240 Common Last Names That Start With L (From Lengthy to Lively)

One of the most all-inclusive groups of surnames has to be last names that start with L. They vary from English and Gaelic to Spanish, Italian, and Slavic. L surnames are also found in Asian, African, and Arabic naming traditions. It’s difficult to pinpoint the best L family names many cultures use.

With our clear and organized list, we’ve made it easy to learn about last names, starting with L. Get the lowdown on the meanings and origins of these interesting surnames, plus a few fun facts along the way!

80 European Last Names Starting With L

Discover surnames starting with L, which come from all over the European continent.

1. Lachance – originally a French nickname taken from “la chance,” meaning “the luck.”
2. Lacroix – a French geographical surname meaning “the cross,” referring to someone living near a cross.
3. Lafferty – the Anglo form of the Gaelic Ó Flaithbheartaigh, meaning “princely doer of valiant deeds.”
4. La Flora – means “the flower” in Spanish and Italian, from the Latin “floris.”
5. La Greca – an Italian ethnic surname denoting someone Greek similar to Greco.
6. Lambert – a variation of the German Landberht, meaning “bright land” or “light of the land.”
7. Lane – given to someone who “lived on a lane” or any “narrow pathway.”
8. Lange – comes from the German “lang,” meaning “long,” a nickname for a tall person.
9. La Perla – derives from the Spanish “perla,” meaning “pearl,” as an occupational name for a pearl trader.
10. Lapierre – from the French “pierre,” meaning “stone,” as an occupational name for a stone carver.
11. Lapointe – means “the point (of a lance)” in French and several place names in France.
12. Laramie – among 7-letter last names starting with L, known for the town of Laramie, Wyoming.
13. La Ricca – based on the medieval 4-letter given name Ricca, meaning “rich” and “wealthy.”
14. Larkin – a nickname for Laurence that means “descendant of Lorcan” in Gaelic.
15. Larson – a Scandinavian last name meaning “son of Lars” or “crowned with laurel.”
16. Lasso – a Spanish variation of Lazo, an Italian nickname meaning “unhappy” and “tired.”
17. Latham – based on a Norse place name that means “place by the barns.”
18. Laurent – also a French given name dating back to the Roman Laurentius, meaning “from Laurentum.”
19. La Verghetta – an Italian occupational surname beginning with L used for a “shepherd.”
20. Lavigne – from the Old French “vigne,” meaning “vineyard,” as given to someone living near a vineyard.
21. Lawrence – originally the Old French Laurence and the Latin Laurentius, meaning “crowned with laurel.”
22. Lawson – a patronymic surname meaning “son of Lawrence,” also an Anglo form of the Scandinavian Larsen.
23. Leary – an Anglo spelling of the Irish Laoghaire, given to a “keeper of calves.”
24. Ledoux – uses the French root “doux,” meaning “sweet,” “gentle,” or “mild-mannered.”
25. Lee – comes from the Old English “lēah,” meaning “meadow” or “forest clearing.”
26. Lefkowitz – also appears as Levkowitz in German and means “son of Levko.”
27. Leigh – a more authentic spelling of the English surname Lee, meaning “meadow” and “delicate.”
28. Lejeune – made up of the French “le,” meaning “the” and the boy’s name Jeune.
29. Leland – from the Old English “leah,” meaning “clearing,” means “fallow or uncultivated land.”
30. Lemaster – an English spelling of the French Lemaistre, from Lemaître, meaning “the master.”
31. Lemieux – from the French “le mieux,” meaning “the best,” also based on the town of Saint-Martin-de-Mieux.
32. Lemmon – means “the son of Leman,” based on the German Liefman.
33. Lemos – a Galician 5-letter geographical surname from the Celtic “lemos,” meaning “elm.”
34. Lennon – an Anglo form of the Gaelic Ó’Lonáin, meaning “son of Lonán,” from “ion,” meaning “blackbird.”
35. Lennox – refers to a Scottish region “with many elm trees,” also means “elm grove.”
36. Leonard – from the Old German Leonhard and means “lion-strong” and “lion-hearted.”
37. Leone – a nickname given to a “fierce or brave warrior,” from the Italian “leone,” meaning “lion.”
38. Leopold – originally appeared as the German Luitpold, meaning “brave or bold people.”
39. Lepage – means “the page,” a French occupational name used by a “young servant.”
40. Lepidi – from the Latin surname Lepidus, referring to someone “good to talk to” or “very polite.”
41. Lesane – an American spelling of the French Lesesne, a Huguenot name with an unknown meaning.
42. L’Escuyer – composed of the French “l,” meaning “the” and “écuyer,” meaning “squire,” also means “shield-bearer.”
43. Lesko – a unique Hungarian example of L last names using “les,” meaning “look” or “peek.”
44. L’Espérance – means “the hope” and is used as a nickname for an “optimist.”
45. L’Espinay – based on Espinay, a town in Brittany; “espine” also means “thorn.”
46. Lessard – a geographical surname for someone who “lived in a clearing,” from the Old French “essart.”
47. Lester – an English variation of Laster, given to “someone who makes shoemaker’s lasts.”
48. L’Etoile – one of the many last names that start with L meaning “star.”
49. Lewis – originally appeared as the Latin surname Ludovicus, meaning “famed battle.”
50. Lexington – is made up of the first name Leaxa, “-ing,” meaning “belonging to,” and “tun,” meaning “settlement.”
51. Linares – based on various Spanish place names and the root “linar,” meaning “flax field.”
52. Lincoln – a town name in England that also refers to a “lake” or “pool colony.”
53. Lindqvist – means “linden twig,” based on the Swedish “lind,” describing a “linden tree.”
54. Lindsay – based on the Scottish Lindsey, which relates to the English town of Lincoln.
55. Little – comes from the Old English “lȳtel,” also as a nickname for a short person.
56. Llamas – the name of a town in Asturias, Spain; the plural of “llama” means “mud.”
57. Llanos – taken from the Spanish town of Los Llanos and the plural of “llano,” meaning “plain.”
58. Llewellyn – also a popular boy’s name meaning “like a lion” in Welsh.
59. Lobo – appears in Galician Spanish and Portuguese as a surname that means “wolf.”
60. Lockhart – an English nickname from the Old French “locart,” meaning “one who squints.”
61. Logan – taken from a Scottish place name initially using the root “lag,” meaning “hollow.”
62. Lo Guercio – an Italian nickname for a squinty person taken from “guercio,” meaning “cross-eyed.”
63. Lombardo – an 8-letter variant of surnames starting with L for someone “from Lombardy” in northern Italy.
64. Long – a straightforward and common English surname given to a “tall man.”
65. Lopez – means “son of Lope” in Spanish; also from the Latin “lupus,” meaning “wolf.”
66. Lorenzo – a Spanish and Italian version of the Latin Laurentius, meaning “from Laurentum.”
67. Lowe – an English variant of the German Löwe based on “löuwe,” meaning “lion.”
68. Loyola – from a Basque place name composed of “loi,” meaning “mud” and “-ola,” meaning “place of.”
69. Lozada – a Spanish form of Losada, also a nickname for someone “in good health.”
70. Lozier – an occupational name for a “slate quarry worker” first used in Languedoc, France.
71. Lucci – a short form of the Italian Luciani, from the Roman Lucius, meaning “light.”
72. Luciano – used in Italy, Spain, and Portugal as a first name and surname meaning “light.”
73. Lucius – a Dutch and North German name dating back to the Roman “lux,” meaning “light.”
74. Luckett – an English nickname based on Luck, itself a variant of Luke.
75. Ludovic – a Slavic form of the German Ludvig, meaning “famous warrior” or “famous fighter.”
76. Ludwig – made up of the Germanic “hlūd,” meaning “famous,” and “wīg,” meaning “war.”
77. Luiz – a Spanish form of Luis, meaning “famous warrior” or “famous in battle.”
78. Lydon – an Anglo variation of the Gaelic Ó’Loideáin, meaning “descendant of Loideán.”
79. Lynch – an English and Gaelic name taken from the Old English “hlenc,” meaning “hillside.”
80. Lyons – from the Old French Leon, based on the Latin “leo,” meaning “lion.”

80 Unique Surnames Starting With L

Some of the most fascinating last names, starting with L, are also the most unique.

1. Laaksonen – a Finnish last names that start with L based on “laakso,” meaning “valley.”
2. Labarbera – an Italian and Sicilian form of Barbera, referring to a “barber.”
3. Labbay – used in the Arabic phrase, Labbay’k, meaning “here I am.”
4. Labbe – from the Old French “abe(t),” meaning “abbot,” for someone working in a priest’s home.
5. Labib – a mostly Egyptian surname based on the Arabic “labīb,” meaning “intelligent.”
6. Labish – a 6-letter variation of the French La Biche, meaning “female deer.”
7. Laboso – means “brown” in the Kalenjin language spoken in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
8. Labour – a less beautiful spelling for the French Labarre, for someone living “near a fence.”
9. Labrada – a Spanish place name derived from “labrar,” meaning “to cultivate.”
10. Lacayo – a Spanish occupational name given to a “foot soldier” or “lackey.”
11. Lafleur – from the French “la fleur,” meaning “the flower,” and a nickname for French soldiers.
12. Lafontaine – a French geographical surname used for someone living “near a spring or well.”
13. Lagares – the name of various locations in Galicia, based on the Spanish “lagar,” meaning “winery.”
14. Lagunas – a plural of the Spanish “laguna,” meaning “pool” and “pond.”
15. Lahout – based on the Arabic “lahu,” meaning “my life” or “my darling.”
16. Lahush – a Marathi-Indian surname inspired by the name of an ancient king.
17. Lai – a popular 3-letter Chinese surname meaning “depend on” or “trust in.”
18. Laidler – derives from the Old English “hlædel” and is an occupational name for a “maker of ladles.”
19. Laird – a Scottish noble name referring to a “lord of the land (or estate).”
20. Lakhani – based on the Sanskrit “laksmana,” meaning “one who has auspicious marks.”
21. Lalic – a patronymic Serbian surname from Lala, also a nickname for Lazar.
22. Lallo – a short form of names like Gerardo and Gonzalo; also means “to sing a lullaby.”
23. Laman – a particularly Dutch form of the French “l’amant,” meaning “lover.”
24. Lamb – an English nickname for a “meek” person and occupational name for a keeper of lambs.”
25. Lancaster – an English location named after the River Lune and the Old English “ceaster,” meaning “city.”
26. Lancelot – from the Old English “wlenceo,” meaning “pride” and “loða,” meaning “cloak.”
27. Landis – a mostly Swiss and German nickname used for a “highwayman.”
28. Landolfi – based on the Italian Landulfi, a first name meaning “land wolf.”
29. Larina – dates back to the Roman Lares, guardian spirits who were part of ancient mythology.
30. Larios – given to someone “from Larios,” the name for several towns in Spain.
31. Larkspur – inspired by the “horn-shaped” part of a flower that looks like a “lark’s claw.”
32. Laskin – a nickname based on the Russian and Belorussian “laska,” meaning “favor” or “weasel.”
33. Lass – a pet name for the German Lorenz taken from the Middle German “las,” meaning “weak.”
34. Lassandro – first appeared in Florence and was linked to the Italian male name Alessandro.
35. Lassissi – an African surname used in Nigeria with an unknown meaning in Yoruba.
36. Lattimore – also an English male name from the French “latinier,” meaning “interpreter.”
37. Lauer – a nickname taken from the Middle German “lūre,” given to a “crafty” or “cunning” person.
38. Laughlin – an Anglo form of the Gaelic Ó’Lochlainn, meaning “descendent of a stranger.”
39. Lauren – a French variation of Laurence, meaning “laurel tree” or “wisdom,” also a girl’s name.
40. Law – a Scottish surname originally given to a “dweller at the low (hill).”
41. Lazaro – a Spanish diminutive of Lazarus which means “God is my helper.”
42. Lazarus – named after the biblical character, derived from the Hebrew Eleazar, meaning “God has helped.”
43. Lazo – a Spanish nickname meaning “shoelace,” also an Albanian diminutive of Lazër.
44. Le – means “happiness” in Chinese and appeared as Le Fu, the son of an ancient ruler.
45. Leach – an English occupational name for a physician from the Old English “lǣce,” meaning “blood-letter.”
46. LeBlanc – a French nickname for someone with “blond hair” or a “pale complexion.”
47. Lederer – a German occupational name used for a “leatherworker” or “tanner.”
48. Ledezma – named after Ledesma, Spain; also means “broad” and “wide” in Celtic.
49. Leduc – from the French “duc,” meaning “duke” as a title of nobility.
50. Levine – also appears as Levin, from the Hebrew Levi, meaning “joined” or “dear friend” in German.
51. Levy – the alternative spelling to the Hebrew Levi, meaning “united” or “joined in harmony.”
52. Lew – a Polish pet name for Leon, meaning “lion” or a Jewish variation of Lev.
53. Lewandowski – given to someone “from Lewandów,” made up of the Old Polish “lewanda,” meaning “lavender.”
54. Lewellen – an Anglo form of the Welsh Llywelyn, meaning “like a leader” or “like a lion.”
55. Li – originally appeared as the title “dali” used by Gao Yao during the Xia dynasty.
56. Lieberman – comes from the German “lieb” or Yiddish “lib,” meaning “dear” and “beloved.”
57. Likens – a variation of the Flemish Liekens, from “liud,” meaning “people” and “tribe.”
58. Lilly – from the Middle English female name Lylie, named after Lelley or Lilley in England.
59. Lim – among a good group of Chinese last names starting with L, meaning “woods” and “forest.”
60. Lima – means “file” in Spanish; a Portuguese name for someone living near the Lima River.
61. Limarenko – also appears as Lemarenko in Russia, where its meaning is unknown.
62. Lin – like Lim, Lin also means “forest” in Chinese and is used as a boy’s name.
63. Linn – a German occupational name for someone who sold trenches (fish); from “lin,” meaning tench.”
64. Linscott – “from Linscott or Limscott,” England; from the Old English name Lēofwine and “cot,” meaning “cottage.”
65. Lipinski – given to someone “from Lipno or Lipino,” Poland; from “lipa,” meaning “lime tree.”
66. Liu – describes “an ax used as a weapon,” also the name of an ancient Chinese state.
67. Lord – from the Old English “hlāford,” denoting a “lord” or “master” of noble birth.
68. Lovell – from the French “lovel,” meaning “wolf cub” as a diminutive of “lou,” meaning “wolf.”
69. Lovelock – an Old English nickname for a “dandy,” that refers to a “lock of hair.”
70. Loving – from the Old English “lēof,” meaning “dear,” means “belonging to the leaf” in Swedish.
71. Lucatero – a Spanish occupational name given to a “merchant” and “trader.”
72. Lucero – derives from the Spanish “luz,” meaning “light,” also means “morning or evening star.”
73. Luevano – a plural form of Luévano, which has an unknown meaning, primarily used in Mexico.
74. Lundy – named after Scottish places called Lundie; from the French “la Launde,” meaning “the glade.”
75. Luong – means “roof beam” and “bridge,” very common among Chinese-Vietnamese residents.
76. Lupo – means “wolf” in Italian, originally derived from the Latin “lupus.”
77. Lupone – originated in the Papal States and one of many surnames starting with L meaning “wolf.”
78. Lusk – means “lazy” in English, “cave” in Gaelic, and “burning” or “searing” in Welsh.
79. Luther – composed of the German “liut,” meaning “salvation” and “heri,” meaning “army,” which also means “lute player.”
80. Lutz – a short form of the German Luizo, with the root “liut,” meaning “people.”

80 Unusual Last Names That Start With L

Here you’ll find surnames starting with L that differ from most others we recognize.

1. Lachra – an Old Gaelic given name based on “laoch,” meaning “warrior” or “hero.”
2. Laguerra – from the Old French “guerre,” meaning “war” as a nickname for a “belligerent person.”
3. Lajami – an Arabic surname mostly used in Tunisia also meaning “necessary” in Hindi.
4. Lake – from the Old English “lacu,” referring to a “lake” or “body of water.”
5. Lalji – a Hindu variation of “lal,” meaning “beloved,” “dear,” or “close to the heart.”
6. Lambrecht – a variation of Landbrecht, taken from the German Landerbrecht, meaning “home guard.”
7. Lamonica – an unusual form of the female name Monica, also from “monaca,” meaning “nun.”
8. Lamouchi – an Arabic surname most famous for French football manager Sabri Lamouchi.
9. Langebroek – from the original name of a Dutch settlement, Overlangbroek, means “long stretched out swamp.”
10. Langlois – a French ethnic name for “the Englishman,” from the French “anglois.”
11. Langworthy – the name of two locations in Devon, England, meaning “long enclosure.”
12. Lantz – used in both Germany and Sweden, where it means “land,” or “lance.”
13. Larrabee – an obscure English place name related to an Old Norse word for “farmstead” or “settlement.”
14. Lasker – a Jewish variant of Laski denoting Łódź in Poland; means “clearing in a forest.”
15. Lassiter – an Old English name for someone from Leicester in England.
16. Latas – derived from the Serbo-Croatian male name Láto, meaning “gentle” and “tin car” in Spanish.
17. Lathrop – made up of the Old Norse name Leithulfr and “thorp,” meaning “secondary settlement.”
18. Latif – means “gentle” and “kind” in Arabic; part of Al-Latif, one of God’s names in Islam.
19. Latigo – means “whip” in Spanish and Portuguese, from the Gothic “laittug.”
20. Lavalais – a unique form of the French Lavallée, meaning “the valley” or “avalanche.”
21. Lavilla – a combination surname made up of the Spanish “la,” meaning “the” and “villa,” meaning “village.”
22. Lawless – from the Middle English, “laweles,” meaning “uncontrolled by the law” as given to an outlaw.
23. Lazar – a Slavic surname and first name that means “God is my help.”
24. Lechuga – a Spanish occupational name for a “grower or seller of lettuce.”
25. Leclair – among French last names that start with L and a nickname for a “cheerful” person.
26. Ledbetter – an Old English occupational name from “lēad,” meaning “lead” and “bēatere,” meaning “to beat.”
27. Lefebvre – a French occupational name for an “iron-worker,” from the Old French “fevre,” meaning “craftsman.”
28. Lellouche – also appears in Arabic as “el allouch,” meaning “the lamb.”
29. Lenart – a Slavic variation of Leonard used as a male first name, meaning “brave lion.”
30. Lestrange – means “the strange” in French, from the Gaelic Mac Conchoigchríche, meaning “hound of the borderland.”
31. Letsholathebe – means “he who holds the shield” in the Tswana language of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
32. Leung – also appears as Liang and means “roof beam” and “bridge” in Chinese.
33. Leutheusser – means “lieutenant” from the Middle German “leuth,” meaning “leader,” and “huser,” meaning “house.”
34. Levesque – means “bishop” as a French occupational name for a member of a bishop’s household.
35. Liaw – an alternate spelling of the Chinese-Mandarin Liao, meaning “spacious empty.”
36. Liciardello – an Italian short form of Licciardi, relating to the French “lichard,” meaning “gluttonous” or “greedy.”
37. Lieberherr – made up of the German “lieb,” meaning “dear,” and “herr,” meaning “lord.”
38. Lievanos – a plural form of the Spanish Liébano, named after Liébana, a town in Cantabria, Spain.
39. Lightfoot – an English nickname given to a “messenger” or “fast runner” from the Old English “līohtfote.”
40. Lihau – one of the rare Hawaiian last names starting with L that means “cool, gentle rain.”
41. Limones – a plural form of the Spanish “limón,” meaning “lemon,” an occupational name for a fruit seller.
42. Line – a French occupational name for a linen weaver or a linen merchant.
43. Lingle – an alternative form of the German Lingel for those living in the town of Lingelbach.
44. Lippe – from the Middle English first name Leppe that uses the root “lēof,” meaning “dear beloved.”
45. Littlefield – a place name from the Old English “lȳtel,” meaning “little” and “feld,” meaning “open country.”
46. Littlejohn – from the Old English “lȳtel,” meaning “small,” and the given name John.
47. Livingston – also appears as Levingston, originating from the first name Leving and Scots “toun,” meaning “town.”
48. Locklear – an English occupational name for a “locksmith,” also from the Sioux “locklaha,” meaning “falling water.”
49. Lockwood – from the Old English “loca,” meaning “enclosure,” and “wud,” meaning “wood.”
50. Lodi – for those from the Italian town of Lodi; also the name of a 15th-century Indian dynasty.
51. Loera – associated with “Nues(tr)a Señora de Lluera,” meaning “Our Lady of the Light.”
52. Lofton – a variant of the English Lofton, meaning “gracious” that’s also a boy’s name.
53. Loggins – an Anglo form of the Gaelic “lagan,” from “lag,” meaning “a hollow.”
54. Logue – from the Gaelic Ó Maolaodhóg, meaning “descendant of the servant (devotee) of Saint Maodhóg.”
55. Longoria – a Spanish name given to someone “from Llongoria” in Asturias, Spain.
56. Loomis – originally appeared as the medieval Lumhalghs, meaning “pool nook access.”
57. Loor – a Spanish nickname meaning “praise” and a Flemish occupational name for a peddler.
58. Lopezrodriguez – a compound Spanish surname meaning “son of Lopes” and “son of Rodrigo.”
59. Lopeztorres – made up of a combination of Lopez, meaning “son of Lopes” and Torres, meaning “towers.”
60. Lott – from the Old English “hlot,” meaning “lot” or “portion” of land.
61. Loudermilk – an alternative spelling of the German Lautermilch, an occupational name for a dairy farmer.
62. Lovato – dates back to the ancient Roman first name Lupatus, from “lupus,” meaning “wolf.”
63. Love – an English and Scottish surname related to Luiff, meaning “wolf.”
64. Lovelace – means “cord” and “shoelace” and is a 16th-century nickname for a “dandy” who loves lace.
65. Lovitz – a Jewish surname for those from the town of Łowicz in Poland.
66. Lu – means “black” in Chinese and is a place name located in the Shandong province.
67. Lucarelli – linked to the ancient Roman given name Lucas, meaning “bringer of light.”
68. Lucas – originally appeared as the Greek Loukas, meaning “man from Lucania.”
69. Lugun – an Indian-Hindi example of surnames beginning with L with unknown meanings.
70. Lujan – a Spanish place name in Aragon which means “the pasture.”
71. Luker – an English occupational name for a “watchman” from the Old English “lōcian.”
72. Lum – comes from the Middle English “lum,” meaning “pool,” and also appears as Lumb.
73. Lussier – a French occupational name for an “usher” from the Old French “ussier,” meaning “doorkeeper.”
74. Lutaaya – an inspiring African-Ugandan and South African surname that means “never give up.”
75. Luthra – an Indian-Punjab and Sikh name dating back to the ancient Arora clan.
76. Luthuli – an African-Zulu name used for June that means “month when there is much dust.”
77. Lyas – a shorter form of the Hebrew Elias or Elijah, meaning “my God is Yahweh.”
78. Lyrik – goes back to the Greek word meaning “lyre” or “notes of a song.”
79. Lysander – means “liberator” in Greek, composed of “lysis,” meaning “freedom,” and “andros,” meaning “man.”
80. Lytle – is an Old English and Northern Irish variation of Little, given to a small person.