Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Indian (Kerala) : Hindu (Nayar) name, from Malayalam mēnōn, usually used to mean ‘accountant’, but literally ‘exalted one’ (earlier mēnavan, mēlavan, from mēl ‘high’ + the third person singular masculine pronoun, avan ‘he’). Originally, this was a hereditary title conferred by the rulers of various kingdoms in Kerala.

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe