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 L Surnames Family History Resources

Surnames, their origin and their meaning

Many surnames are associated with the place/locality of where the family lived and in those cases the location is noted as the meaning.
Many surnames are associated with the occupation of the person given the name.

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Surname		Origin	Meaning
Luther		German	loth or laut, loud, famed, fortunate, and er, honor
Lynch			A strip of greenwood between the plowed lands in the common field
Lackey			A person sent, an attendant servant.
Lacy		Locality	Derived from a place in France by that name. Sire De Lacy came into England with William the Conqueror.
Ladd		Welsh	Lladd, to destroy
Lahey		Gaelic	Leighiche, a physician
Laing		Scottish	long
Laird		Gaelic	Lord
Lake			A servant
Lam		Danish	Lame
Lamb			Lamb
Lambert		Saxon	lamb, and beorht, fair
Lambourne		Cornish-British	Lambron, the inclosure of the round hill
Lamma		Welsh	Llamu, to skip, leap, jump
Lamport		Cornish-British	From lam or lan, a place, and port, a harbor
Lancaster			A town and county of England
Lander		Welsh	Llandir. Glebe lands belonging to a parish church, or land containing mineral ore
Landon		Cornish-British	Lan, an inclosure, and dun, a hill or town
Landry		French	Landric meaning powerful ruler
Landseer		Dutch	Landsheer, a lord of the manor
Lane		Gaelic	Llane, a plain; barren, sandy, level lands
Lang		German	tall person
Langton		Locality	The long hill or town
Lanham			Lavenham, a town in Suffolk, England
Lanman			lance-man
Lanphear		Gaelic	Lann-feur grass-land
Lansing		Dutch	Low, flat lands
Lanyon		Cornish-British	furzy inclosure
Laoran		Gaelic	too fond of the fireside
Laraway		French	Le roi
Lardner			swine-herd
Larkins			lark, a sweet, shrill, musical bird, and kin, a child
Laroche		French	The rock, a lonely mass of stone
Laroque		French	The rock, a lonely mass of stone
Larry			Lawrence
Larway		French	Le roi
Lath		Lincolnshire-England	old word for barn
Latimer			interpreter
Latton		Anglo-Saxon	town on the eminence or side of a hill
Laud		Latin	laudis, praise
Lauder		Locality	A town in Berwickshire, Scotland
Laurel			laurel or bayberry-tree
Laurent		French	Lorens
Lavender		French	Lavandière one who washes
Laverock		Scotish	lark
Law		Scotish	A hill
Lawless		Gaelic	Lagh, law, order, and lios, a court, a hall, a fortress, a place where law is administered
Lawley		Saxon	A place in the hundred of Blackburn, Shropshire
Lawrence			Laurus, the laurel-tree
Lawrie			Lawrence
Lawson			son of Law
Laycock		Locality	A village on the banks of the Avon, in Wiltshire, England
Lea		occupation	A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, a common, a sheltered place
Leadbeater			worker in lead
Lear		German	Town on the Ems, in Westphalia
Learned		Gealic	Lear, the sea, and nead, a sheltered place
Leavenworth		Welsh	Llyvngwerth, the smooth, level farm, castle or court, or the worth or place on the river Leven
Leby		Locality	A town in Denmark
Lechmere		Locality	Lech is a branch of the Rhine, mere, a lake
Lederman		German	leather maker
Ledermann		German	leather maker
Lee			A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, a common, a sheltered place
Leech			physician
Leferre		French	Le Ferre, the smith
Lefevre		French	ironworker or smith
Legard		Normandy France	Le Gard, the guard or protector
Legatt			Legate, an ambassador
Legh		Locality	A town in England
Lehmann		German	feudal tenant
Lehrer		German	teacher
Leicester		Locality	A borough town in England
Leigh		Locality	A town in England
Leir		German	town of Lear, on the Ems, in Westphalia
Leland		Locality	Laland, an island in Denmark
Lemon		French	Le Moin, the monk
Lennon		Gaelic	Leannon, a lover, a sweetheart
Lennox		Gaelic	Laland, an island in Denmark
Lent			Lent
Leonard			leon, a lion, and ard, Teutonic, nature, disposition
Leppard			leopard
Leroy		French	rey, roy king
Leslie			from Bartholomew de Leslyn
Lesser		German	custodian of a forest, game keeper
Lester		Locality	A borough town in England
Leven		Locality	river in Lancashire, England
Levenworth		Welsh	From leven, the open or bare place, and worth, a farm, castle, or mansion
Leveque		French	bishop
Leveret			A hare in the first year of its age
Levy		Hebrew	Levi
Lewes		Locality	town in Sussex, England
Lewis		French	Louis
Lewknor			Levechenora, the denomination of one of the hundreds of Lincolnshire, England
Lewthwaite		Anglo-Saxon	thwaite, a piece of ground cleared of wood, and lowe, a hill, law, a hill or eminence
Ley			A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, a common, a sheltered place
Leycester		Locality	A borough town in England
Lhuyd		Welsh	Gray or brown
Lichtermann		German	lamplighter
Lightbody			Licht, a dead body, a tomb, and Bodee, contracted from Boadicea
Lightfoot			swiftness in running, or expertness in dancing
Lilienthal		German	The vale of lilies, from lilie, a lily, and thal, a vale
Lilly			A beautiful flower
Lincoln		Locality	in England
Lind		Saxon	A place where the lime or linden-trees grow
Lindall		Locality	Lin, a brook, a lake, and dal, a dale
Lindfield		Locality	field of linden or lime-trees
Lindo		Spanish	Neat, spruce, fine
Lindsay		Locality	Manor in the county of Essex, England
Lindsey		Locality	Manor in the county of Essex, England
Ling		Teutonic	long
Linn		Locality	A pool, pond, or lake
Linne		Locality	A pool, pond, or lake
Linnet			A singing bird
Linton		Locality	Lin, a lake or pool, and ton, a town
Lippencot		Locality	Lippe, a German principality and town on the river Lippe. Cote, side or coast
Lisle		French	L'isle, an island
Lismore		Locality	A parish in Argyleshire, Scotland
Litchfield		Saxon	lich, a dead carcase, and field
Littler			town, village, or hundred of Little Over
Liu		Chinese	the state of Liu
Livermore		Welsh	lleufer, a light, and mawr, great
Livingstone		Locality	A barony in West Lothian, Scotland
Lizard		Gaelic	lios, a fort, an inclosure, or garden, and ard, high
Llary		Welsh	Mild, easy
Lloyd		Welsh	Gray or brown
Lobdale		Gaelic	Lub, bending, curving, and dail, a narrow vale or meadow
Lockman		Scottish	public executioner
Logan		Gaelic	An inclosed plain or low-lying place
Lommis		Welsh	lom, bare, naked, exposed, and maes, a field, a name of place
Long			tall and lanky
Lonsdale		Locality	Town in Westmoreland, England
Loomis		Welsh	lom, bare, naked, exposed, and maes, a field, a name of place
Lopez		Spanish	Son of Lope
Loppe		Locality	An uneven or winding place, a bend
Lord		Anglo-Saxon	ored, a governor, with the prefix of the letter L, le, denoting the person
Lorimer			maker of bits or bridles
Losce		Welsh	Gaelic, Loisg, to burn
Lossie		Locality	A river of Scotland, in Elgin or Morayshire
Loudoun			the parish of Loudoun in Ayrshire, Scotland
Loughlin			Welsh called the Baltic Sea Lychlyn
Loury		Scottish	crafty person, or one who lowers, that is, contracts his brow
Louth		Welsh-British	loweth, a garden
Love		Danish	lion
Lovel			a place in Normandy Lupus the Wolf
Lowe			hill
Lower			Burder
Lowry		Scottish	a crafty person, or one who lowers, that is, contracts his brow
Lowthwaite		Anglo-Saxon	thwaite, a piece of ground cleared of wood, and lowe, a hill, law, a hill or eminence
Lucas			Luke
Ludbrock		Dutch	Leather or hairy breeches
Ludlow		Locality	Town in North Wales
Lumley		Gaelic-Welsh	lom, bare, and lle, a place
Lusher		Dutch	Lauscher, a hider, a skulker
Lusk		Welsh	Gaelic, Loisg, to burn

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