ending, often interpreted as meaning “little Martin.”

An Italian surname meaning “little Martin” or “sons/descendants of Martin,” built from the common given name Martin.

A surname usually tied to the personal name Martin, often indicating descent from or association with a man called Martin.

An Italian and broader European surname from the personal name Martin, ultimately meaning “of Mars” or “war-like.”

A Romance surname that usually comes from the personal name Martinus, ultimately linked to Mars, the Roman god of war.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Martin,” ultimately from the Latin name Martinus.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Martin.”

A surname that can be a shortened form of Martin or a French name linked to Saint Martin.

A surname usually connected with Martin or a similar name shortened and reshaped in German-speaking areas.

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Martín,” ultimately from the Latin name Martinus.

An English surname probably first given as a nickname for someone thought remarkable or wondrous.

A surname with mixed origins in the historical record, often treated as a form of Mervyn/Merfin and sometimes explained as meaning “famous friend.”

Usually a surname from the personal name Mark or Marcus, with the final -s showing “son of” in some English traditions.

An English-style surname that likely began as a place-based name, with the first element probably a field or stream term and the second meaning “stream” or “brook.”

A rare surname that is most likely a nickname or descriptive name connected with a mask, visor, or face-covering.

An occupational surname meaning a stoneworker or builder.

A surname found in several traditions, most often as an Italian name and sometimes as a form related to place names or older personal names.

An Italian surname usually linked to a farm steward, tenant, or agricultural worker.

A French surname that likely began as a short form of a personal name, and may also relate to a nickname or even a place-name in some cases.

A surname most likely from an old place-name or personal-name form, now best known in the United States.

A surname of Norman French origin, most often linked to a place-name in France and brought to England after the Norman Conquest.

A Norman place-name surname, especially associated with Cheshire, originally meaning someone from a place called Massy or Massay in France.

A name that may come from the word for the mast of a ship, though it is also often found as a descriptive or occupational surname in broader surname lists.

Likely a surname for someone connected with “the master” or, in some cases, an English form of Gaelic Mac Master.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of the master” or “son of the one in charge.”

A surname most likely from a medieval personal name or nickname, though its exact origin is not securely settled.

A surname with several possible roots, most often tied to Spanish and Portuguese words for “thicket” or “bush,” and in some cases linked to an ancestor’s nickname.

A Spanish surname meaning “kill the Moors,” originally a warlike nickname or place-based name tied to medieval Spain.

A Spanish surname and given name ultimately from Matthew, meaning “gift of the Lord.”

A surname that likely began as a family-name form of Matthew, meaning “gift of God.”

An English surname that likely began as an occupational name for a mower or reaper, though a rare baptismal explanation also appears in older scholarship.

A surname of likely French origin, probably a regional or altered form related to a place-name or personal-name tradition.

An English and Scottish surname that usually means “son of Mather,” though in Scotland it can also point to the place-name Mathers in Kincardineshire.

A shortened German surname from Matthias, ultimately the biblical name Matthew.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Matthew,” with some Irish use as a translation of MacMahon.

A spelling of Matthew, ultimately from the biblical name meaning “gift of God.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Matthew,” with roots in the biblical given name Matthew.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Mathew,” with Mathew ultimately coming from Matthew.

A surname from the given name Matthias, meaning “gift of God.”

A French surname from the given name Matthieu, ultimately meaning “gift of God.”

A surname that usually began as a shortened form of Matthew/Matthias, especially in French-speaking and German-speaking areas.

A surname that usually means “son of Matthew,” with Scottish and English forms often overlapping.

A surname taken from the given name Matias, the familiar form of Matthew/Mattias meaning “gift of God.”

A locational surname from Matlock in Derbyshire, England.

A surname most likely developed from a personal name, especially a pet form of Matthew or a related medieval name.

A surname that likely began as a topographic name for someone living by scrubland or brushwood.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Matthew,” with some occurrences also influenced by a place-name in Gloucestershire.

A Japanese surname meaning “base of the pine tree” or “at the foot of the pines.”

Usually a short form of Matthew, ultimately meaning “gift of Jehovah.”

Usually a surname of place-name origin, referring to someone from or living by a meadow, mound, or similar landscape feature.

A surname probably arising as a spelling variant or local/phonetic form related to Madden or a similar personal-name source, rather than from a single clear English word.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Matthew,” with English and Scandinavian spelling forms.

A biblical surname from the given name Matthew, meaning “gift of Jehovah.”

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Matthew.”

An English surname most likely meaning “someone from Mattingley,” a place-name built from an Old English personal name and the suffix meaning “woodland clearing.”

A surname most often meaning “son of Matthew,” with some historical confusion with other Matt- and Madd- names.

A Portuguese surname usually tied to a place-name meaning “woods” or “thickets,” and widely found in Portuguese-speaking communities.

A surname most likely from the Welsh personal name Madoc, later reshaped into forms like Maddox and Mattox.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Matt,” with Matt as a short form of Matthew.

A surname that most often comes from a Slavic or Hebrew personal name, rather than from a place or trade.

A Spanish surname of uncertain origin, most likely built from a place name or regional word rather than a personal name.

A surname with several possible roots, most often explained as a short form of Matthias or as a nickname-based German name.

A German surname often tied to a wall or to someone who lived by one.

Usually a variant of Irish Mahon, though in some cases it may be from Cornish Mawgan.

A rare surname with several possible Germanic roots, often treated as a short form or variant of older names beginning with Mauk-/Muck-/Mog-.

A surname usually traced to a place name or older personal name, with roots in medieval English or French naming traditions.

A surname most likely from a French place name or nickname, with roots in Old French.

An occupational surname meaning “mason” or “stoneworker,” from German.

A surname from the old personal name Maurice, meaning “Moorish” or “dark-skinned,” ultimately from Latin and Greek roots.

A Spanish and Portuguese surname from the personal name Mauricio, ultimately meaning “of Maurus” or “the Moor.”

A surname from Latin and Romance roots, often linked to the personal name Maurus or to place-names associated with St. Maurus.

A surname that may come from the German word for “mouse,” though some old sources also treat it as a shortened nickname form.

A habitational surname meaning “from Maxey,” a place-name in Northamptonshire.

A surname that likely began as a reduced pronunciation of Macclesfield, the Cheshire town name.

A surname that most often began as a pet form of Max or Maxwell, later used as a family name in its own right.

A surname often understood as a patronymic form of Max, meaning “son of Max” or “son of Maxwell,” though its exact origin is not firmly settled.

A Scottish habitational surname meaning “Maccus’s spring or pool,” from an old place-name in Roxburghshire.

An English surname that can come either from an old word for “kinsman” or from a nickname meaning “young maid.”

A surname found in several traditions, often linked to the ancient name Maya or to local place and personal-name usage.

An English surname probably formed from a place-name, most likely meaning “someone from Mayborough/Maybury.”

A surname that can be a variant of May, or in some cases a shortened form of a name beginning with Matthew.

Usually a surname for a mayor or chief officer, though in some families it overlaps with German Meyer/Meier forms.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Mayer” or “son of May,” with the final -s marking descent.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of May,” with May likely serving as a short form of Matthew or, less often, Maya-like given names.

A habitational surname meaning “someone from a place called Mayfield,” literally “May field” or “perhaps meadow of the may-tree.”

A surname meaning “son of Matthew,” arriving through an old French form of the name.

A surname with at least two likely roots: in many cases it was a nickname from French/Latin words for “small” or “slender,” though some bearers may also descend from a place-name form.

An old Germanic surname meaning “strong and brave,” later also shaped by French forms like Menard.

A surname with several possible roots, including a form of Main/Maine and a Norman-French or Celtic connection.

Maynor is an uncommon surname most likely developed as a spelling variant of a longer English or Irish name, especially one related to Major or Manor.

A surname that most likely began as a form of Matthew/Mayhew, though some writers also linked it to County Mayo in Ireland.

A Spanish surname from the place name Mayorga, originally tied to the town in Valladolid, Spain.

A surname most likely meaning “son of May,” with May originally used as a short form of Matthew or as a nickname.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place-name or local designation in the western Hispanic world, especially Central America.

A surname with several possible roots, including a French occupational name and a Dutch form related to the Maas/Meuse river.

A Slavic surname originally used for a Mazovian or, more broadly, a person from Mazuria/Masuria.

An Italian surname most often linked to a word for a club or mace, or to a nickname for someone strong or forceful.

An Italian surname, likely from a nickname or place-name built on roots linked to a mallet, hammer, or rough/brushy terrain.

An anglicized Irish surname, often treated as a variant of MacVeagh/MacVeigh, itself from a Gaelic patronymic.

A surname meaning “son or descendants of Adam,” with the familiar Mc/Mac prefix added to the given name Adam.

An Anglicized Gaelic surname likely meaning “son of Adam,” with forms that vary from McAdoo to MacAdoo and related spellings.

An Irish surname usually taken from a Gaelic personal name, often linked to the Mac Fhithich line or a related clan form.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Alister,” with Alister ultimately tracing back to Alexander.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Alistair,” a Gaelic form of Alexander.

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of Alpin,” ultimately linked to the legendary King Kenneth MacAlpin.

An Irish surname, usually understood as a form of MacNally, meaning “son of Nally.”

An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Andrew.”

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “son of Ardal,” though some older writers linked it to a phrase for “high rock” or “high valor.”

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of Arthur,” with strong roots in the western Highlands.

An Irish surname usually understood as a form of Mac an tSaoi, meaning “son of the scholar” or “son of the wise one.”

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “son of Auliffe,” with Auliffe being an old Gaelic name form.

An Irish surname, usually understood as a form of Mac a' Bhuidhe or a related Gaelic byname, meaning roughly “son of the yellow-haired one.”

An Anglicized Scottish and Irish surname that most likely means “son of Beag” or “son of the little one.”

A Scottish or Irish-style surname likely built from the Gaelic prefix Mc/Mac plus a personal-name element now obscured by Anglicization.

An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Brigid” or “son of the servant of Brigid,” tied to the old Gaelic personal name Bride/Bríd.

An Anglicized Scottish or Irish surname meaning “son of Broom,” likely from an older personal name or byname.

An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Cabe,” with Cabe likely a short Gaelic nickname for a branch, lump, or similar object.

An Irish surname, likely meaning “son of Cafferty,” from an older Gaelic personal name.

An Irish surname usually taken as a form of MacCaffrey, meaning “son of Caffrey” or “son of Gaffrey,” with the original Gaelic name uncertain in detail.

An Irish surname, usually understood as a form of Mac Eoin or a related Gaelic name meaning “son of John.”

A surname of Gaelic origin, often understood as “son of Call,” though some historical sources link it to related Gaelic names such as MacCathal or MacGall.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as a form of MacCalla, often explained as “son of Calla” or linked to a Gaelic descriptive byname.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Alister,” with Alister itself a Gaelic form of Alexander.

A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning “son of Malcolm,” ultimately tied to St Columba’s name.

An Irish and Scottish surname most likely meaning “son of Camman” or a descendant of a personal name with a similar sound.

An Irish surname, likely a variant of MacQuin or a related Gaelic name that was later reshaped in spelling.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Cán,” a personal name associated with “wolf cub” or “whelp.”

An Anglo-Scottish surname most likely meaning “son of Cants” or “son of Cant,” with the prefix Mc/Mac marking descent.

An Irish and Scottish surname that likely means “son of Carley,” from a personal name that is itself a local or nickname form.

An Irish surname usually linked to Mac Carroll, meaning “son of Carroll.”

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “son of Carron,” from an old Gaelic personal name or byname.

McCarter is an Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Carter,” ultimately tied to an ancestor who hauled goods by cart.

A classic Irish surname meaning “son of Cárthach,” from an old Gaelic personal name associated with affection or friendship.

An Irish and Scottish surname usually understood as “son of Cartan” or a related Gaelic personal name.

An Irish surname ultimately from Gaelic Mac Cartaigh, meaning “son of Cartach.”

A Scottish and Irish surname likely built from a Gaelic personal name or byname behind the Mc- prefix, with the ending shaped into its modern anglicized form.

A Scottish or Irish Gaelic surname likely meaning “son of Caslan” or “son of Caslin,” preserved in a Anglicized Mc/Mac form.

An Irish and Scottish surname from Mac Amhlaoibh, meaning “son of Aulay” or “son of Olaf.”

A Scottish and Irish surname probably meaning “son of Chesney,” with Chesney itself likely a nickname or place-based name.

An Irish and Scottish surname typically understood as a form of McLean, meaning “son of the lean, slender one.”

An Irish surname meaning “son of Clanahan,” from a Gaelic personal name or nickname now obscure.

A surname most often explained as a Gaelic-name variant related to MacCleary or MacLary, likely meaning “son of the clear one” or another Anglicized Irish-Gaelic form.

An Irish surname probably meaning “son of the cleric,” though some 19th-century writers proposed a different Gaelic explanation.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as “son of Gille Fhaolain” or “son of the servant of St. Fillan,” though older sources sometimes gave other Gaelic explanations.

An Irish and Scottish surname from a Gaelic personal name, probably meaning “son of Gille Fhaolain” or a related form, with the family name later standardizing as McClelland.

An Anglicized Scottish or Irish surname, most likely built from a Gaelic personal name beginning with Mac or from a place-name form that was later reshaped in English.

An Irish and Scottish surname, most often understood as meaning “son of Clintoch” or “descendant of someone nicknamed Clintoch.”

A Scottish or Irish surname that likely developed as a spelling variant of MacLinton or related Mac- names, often pointing to a family line rather than a trade or place.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Blosgaidh,” with the old Gaelic name preserved in a later anglicized form.

An Anglicized Scottish surname usually understood as a form of MacLeod.

An Ulster-Scottish surname probably meaning “son of the hunchbacked or bent man,” though its exact origin is not certain.

A Scottish and Irish surname most often explained as “son of the clerk” or “son of the scholar.”

McClurg is a Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Clurg,” probably from an old personal nickname or byname.

An Irish surname usually linked to Mac Closcaigh, meaning “son of Closach,” a nickname of uncertain sense.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Coll,” with Coll being a traditional Gaelic personal name.

A surname of Irish and Scottish Gaelic origin, most likely meaning “son of Colum” or “descendant of Colum.”

A Manx and Gaelic surname probably meaning “son of Thomas,” though its exact form has been reshaped in different local spellings.

An Anglicized Irish and Scottish surname that likely began as a patronymic name, though its exact root is uncertain.

A patronymic surname likely meaning “son of Combs,” with roots in a Gaelicized form of a place- or byname element.

A Gaelic surname usually understood as “son of Conall,” a very old personal name meaning roughly “strong wolf” or “mighty hound.”

An Irish surname usually taken as a form of Mac Uidhrin/Mac Cumhaill tradition or, in some later explanations, as a Gaelic nickname name based on “cool” or “hinder part.”

A surname usually understood as a form of MacCord, probably meaning “son of Cord” or a similar personal-name form.

An Irish surname usually taken as a shortened Anglicized form of MacCorkell or MacCorkill.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Cormac,” from an old Gaelic personal name.

A common Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Cormac.”

An Irish surname usually understood as a shortened form of Mac an Chomhairce, meaning “son of the defender” or “son of the protector.”

A Scottish surname that likely began as a Gaelic patronymic meaning “son of the smith” or possibly “son of Gille-Cowan.”

An Irish and Scottish surname that likely means “son of Cown,” from a personal name or nickname form.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as a patronymic from a Gaelic personal name meaning “fire” or possibly from a “son of Hugh” form in some spellings.

An Irish surname, most likely a form of Mac Reachtain or a related Gaelic name meaning “son of Reachtain.”

A Scottish and Irish surname that likely began as a patronymic, meaning “son of Crary” or a similar Gaelic personal name.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as a form of Mac Cradh, meaning “son of Cradh,” though the personal name behind it is obscure.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually treated as a variant of McCrea/MacCraith, with roots tied to an old Gaelic family name.

A surname usually linked to the Gaelic Mac Craith, meaning “son of Craith,” with older English sources also offering folk etymologies.

An Irish and Scottish surname, usually taken as a Mc- form of a Gaelic name meaning “son of Cready/Criodhan” or a related personal-name form.

An Irish and Scottish surname usually understood as a form of MacCreary, likely meaning “son of the steward” or related to a Gaelic personal name.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Rory,” ultimately from a Gaelic personal name meaning “red king” or “red-haired one.”

An Irish and Scottish surname that usually means "son of Hugh," though some families may have different local origins.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Cú Uladh” or a similar Gaelic personal name, with the Mc/Mac prefix marking descent.

An old Scottish surname, probably from a Gaelic personal name meaning “hound” or “wolf-cub,” long associated especially with Galloway and the south of Scotland.

A Gaelic surname usually explained as “son of Culla/Cullough,” with some older writers linking it to a word for a boar or a brave man.

A Scottish surname tied to the Gaelic clan name MacCallum, meaning “son of Columba” or “son of the dove.”

A Scottish and Irish surname with Gaelic roots, usually understood as meaning “son of Cully” or as a descendant form of an older personal name or nickname.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as a Gaelic patronymic, often connected with the name Cú or a related Gaelic personal name.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually explained as a clan-style name associated with Mac/Mc forms and often treated as a variant spelling of MacCurdy.

An Irish and Manx surname generally understood as a shortened form of Mac Corry, meaning “son of Corry” or “son of Comhraidhe.”

An Irish surname meaning "son of Cuscair/Cusker," probably from an old personal name of uncertain meaning.

An Anglicized Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Cutchen,” a pet form of a given name such as Cuthbert or a related medieval name.

A Scottish and Irish surname that likely means “son of Cuthán” or “son of little Cuthbert,” though the exact Gaelic source is uncertain.

An Irish surname that is usually treated as a Gaelic patronymic, often linked to an ancestor named Dade or a related personal name.

A Gaelic-style surname meaning “son of Daniel,” with Mc and Mac forms used interchangeably in older records.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Daniel,” with the Mc- prefix marking descent in Irish and Scottish naming tradition.

An Irish surname from Mac Diarmada, meaning “son of Diarmaid.”

An Anglicized Irish surname meaning “son of David,” with forms that vary between McDavitt, McDavit, and McDevitt.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Donald,” long associated with the powerful Clan Donald of the western Highlands and islands.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Donall” — the Donal/Donald name in Gaelic form.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Donnchadh,” though older writers sometimes linked it to the name Donagh or Donnough.

A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning “son of Dougal,” with Dougal traditionally understood as “dark stranger.”

An Anglicized Gaelic surname meaning “son of Dougall,” ultimately tied to the idea of a “dark stranger.”

A Scottish surname from the Gaelic clan name meaning “dark” or “dusky,” linked to the old Clan MacDuffie of the Isles.

A Scottish Gaelic surname from a personal name meaning roughly “horse-lord” or “horseman.”

An Irish surname meaning “son of Elhaney,” ultimately from a Gaelic personal name of uncertain origin.

A Gaelic surname meaning “son of Elroy,” with the first element marking descent and the second likely coming from an older personal name or nickname.

A Scottish and Irish surname that likely began as a Gaelic family name, with forms such as MacIlveen and MacGillivin underlying the modern spelling.

A Scottish and Irish surname of Gaelic origin, likely from a personal name meaning “son of Elwee/Elui.”

An Irish and Scottish surname from Mac an tSaoir, meaning “son of the carpenter” or “son of the craftsman.”

An Irish surname usually taken as Mac an Bhuígh, meaning “son of the yellow-haired one” or a similar descriptive nickname.

A Scottish surname meaning “son of Ewen,” with Ewen being a Gaelic form of the personal name Owen/Eugene.

An Irish surname meaning “son of little Patrick,” from Gaelic Mac Páidín.

A Scottish and Irish surname that usually means “son of Paul,” though some families may come from an older Gaelic nickname or saint-name form.

An Irish and Scottish surname usually connected with the Gaelic MacFarlane clan name, though older writers also proposed a link with Bartholomew.

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of Bartholomew,” long associated with the Lennox and Loch Lomond.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Farlin,” likely from a Gaelic personal name now largely lost or obscured.

An Irish surname likely built from a Gaelic personal name, now found chiefly in the United States.

An Irish surname that likely began as a Gaelic family name, often linked to descendants of a man named Gann or a similar personal name.

An Irish surname meaning “son of the short one,” though some early writers treated it as a Gaelic nickname name with nearby variants.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Garbhaidh” or, in older explanations, “son of a rough person.”

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “son of Hugh,” with several related spellings in Ireland and Scotland.

An Irish and Scottish-style surname built from a Gaelic personal name, best known in the U.S. in this anglicized Mc- form.

A Scottish and Irish surname that usually comes from a Gaelic Mac- name meaning “son of Ghee/Giolla,” with several related spellings such as Magee and MacGhie.

McGill is usually a Gaelic surname meaning “son of Gill” or “son of the servant/devotee,” with some Irish forms also tied to saints’ names.

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “son of the fair-haired one” or a related Gaelic byname.

An Irish surname usually understood as a shortened form of Mac an Ghoinn or a related Gaelic name, meaning “son of the smith” or a similar patronymic.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Angus” or, in some older explanations, linked to a clan or race-name.

An Irish surname that likely began as a Gaelic clan name, with several spelling forms clustered around MacGinty, Maginty, and Ginnity.

An Irish surname generally taken to mean “son of Gloinne/Glun,” though the exact Gaelic source is uncertain and probably tied to a nickname or old personal name.

An Irish or Scottish surname likely meaning “son of Glothlan/Glothlen,” though its exact Gaelic source is uncertain.

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “son of Glynn/Glinn,” with a likely Gaelic origin tied to a personal or place-name element.

An Irish surname, usually understood as a form related to Gaelic names beginning with Mac and a root meaning “smith” or a similar personal name element.

An Irish surname from the Gaelic name meaning “son of the rough or spirited one,” though the exact original byname is not certain.

An Irish surname meaning “son of the smith,” referring to a family ancestor who was a metalworker.

An Irish surname that likely began as a Gaelic patronymic related to the name Gowan/Geoghegan forms.

An Irish surname that is usually treated as an Anglicized form of a Gaelic family name, though older sources do not agree on the exact original form.

An Irish surname most often understood as meaning “son of the poet” or “son of the learned one,” with several spelling forms in Irish and Scottish tradition.

An anglicized Gaelic surname usually explained as “son of love” or “son of grace.”

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son/descendant of Gregor,” with the Gregor line traditionally linked to the old Scottish royal line.

An Irish and Scottish surname most often understood as a patronymic meaning “son of Grew.”

A surname of Gaelic-style form, likely meaning “son of Grif” or a close variant of that name.

A Scottish and Irish-style surname probably meaning “son of Gruder,” with Gruder likely an old personal name or nickname now obscure.

An Irish surname, probably a branch-name from Mac Eochagáin / MacGeoghegan, meaning “son of Eochagán.”

An Irish surname from Mac Aonghuis, meaning “son of Angus.”

An Irish surname from the Gaelic Mag Uidhir, traditionally meaning “son of Odhar,” a byname linked with swarthy or dun coloring.

An Irish surname usually understood as a form of Mac Haeil, often taken to mean “son of Hail/Hale,” though the old sources are not fully certain.

A Gaelic surname usually taken to mean “son of Henry,” though in Ireland it can also reflect a native Gaelic name that was later anglicized to McHenry.

An Irish patronymic meaning “son of Hugh,” from Gaelic Mac Aodha.

An Irish surname from a Gaelic personal name, most likely meaning “descendant of Inirnigh” or a similar byname of uncertain sense.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Innes” or “son of Angus,” depending on local tradition and spelling history.

A Scottish and Irish Gaelic surname meaning “son of the carpenter.”

A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning “son of the chief” or “son of the leader.”

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of the carpenter.”

A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning “son of Ivor,” with Ivor ultimately tied to the Old Norse name Ívarr.

A Gaelic surname meaning “son of Hugh,” widely associated with Scottish Highland and Irish families.

An Irish surname, usually understood as a form of Mac Kean, meaning “son of Kean/John.”

An Anglicized Irish and Scottish surname usually understood as meaning “son of Cian” or a similar Gaelic personal name.

An Irish surname usually understood as a form of Mac Ivor/MacKeever, ultimately meaning “son of Ivor” or a related Gaelic personal-name form.

An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Kelvey,” ultimately from a Gaelic personal name.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Kenneth” or “son of Cionaodh,” from a Gaelic personal name.

An Irish and Scottish surname form related to MacKenna and McKinney, ultimately meaning “son of Kenneth” or a close variant of that Gaelic family name.

A Scottish surname meaning “son of Kenneth,” with deep Gaelic roots and a long association with the Highland clan Mackenzie.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Eoin,” a Gaelic form of Owen or Eugene.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Eoin,” a Gaelic form of John.

An Irish and Scottish surname likely meaning “son of Gibben,” with Gibben itself a pet form of Gilbert or a similar personal name.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as a patronymic form meaning “son of Kim” or “son of Caimbeul/Cumha,” though its exact source is not fully certain.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Finlay” or a related Gaelic personal name.

An Irish and Scottish surname usually understood as meaning “son of Kenny” or “son of Kenneth.”

A Scottish Gaelic surname traditionally linked to Finghin/Fionghuin, meaning roughly “fair-born” or “son of the fair one.”

A surname of Scottish and Irish Gaelic origin, usually meaning “son of Kinzie” or related to a descendant of a Kenneth/Coinneach form.

A Scottish and Irish surname that can mean either “son of Knight” or a form related to Gaelic Mac an Ridire, “son of the knight.”

A Scottish and Irish-style surname that likely began as a Mac- name meaning “son of Kown/Con,” though the exact source name is not certain.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Koy,” from a Gaelic personal name that was later Anglicized in several spellings.

An Anglicized Scottish and Irish surname usually treated as a Mc/Mac form meaning “son of Lain/Lam” or, in older speculation, “son of misfortune.”

An Anglicized Gaelic surname that usually points to a son of someone named Léan or Lean, and is closely related to McLean and MacLean.

A Scottish surname most often taken from the Gaelic clan name Mac Labhruinn, meaning “son of Laurence” or “son of Lorn/Lauren.”

An Irish surname meaning “son of Laughlin,” with Laughlin itself tied to an old Gaelic personal name sometimes glossed as “warrior” or “Viking.”

A Scottish surname tied to the Gaelic form of MacLaren, traditionally linked to the district of Lorn in Argyll.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually meaning “son of Gillean,” a Gaelic personal name linked to a clan ancestor.

A Scottish surname, most likely from the Gaelic Mac Gill Fhaolain line associated with the name Gillian/Gille Fhaolain, later simplified in spelling.

A Scottish or Irish-style surname probably meaning “son of Lemore,” though the underlying personal name is uncertain.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Lendon,” likely from an older personal name or place-name form behind the Mc/Mac prefix.

A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning “son of Leod,” though one old source tried to connect it with the Latin name Claudius.

An Irish surname from a personal name meaning “descendant of Lochlann,” originally tied to the Norse world.

An Anglicized Irish surname usually seen as a variant of McMahon, meaning “son of Mahon.”

An Irish surname meaning “son of Mahon,” with Mahon coming from an old Gaelic personal name associated with a bear or a champion.

An Irish surname usually understood as “son of Manus,” with Manus linked to Magnus, meaning “great” or “renowned.”

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of the master,” originally referring to someone attached to or descended from a person called Master.

A Scottish and Irish Gaelic surname meaning “son of Michael.”

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as “son of the bald or tonsured one.”

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of the miller” or, in some cases, “son of the servant of St. John.”

A Scottish and Irish surname usually meaning “son of Millen,” a shortened form of MacMillan or a related Mac/Mc- surname.

An Irish and Scottish surname generally understood as meaning “son of the miller” or more loosely “son of the mill.”

A Scottish and Irish-style surname that likely began as a patronymic form of Mac/Mc + a personal name, later fixed in Anglicized spelling.

An Irish and Scottish patronymic surname meaning “son of Minn,” with the second element likely tied to a personal name or nickname rather than a clear modern word.

An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Mullen,” ultimately from a Gaelic personal name.

An Irish and Scottish surname usually understood as a form of MacMullen, meaning “son of Mullin” or “son of Maolán.”

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Murray,” with a likely link to the broader Murray/Moray name family.

An Anglicized surname form built on Murray, with the Mc- prefix reflecting Scottish or Irish family naming practice.

A surname usually understood as a shortened form of MacNabb, probably meaning “son of Nabb” or “descendant of Nabb.”

An Irish and Scottish surname usually understood as a form of Mac an t-Saoir, meaning “son of the carpenter” or “son of the craftsman.”

An Irish surname usually explained as a shortened form of an old Gaelic patronymic, with meanings tied to “son of Niall” or, less securely, another Gaelic personal name.

An Irish surname meaning “son of the sea-hound” or “son of the warrior of the sea,” long associated with a leading Clare family.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Nia,” from an old Gaelic personal name associated with a hero or champion.

A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of Naughton,” ultimately from an old Gaelic personal name.

An Irish and Scottish surname ultimately tied to the name Neil, meaning “son of Neil.”

An Irish surname, usually a variant spelling of a name built on Mac + a personal name such as Niall.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Neil,” from the Gaelic patronymic tradition.

McNeill means “son of Neill,” a classic Gaelic patronymic surname ultimately tied to the personal name Neil.

An Anglicized Irish/Scottish surname, likely meaning “son of New” or “son of the newcomer.”

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Nulty,” from an old Gaelic personal name of uncertain origin.

An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Nutt,” from a personal name of uncertain older origin.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Peak,” likely built from a personal name or nickname rather than the modern word peak.

A Gaelic surname meaning “son of Paul.”

A Scottish surname from the Gaelic clan name Mac Dhubhshìth, later associated with Clan MacPhee and often explained as “son of the dark peace.”

A Scottish surname meaning “son of the parson,” originally tied to a clerical ancestor or church office-holder.

An Irish surname, most often taken as an anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Uaid, meaning “son of Wat” or “son of Walter.”

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Queen/Quinn,” often linked to the Gaelic name Suibhne (Sweeney).

A Scottish surname meaning “son of Rae,” with Rae usually treated as a personal name or nickname.

An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Reynolds,” ultimately from a medieval personal name built on the element for “counsel.”

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Robert,” with the Mc- prefix marking descent from a man named Robert.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Shane,” with Shane being an Irish form of John.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as a patronymic, though its exact Gaelic source is uncertain.

An Irish surname meaning “son of Sweeney,” from a Gaelic personal name associated with the word for “pleasant” or “well-disposed.”

A Scottish and Irish surname that likely developed as a phonetic spelling of MacVey/MacVeigh-type Gaelic names.

A Gaelic surname that is usually an Anglicized form of an Irish or Scottish name beginning Mac- or Mc-.

A Scottish surname meaning “son of the vicar,” originally built from Mac- plus vicar.

A Scottish and Irish surname likely built on a Gaelic Mac- form, though the exact original meaning is uncertain.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of William,” found in Irish and Manx records as a Mac- surname form of Williams.

An English surname most likely from the place-name Mitcham in Surrey, meaning someone who came from that village.

A surname for someone who lived by a meadow, with some Irish families bearing an anglicized form of Meagh.

Usually an English surname for someone who lived by a meadow, though in Ireland it often reflects the Gaelic name Meagh.

A surname most often understood as a variant of Meadows, pointing to someone who lived by or came from a meadow.

A surname most likely from a place name or a meadow-related byname, referring to someone who lived near meadows.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by a meadow or meadows.

An Irish surname most often treated as a form of Maher, ultimately from an older Gaelic personal name.

An English and Irish surname most likely from a personal name, though some bearers may also descend from place-based or nickname forms.

A surname that likely began as a place-name or boundary-name for someone living by a mere, or pond.

A surname most likely developed as a spelling of Meacham, a name tied to a place-name or an old personal-name form.

A Portuguese surname originally tied to a place with meadows or hayfields.

A surname most likely tied to a place-name, ultimately meaning someone from or connected with Medel.

A Spanish locational surname probably linked to the city of Medellín in western Spain.

A locational surname originally taken from a place name meaning “ford by the meadow” or “ford near the mead,” depending on the local English source.

A surname usually linked to a place name meaning “the city” or “town” in Arabic, especially common in Spain and the Hispanic world.

A mainly English locational surname, most likely from a place or field name meaning “middle meadow” or “meadow pasture.”

A surname most often treated as a regional English name, probably from a place-name or a reduced form of an older medieval name.

An English surname most likely tied to a place name, especially the Medlock area around Manchester or possibly Matlock in Derbyshire.

A Spanish surname probably tied to a place name, especially a settlement or estate called Medrano in northern Spain.

An Irish surname, usually anglicized from Gaelic forms such as Ó Miadhacháin, with the sense of a descendant of a pleasant or honorable person.

A nickname surname for someone thought to be gentle, mild, or humble.

A surname that usually developed from the English word *meek*, originally describing a gentle or humble person.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely from a nickname or from the medieval name Mekin/Makin rather than a single settled origin.

An English surname usually explained as “Meek’s son,” from the medieval nickname Meek.

An English-style surname most likely built from a place-name or a surname variant rather than a direct occupational label.

A South Asian surname, often tied to learned, supervisory, or bookkeeping traditions in western India.

A short surname with several possible roots, most often linked either to an old nickname or to a local place-name tradition.

A common German surname meaning a steward, farm manager, or village official.

A German surname often understood as meaning someone from Meissen or its region.

A German surname usually meaning someone from Meissen or Meissen-like places, with the spelling influenced by German "ß/ss" variation.

A German surname meaning “master” or “craftsman,” often originally given to someone of skill or authority in a trade or office.

A common Spanish surname, often linked to the old name Macías and especially widespread in the Spanish-speaking world and Latin America.

A Spanish surname, most likely from a place-name or a nickname rooted in older Iberian speech.

A French surname most often understood as a patronymic form linked to the given name Melaine/Mélan, meaning "son of Mélan."

A surname most likely linked to the given name Melchior, ultimately associated with one of the biblical Magi.

A surname ultimately tied to the personal name Melchior, the name of one of the Three Magi in Christian tradition.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely from a personal name or a local-language word rather than a single clear English origin.

A Hispanic surname likely developed as a regional or patronymic form of an older personal name, probably tied to the medieval name Meléndez.

A Spanish surname most likely referring to a place where mielgas grew abundantly.

A Spanish-language surname of uncertain origin, most likely tied to a local place-name or an older personal nickname.

A surname most likely meaning “someone from Mellingen,” a place-name surname tied to a Swiss locality.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably linked in some cases to an old Germanic personal name and in others to place-name or saint-name forms in Romance languages.

A surname with several possible roots, including Irish forms related to O’Mellan/O’Mellan-like names and, in some cases, Norman or French forms from personal names or place-names.

Usually a locational surname from places called Mellor in Derbyshire and Lancashire, though some early sources also treated it as an occupational form of Miller.

A surname with likely Irish roots, probably a later spelling of a name such as Mellot or Mylotte.

A surname found in Iberian and Italian families, usually explained as a place name or, in some cases, as a nickname derived from the word for “apple.”

A surname most likely meaning “son of Male,” with Male as a medieval personal name rather than the modern word.

Usually a locational surname from places named Melton, often meaning either “middle farm” or “mill town.”

A surname usually tied to a Norman place-name meaning “bad estate” or to Melville in Midlothian, Scotland.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely tied either to a place-name or to an older personal name that later spread in Scotland and Ireland.

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “descendant of Melendo,” an old personal name of uncertain origin.

A surname that can arise from several unrelated roots, including a place-name, a nickname, or a patronymic form in different languages.

A French surname that began as a shortened form of an old Germanic personal name meaning “brave-minded” or “strong and hardy.”

A Basque surname, most likely from a place-name or local topographic term tied to northern Spain.

An English surname that likely began as a place-based name, later established in North America, especially among Quaker families.

A Spanish and Portuguese surname that began as a patronymic, meaning “son of Mend” or “descendant of Mend.”

A Basque surname from a place-name, likely meaning a “mountain pass” or “slope on the hillside.”

A Basque surname built from a place-name element meaning “mountain” or “hill,” likely referring to someone from a hillside locality.

A Portuguese surname, originally linked to the place name Mendoza and associated with a noble Iberian lineage.

A Spanish surname likely linked to the word for “mendacious” or, more likely, a place-name form associated with Mendoza.

A famous Spanish surname, originally tied to a place name in the Basque Country and long associated with one of medieval Spain’s great noble houses.

An English surname of uncertain origin, most likely a regional or altered spelling that was later carried into the United States.

A Portuguese and Spanish surname originally tied to the noble house of Meneses, probably from a place name in medieval Iberia.

A surname of several unrelated origins, most commonly Chinese, but also found in German-speaking and other European traditions.

A Central American surname of Spanish-language form, probably built from a place-name or regional family name rather than a common occupation or nickname.

A short Germanic surname that likely began as a pet form of a personal name, especially in northern Germany and the Frisian area.

A Ghanaian surname, often associated with Akan naming traditions and meaning is commonly linked to a Sunday-born child.

A German surname meaning “someone from Mainz” or, in some cases, a regional form related to Menz.

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Menendo” or “son of Menendo’s line.”

A surname most likely of Spanish origin, often linked to a place name or a regional family line in the Hispanic world.

A Spanish surname meaning “market,” originally referring to someone who lived by, worked in, or came from a market place.

A Spanish surname ultimately linked to the idea of a royal favor, gift, or grace.

A Spanish devotional surname and given-name form ultimately tied to the Virgin Mary’s title Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, “Our Lady of Mercies.”

An occupational surname for a merchant or cloth dealer, originally someone who sold fabrics and general goods.

An occupational surname for a trader or dealer.

A French surname meaning “merchant” or “dealer,” originally an occupational name for a trader in small goods.

A surname ultimately linked to Mercury, the Roman god associated with speed, trade, and communication.

A Welsh surname from an old personal name, later also used in patronymic form meaning “son of Meredith.”

A surname most likely taken from the Spanish city of Mérida, so it is probably a locational name.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to sheep, wool, or a rural livestock official called a merino.

A German surname that often began as a shortened form of a name like Markwart or Markward.

A German surname most likely formed as a diminutive of a short personal name such as Merkl/Merk, especially in Bavarian and Swabian speech areas.

A surname probably arising as a diminutive or variant of older personal names such as Muriel, Morell, or Merrick.

A surname with more than one likely source, most often linked to the Welsh personal name Meurig or to a place-name such as Marrick in Yorkshire.

Usually an English habitational surname meaning “St. Mary’s field,” from a place-name that was later reshaped by folk etymology.

Merrill is usually an English surname from a medieval personal name, often treated as a form of Muriel or Meriel, though some sources also connect it to older Germanic roots meaning “famous” or even “sea.”

A nickname surname meaning “merry man” — a cheerful, lighthearted person.

A surname usually taken as a variant of Merriott, originally a place-name from Somerset.

An English surname that likely began as a nickname or descriptive name built from older words for “merry” and “weather.”

A cheerful surname that usually began as a nickname for someone pleasant, lively, or gay in the older sense of the word.

A nickname surname meaning “the merry man” — someone cheerful, lively, or good-humored.

A Flemish and Dutch patronymic surname meaning “son of Martin.”

A German surname that likely began as a short form of a personal name related to Marz/Mark and was later fixed in family use.

A surname that is often treated as a short form of a personal name, though in some cases it may also echo the month name March/Merz.

A Spanish surname that usually comes from the word for a table, or sometimes from a place called a mesa or plateau.

An occupational surname for a bearer of messages or official errand-runner.

A surname with two main roots: either from a medieval word for a reaper or mower, or from a nickname/title like “master” or “sir” in older French forms.

A surname most likely from a shortened or altered form of a medieval personal name, though its exact origin is uncertain.

An occupational surname from French, originally referring to a field-keeper or harvest guard.

A surname tied to the Sicilian city of Messina, originally used for someone who came from there.

An occupational surname from the old French word for a messenger or courier.

An occupational surname for a church caretaker or sexton, ultimately from a word meaning “one who tends the church.”

An English surname most often taken as a reduced form of Meadowcroft or a related place-name, meaning someone from a meadow or croft.

An English surname usually treated as a spelling variant of Medcalf, traditionally linked to measuring or, by folk tale, to “meeting a calf.”

A surname of German origin, probably from a shortened personal name rather than an occupation.

A surname most likely developed as a shortened or altered form of a longer name, rather than a distinct meaning-name on its own.

A surname that can be either habitational, from the city of Metz in northeastern France, or a German occupational name related to slaughtering or butchery.

A German occupational surname meaning “butcher.”

A German occupational surname meaning “butcher,” originally referring to someone who sold or prepared meat.

A common German surname meaning a steward, bailiff, or tenant farmer, ultimately from a word for “greater” or “superior.”

A surname most often tied to the German name Meyer, originally meaning a steward, tenant farmer, or farm manager.

A Spanish surname most often linked to a word for a table or a plateau, and sometimes to place names built from that term.

An Italian surname, most likely from a given name such as Mico or a regional form of Michael.

A classic biblical surname and given name meaning “Who is like God?”

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son or family of Michael.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Michael.”

A Polish surname meaning “son of Michał” or “little Michał,” from the personal name Michael.

A Polish surname meaning “belonging to Michael” or “son of Michael.”

A French surname that usually began as a pet form of Michel, ultimately from the biblical name Michael.

A French form of Michael, often used as a surname from the medieval personal name.

A patronymic surname meaning “son or family of Michel,” with Michel itself coming from Michael.

A surname that is usually a shortened form of Michael or a related pet form of a given name.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Mickel,” ultimately from a diminutive of Michael.

An English-family surname that is often understood as a patronymic form built on the nickname or given name Mick, with the ending -ens signaling descent or association.

Usually a pet-form surname from Michael, though it can also reflect an old nickname-based form of Mick/Mike.

A surname from an old word meaning “big” or “great,” often first used as a nickname.

A habitational surname meaning someone who lived by or came from a brook in the middle of a place or settlement.

A very common English habitational surname meaning someone from the “middle farmstead” or “middle settlement.”

An American surname most likely from a place-name or local nickname, with a form that has been reshaped over time in English-speaking North America.

An Italian surname from the word for “honey,” likely first used as a nickname or to describe someone sweet-natured or connected with honey making.

A German surname most likely built from a shortened form of a personal name, especially from Middle Low German or German diminutives.

A surname with a likely French/Germanic link to Meyer, though the evidence is not fully certain.

A surname from the given name Miguel, the Spanish form of Michael.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place name, especially the village of Mijares in Ávila, Spain.

A surname that usually began as a short form of Michael, and in some cases may reflect Dutch or German pet-name forms.

A surname most likely built from the personal name Mike, with a regional or family-specific ending that turned it into a hereditary surname.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely a variant spelling related to names like Milan or Milham/Millam.

A surname that can point to the Italian city of Milan, and in some traditions to a hawk-like bird name used as a nickname.

A surname from the Italian city of Milan, originally marking someone who came from there.

A habitational surname meaning someone who lived by a mill-stream or by a place named for one.

Originally a medieval given name from the Latin Milo, later adopted as a hereditary surname.

A surname with more than one possible origin, most likely a nickname or pet form tied to Miles/Michael, and in Irish contexts sometimes an Anglicized Gaelic name.

A surname found in Spanish- and Romance-language areas, likely reduced from an old personal name such as Aemilianus or Emiliano.

A surname for someone who lived by or worked at a mill.

A name that can point to either a French-emilian source or, in Scotland and Ireland, a Gaelic family name behind MacMillan and related forms.

A Scottish form of Miller, originally meaning someone who worked at or kept a mill.

Usually a French or English surname linked to Mill or Millward-type forms, with the ending -ard adding a French-style surname shape.

A surname that is often linked to the mill or to Gaelic Mac Mhaoláin forms, with English and Irish strands in its history.

An occupational surname for a person who worked in or owned a mill, especially a grain mill.

Usually a French surname from the word for millet, the cereal grain, though in some cases it may be tied to other shortened names.

Usually a diminutive surname, probably from Miles or Millicent, with some early forms also influenced by the common word for millet grain.

An Irish surname from a Gaelic nickname meaning “little bald one,” later used by families in several forms including Milligan and Millikin.

An Irish surname traditionally explained as meaning “descendant of the little tonsured one,” from Gaelic roots linked to a monk or shaven disciple.

An Irish surname, usually understood as a reduced form of Milligan, ultimately from Gaelic names based on maol, meaning “bald” or “tonsured.”

A rare surname of uncertain origin, probably a corruption or diminutive of another name rather than a direct reference to the number.

A common English surname that usually means someone who lived by a mill, though some early writers also linked it to a shortened form of Michael.

A surname most likely from a place-name or a descriptive nickname built from the words for a mill and a low-lying wet area.

A rare English-language surname that likely grew from the name Mills, with an added “-saps” form whose exact origin is uncertain.

A surname originally used for someone who lived by a mill, especially in Scotland and northern England.

An occupational surname meaning “miller” or “one who works at a mill.”

A habitational surname meaning “someone from Milton,” originally a place name for a settlement by a mill or in the middle of an area.

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely from an older personal name or nickname that later became hereditary.

A rare surname that may come from an old personal name meaning “love” or “memory,” though its exact origin is uncertain.

A surname most likely developed as a phonetic spelling of a nickname or surname based on the word “mince,” with later family-line spelling fixed in English-speaking countries.

An occupational surname for a person who worked in or around mines.

A rare surname that is probably a shortened or altered form of longer names such as Godalming or Cuming, rather than an independent ancient name in its own right.

A surname that often comes from the medieval Spanish pet form of Domingo, meaning “belonging to Dominic/Sunday.”

A surname that can come from a nickname or from old Germanic/Frisian personal names, depending on the family line.

A surname likely of German origin, probably from a shortened or regional form related to a personal name or byname.

A Pennsylvania German surname, likely a phonetic spelling of a German name such as Münch or a similar form.

A surname with mixed origins, most likely from the occupational word for a miner or from a Latinized/learned form of a personal name.

An occupational surname for a mint worker, coin-maker, or moneyer.

An English surname usually linked to a place-name in Shropshire, likely meaning either “coin town” or “Minna’s town.”

A surname most often linked to Jewish naming traditions, likely pointing to an ancestor from a place, family line, or name adapted from a similar-sounding Germanic or Yiddish form.

An uncommon surname that may have arisen as a nickname or stage name, possibly linked to medieval miracle plays.

A Spanish surname meaning “look at the mountains” or “mountain view,” likely from a place-name.

A surname from a place-name meaning “admirable” or “to be admired,” widely found in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking families.

A Spanish-language surname most likely related to place-names built on Latin words for "wall" or "boundary."

A title-turned-surname from Persian, often meaning “prince,” “nobleman,” or the son of a royal line.

A likely German surname related to the spelling Mischler, with the meaning uncertain but probably tied to a German root or nickname.

A common South Asian surname, especially in India, often linked to learned Brahmin or scribal traditions.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely a variant of a Germanic name or an altered spelling that took shape after migration to English-speaking countries.

An occupational surname from South Asian tradition, most likely linked to a master builder or craftsman.

A variant spelling of Mitchell, ultimately from the personal name Michael, meaning “Who is like God?”

Usually a form of Michael, meaning “who is like God?”, though in some cases it may come from an old word for “great” or “big.”

A likely English surname from Mitcham in Surrey, with the spelling later reshaped into Mitchem.

A surname that likely began as a variant of a personal-name-based family name, probably connected to Michael or a similar given name.

A name that likely began as a nickname for someone associated with mixing or blending, though its exact surname origin is not fully certain.

A surname most likely from a place-name or a shortened nickname-based form, with spelling shaped by English and American usage.

A surname with several possible origins, often treated as an Anglicized form of continental names or a regional spelling of an older nickname or place-based surname.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely a regional spelling related to a similar-sounding European name or nickname form.

A short surname that can arise from several unrelated sources, including Chinese, Norwegian, or as a clipped form of longer names.

A surname that is usually explained as a variant or pluralized form related to moat, pointing to someone who lived by or worked near a moat or ditch.

A surname that likely began as a place-based or altered form of an older name, and is now established chiefly in English-speaking countries.

Mock is usually an English surname from a nickname or from shortened forms related to personal names like Mogg.

A Spanish-language surname ultimately taken from the famous Aztec ruler Motecuhzoma, meaning the family name traces back to a prestigious Indigenous personal name.

A short surname with several possible roots, including an Old English adjective meaning “large” or “great.”

A German and Scandinavian surname meaning “miller,” originally for someone who worked at a mill.

A surname with at least two likely roots: in Scandinavian use it is often locational, while in Irish contexts it can be a variant of names related to Mooney/Mahon.

A Scottish surname taken from the place name Moffat in Dumfriesshire.

Usually a Scottish surname from the town of Moffat, with a long-recorded local origin.

A surname usually treated as a variant of Moffat/Moffett, probably from a place-name meaning “long plain.”

A widespread surname and given name derived from the Arabic personal name Muhammad, meaning “praised” or “worthy of praise.”

A Muslim personal-name surname built on Muhammad, the name of the Prophet of Islam.

A surname and given-name derivative from the Arabic name of the Prophet Muhammad, often adopted as a family name in Muslim communities.

An Irish surname that most likely began as a nickname or diminutive form related to words for “little man” or “slave/servant.”

A surname most often linked to a place-name or a German occupational root, depending on the family line.

A surname with multiple roots, most often from a German word for a Moor or dark-complexioned person, but sometimes shaped by similar-looking local or Germanic names.

A surname usually derived from the biblical name Moses, through French and other European forms.

A Spanish surname that likely began as a place-based name, especially tied to the town of Mojica in the region of Castile/Spain or to local place names that shared the same form.

A surname usually tied to a mill or mill site, from Latin and Romance words for “mill.”

A surname most likely linked to a miller or to a place associated with mills.

A surname linked to mills or, in some cases, to a heraldic cross shaped like a mill-iron.

A Latinized occupational surname meaning “miller,” originally used for someone who ground grain.

Usually a nickname surname from Moll, a pet form of Mary or Matilda, though in some cases it may reflect an old Anglo-Saxon male name.

A German and Scandinavian surname meaning “miller,” especially a Low German or Danish-Norwegian form of Müller.

An Irish surname usually explained as meaning “servant” or “disciple” of a noble or good person.

A Hungarian surname meaning “miller,” originally denoting someone who worked at or lived by a mill.

A surname most often tied to the place name Monaco, meaning someone from or associated with the principality and its surroundings.

An Irish surname that most likely began as a form of the Gaelic word for “monk,” or as a name linked to County Monaghan.

An Irish surname meaning “little monk,” from Gaelic words for “monk” plus a diminutive ending.

A Spanish and Catalan surname originally tied to the place name Moncada, meaning a “mountain” or “hill” settlement in origin.

A Scottish surname from the old place-name Moncreiffe, in Perthshire, later used by the local landowning family.

A surname from the day name Monday, originally a nickname or given-name-based byname for someone connected with that day.

A surname of Spanish origin, ultimately from a place-name meaning “mountain dragon.”

A French surname that likely began as a nickname or diminutive, often associated with the personal name Monique or with a word meaning “little one” or “small.”

A surname with several possible roots, including a place-name connection in France and, in England, a possible nickname for someone with plenty of money.

A surname most likely tied to a monk or to the French/Occitan word for “monk.”

A Portuguese and Galician surname, likely a patronymic form tied to a personal name such as Mono or Monio.

A surname that usually began as a nickname for someone associated with a monk or monastic life.

A surname most likely tied to a place-name, especially the Spanish/Portuguese form of a place called Monreal or similar.

An Irish surname usually linked to a place name meaning “moor by the Roe,” though some older writers connected it with a red marsh.

A Spanish surname probably tied to a place-name, with its exact derivation not securely established in the excerpted sources.

Usually an English surname that likely began as a Norman place-name form, though some 19th-century writers also linked it to a nickname meaning “monk’s son.”

A Norman-French surname from a place name meaning “pointed hill” or “sharp mountain.”

An Italian surname taken from a place-name meaning “the mountain of Albano” or “Albano’s mountain.”

A Spanish surname most likely taken from a place name built on words meaning “mountain” and “slope” or “hill.”

A surname that usually points to a mountainous place or person from a mountain region.

A Spanish-language surname meaning someone from the mountains, or from a place called Montaña/Montanez.

A surname from Latin and Spanish roots meaning “of the mountain” or “mountainous.”

A name meaning “of the hill” or “from the mountain,” often tied to places named Monte in Romance-speaking regions.

An Iberian surname meaning “of the mountain” or “from the hill,” often originally tied to a place or landscape feature.

A Spanish surname meaning “from Monteja” or “of Montejano,” likely pointing to a place name tied to a hill or mountain.

An Italian surname from place names meaning “mountain lion,” or more generally “lion mountain.”

A Spanish-language surname meaning “long hill” or “long mountain,” likely from a place name.

A Spanish surname meaning “May Mountain” or “mountain of May,” originally a place-name surname.

A surname taken from the place name Montenegro, literally meaning “black mountain” in Italian and related Romance forms.

A Spanish surname meaning “hunter” or “one who pursues game in the mountains,” originally tied to hunting and the hills.

A Spanish surname meaning “hills” or “mountains,” originally used for someone living by or near mountainous ground.

A Spanish habitational surname likely meaning “mountain of the place called Deoca” or “from Deoca,” with roots in a local place-name.

A surname most likely tied to the word for a hill or mountain, or to a place-name built from that root.

A surname taken from the Norman place name Montgomery, most famously the Welsh town and county named for its castle hill.

A Spanish surname from a place-name, probably referring to someone from Montiel in Spain.

A Spanish surname most often linked to a place name built from words for a mountain or hill, especially in northern Spain.

A Spanish surname most likely linked to a place name, possibly ultimately tied to words for a steady wind.

A surname that can mean “brave, proud, or spirited,” though some bearers may descend from a Scottish form or, less likely, a different local-name source.

An English surname that can come from the word for the moon, but in some cases it is a reduced form of Mohun/Mohon.

An Irish surname most often treated as a Anglicized form of an old Gaelic family name, though some 19th-century writers also linked it to a nickname meaning “hero.”

A very common English surname meaning someone who lived by a moor or boggy heath.

A surname usually understood as a variant of Moorhead or Muirhead, likely meaning “headland by the moor.”

A surname likely built from the word for a moor or marshy heath, or from a place-name referring to such land.

A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “moor head” or “hill/top by the moor,” likely from a place-name or topographic nickname.

A surname that most likely meant “the man who lived by the moor” or “the moor man.”

A rare surname that may be a spelling variant or nickname form, rather than a long-established standalone family name.

A surname with multiple possible roots, most often linked to Spanish/Italian place-names or to the word for a mulberry or blackberry.

A surname of Portuguese and related Iberian origin, most often linked to place-names or medieval forms connected with “Moorish” associations.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the mulberry trees” or “from the mulberry grove,” originally tied to a place name.

A Spanish surname most likely linked to the place-name Morales, meaning “mulberry trees” or “mulberry grove.”

A surname with more than one Irish root, most often linked to Gaelic names meaning either “great” or “sea-warrior.”

A surname of likely Italian and Spanish origin, often linked to place-based naming or an old byname built on a personal name.

A surname that was sometimes treated as a form of Moor, and in other cases may also reflect independent place-name or nickname origins.

A French surname meaning “dark” or “black,” originally used as a nickname for someone with a swarthy complexion or dark hair.

An English and Scottish surname likely formed from a place-style name meaning “moor head” or “upland ridge.”

A surname for someone associated with a moor or moorland house.

A Portuguese and Galician surname meaning someone from a place of mulberry trees or a thorny scrubland.

A surname from Old French meaning “dark” or “swarthy,” originally a nickname for someone with a darker complexion.

A locational surname meaning “dweller by the moor land.”

A surname that can be either a dark-complexion nickname or a French Huguenot family name.

An Italian surname usually meaning “descendant of Moro” or “little dark one,” depending on local family history.

A surname of Southern European origin, often linked to a term meaning “dark” or “brown,” and sometimes to the sweet cherry by that name.

A very common Spanish surname originally linked to dark coloring—especially dark hair, complexion, or a swarthy appearance.

An Italian surname meaning “descendants of Moro” or “the dark-haired/dark-skinned ones,” with Moretti often serving as a plural family name.

A surname with several possible origins, most often treated as a place-based name or a form of Moorey.

A surname with likely Spanish roots, probably developed from a personal name or local name rather than an English word surname.

A classic Welsh surname, originally a personal name often linked to ideas of the sea or brightness.

A surname with several possible roots, including a nickname for a dark-complexioned person or a place-based name tied to the sea or to the Moors.

An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “sea-ruler” or “sea-true,” from an old Gaelic personal name.

A Spanish surname likely formed as a diminutive of Moro, originally meaning “little Moor” or “descendant of a Moor.”

A French surname with several possible roots, most often linked to a nickname for a dark-complexioned person or to a pet form of Maurice.

A German and Jewish surname from the given name Maurice, ultimately meaning “Moor.”

A common English surname originally meaning “person from the moor meadow” or a place called Morley.

A rare surname that is most likely a variant spelling of Moorman, an old English name linked to a moor or marshy place.

A surname with both locative and nickname roots, found in medieval French and English records.

Usually a variant of Morel or Morrell, originally a nickname for someone with dark coloring or a swarthy complexion.

A widespread surname that usually comes from Maurice, but in Wales and Ireland it can also reflect native Gaelic names that were anglicized to Morris.

A Scottish and English surname meaning “son of Morris” or “son of Maurice,” also used in Scotland for Gaelic names linked to St. Mary.

An Irish surname usually meaning “descendant of Muirgheas,” a Gaelic personal name often explained as “sea valor” or “sea charm.”

An English place-name surname, but in some Irish and Scottish families it may be a shortened form of MacMurrough or related Gaelic names.

Usually an English form of Morris, with roots in the name Maurice and its medieval variants.

A Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning “son of Morten.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Morton,” ultimately tied to a place name or personal name derived from the sea or marshland.

An English surname of Norman origin, usually traced to a place name meaning “dead water” or “stagnant pool.”

A habitational surname meaning someone from one of several places called Morton, usually interpreted as “moor farm” or “village on the moor.”

A surname that likely began as a place-based name, probably from a lost or obscured English locality name ending in -by.

A locational surname meaning “from the mossy meadow” or “from Moseley/Mossley,” a place named for wet, mossy ground.

A surname usually from a place name meaning “mossy meadow” or “marsh clearing.”

Usually a name for someone who lived by a mossy bog or marsh, especially in German-speaking areas.

A biblical surname and given-name form meaning “son of Moses,” later also used as a straightforward hereditary family name.

An English surname most likely from a now-lost or altered place-name, though its exact origin is uncertain.

A surname with a likely German or French background, often treated as a variant of names meaning “miller” or a place-based family name.

A Jewish surname meaning “from Moscow,” originally marking someone’s connection to that city.

A surname most often taken from a place name, especially Mossley/Moseley, meaning someone from a mossy or marshy place.

A Hispanic surname most likely built from a place-name or field-name form related to mossy ground.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to places or landscape names associated with flies or marshy, moist ground.

Usually a topographic surname for someone who lived by a moss, moor, or marsh; in some cases it may also be a form of Moses.

A surname often tied to a place-name meaning a mound, hill, or raised bank.

Usually a habitational surname meaning someone who lived by a moat, mound, or earthwork.

A surname that is often explained as a regional or surname-variant form, especially in English and later African American usage.

A surname most likely from a nickname or personal byname, rather than a job or place name.

An English surname most likely from a place-name, though some writers also linked it to a nickname for something variegated or brightly dressed.

Likely a surname that began as a place-name form, probably tied to Mottingham or a similar local name.

A surname usually from a place-name for someone who lived by a moat or mound.

A surname usually linked to places named for a hill or mound, especially in Italian and related Romance areas.

A surname found especially among Hmong families, likely reflecting a clan or family-name tradition rather than an English occupational meaning.

A habitational surname from several English places named Moulton, probably meaning “Mule-enclosure” or “Mula’s farm.”

A Scottish locational surname, probably from a place name in Fife associated with a small river now called the Motray.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by a hill or rising ground.

A topographic surname for someone who lived near a mountain or high hill, with some English families also descended from the French de Montaigne line.

Likely a pluralized surname from “Mount,” referring to someone who lived near a hill or mound, or possibly a shortened form of a place-based name.

A French surname from the word for “sheep,” often originally a nickname or name for a shepherd or wool-seller.

An occupational surname for a mower of hay or crops, from an old word for cutting or harvesting grass.

A surname most likely developed as a variant spelling of a Germanic name such as Maurer or Mowry, used in North America in several related forms.

A surname most likely tied to a place-name meaning “plain” or “level country,” with spelling variants including Mowrey and Moy.

An English surname probably based on a place-name meaning “Muga’s clearing” or a similar old topographic form.

A surname with both Irish-Scottish place-name roots and, in some cases, French local origins.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to place names, with roots in a word for a rounded hill or mound.

A surname usually linked to a place name meaning “plain” or “level field,” especially in Gaelic or related Celtic forms.

Likely a variant of a surname for a mower or, in some cases, a name linked to level ground or moorland.

An Anglicized surname that appears to be a variant of Myers, ultimately tied to a name meaning “son of Muir” or “descendant of Moore/Moor.”

An Irish surname, usually understood as a Gaelic family name from Munster, especially associated with Clare, Cork, and Tipperary.

A surname with several likely English and Scottish sources, often explained as a place-name or nickname linked to mud or a muddy place.

A surname and given name from the Arabic name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, meaning “praised” or “worthy of praise.”

A rare surname that is most likely a short transliteration of a Chinese family name, especially in older Romanization systems.

A Scottish surname meaning “moor” or “dweller by the moor.”

An Irish surname from a Gaelic personal name meaning “the devotee of Cadhach” or “descendant of Cadhach,” with early Munster roots.

A Dutch occupational surname meaning “miller.”

An Irish surname meaning “servant of St. Dubhan,” though some writers also linked it to a similar Gaelic form meaning “chief of the fort.”

An Irish surname meaning “descendant of the tonsured servant of Caellán,” with a long history in Ulster and beyond.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably an altered form of an older Irish or English name.

A surname with several possible roots: a Scottish place-word for a headland, a Lancashire form of Molineux, or a pet form of Moll/Mary.

An Irish surname most likely meaning “descendant of Mullan,” with Mullan itself often treated as a diminutive or pet form of a personal name.

An Irish surname that usually comes from a Gaelic byname meaning “the bald one” or “shaven one.”

A surname most likely meaning “son of Mullen” or “son of Mullin,” with roots in Irish and related Celtic forms.

An Irish surname generally understood as “descendant of the little bald one.”

Usually an Irish surname from Gaelic forms meaning “descendant of Maolán,” though in some cases it may also reflect French names for a miller or a mill.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably a later spelling or anglicized form of a name in the Mullin/Mullen family group.

A surname with both Irish patronymic roots and a Norman-French place-name source, most likely meaning “descendant of Mullin” or “one from Moulins.”

Usually a spelling shaped from Mullins, ultimately from the medieval name Mullin or Mullen.

An Irish surname, most likely an Anglicized form of a Gaelic family name beginning with Mul- or Maol-, though its exact root is not certain.

An Irish surname meaning “servant” or “devotee” of a noble one.

An English surname most likely from a place name, with later spelling variation and occasional confusion with Mundford.

An English surname with uncertain roots, probably a spelling variant of Munsey/Muncey, itself linked in old sources to a Norman place-name or an older French form.

A German surname likely built from an old word for “protection” or a related personal name element.

A surname that may come from a place-name, a baptismal nickname, or an old Germanic name element meaning “protection.”

A surname that likely began as an occupational name connected with selling or dealing in supplies, though the exact origin is not fully settled.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place name, with roots in the Basque-speaking north of Spain.

Most likely a surname for someone nicknamed “the monk,” though in some families it may come from a Norman place-name or, less certainly, from Edmund.

A surname most likely tied to the Iberian name Munoz/Muñoz, a Spanish patronymic meaning “son of Muño.”

A Scottish clan surname, probably from a territorial name meaning “mouth of the Roe,” though later tradition also linked it to Ross-shire origins.

A Scottish surname, usually a spelling variant of Munro, long associated with the Highland clan name.

An English and Scottish surname that usually means “son of Mun,” a short form of a personal name such as Mungo or Munro.

A Scottish surname usually taken as meaning “Murchie’s son,” ultimately from the Gaelic personal name Murchadh, “sea warrior.”

A Scottish and Irish surname ultimately linked to a Gaelic personal name often explained as meaning “sea-happy” or “sea-lord.”

A surname usually understood as a Gaelic form of Murdoch, meaning “sea-happy” or “prosperous at sea.”

A Basque surname likely tied to a place name, originally marking someone from a locality called Murgia or a similar settlement.

A Spanish surname most likely from a place name, referring to someone from a small hill or little mound.

A surname from the Spanish word for “wall” or “rampart,” likely first used for someone who lived by a wall, fortress, or walled place.

A spelling variant of Murphy, an Irish surname meaning “sea warrior.”

An anglicized Irish surname, usually understood as a variant of Murphy.

An Irish surname meaning “sea-warrior,” from a Gaelic personal name.

A Scottish and Irish surname that can point either to the region of Moray in Scotland or to Gaelic personal names meaning a sea-related protector.

Usually a variant of Morell, a nickname for someone dark-haired or swarthy, though some English lines may also be linked to the personal name Muriel.

A surname that can reflect a shortened or altered form of Murray, or a variant spelling used in several Gaelic and English naming traditions.

An Irish surname often treated as a spelling variant of names like Murtagh or Murdoch, with roots in older Gaelic and related forms.

A surname with several possible roots, most often linked to the Biblical and Islamic personal name Musa (Moses).

A surname most likely from a nickname for musing, brooding, or loitering, though in some cases it may have been imported from French place-names.

A surname from a place-name in Cumbria/Westmorland, originally meaning something like “moss grove” or “marsh grove.”

An English locational surname meaning “someone from Musgrave,” with later forms influenced by places such as Charlton Musgrove.

A rare surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational reference connected with music-making or musical instruction.

An English surname often treated as a spelling variant of Music, likely from the word for music or a nickname connected with singing.

A surname most likely derived as a variant of a German-language name meaning “Muslim” or “person from Muslim background,” later reshaped in America.

A surname that is most likely a German-language form related to Moss/Moser-style names, though older scholarship also connects it with hidden or concealed forms in French and Latin word history.

A Muslim given name turned surname, ultimately from Arabic meaning “the chosen one.”

A surname most likely rooted in the old Germanic word for courage or spirit.

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Munio.”

A Spanish surname that originally meant “son of Muño” or “son of Munio.”

Usually a shortened form of Meyer/Meier, or in some cases a local name tied to a mire or marsh.

Usually an English or German surname meaning “son of Meyer” or “son of Myer,” with Meyer/Myer often linked to a personal name meaning “greater” or “steward.”

An Irish surname that often reflects anglicized Gaelic names built on the word for “devotee” or “servant” of a saint or lord.

A surname of uncertain origin, possibly a spelling variant shaped by local pronunciation rather than a single clear root.

A Spanish surname that usually began as a title-based byname, from the word for “marquis.”

A French surname, most likely a regional or descriptive name that became fixed in French Canada and Louisiana.

A common Spanish surname meaning “son of Menendo” or, more broadly, “descendant of a man named Mendo/Menendo.”

A German surname meaning “miller,” originally given to someone who worked at a grain mill.

A classic German surname meaning “miller,” originally given to people who worked at a grain mill.