Origin
Baltimore : 1: English: apparently from the title of the English Barons Baltimore borne by members of the Calvert family who were Lords Proprietors of the colony of Maryland in the 17th century. The title is based on the name of their estate in County Longford Ireland. As a surname Baltimore seems to have originated in America (appearing in VA in the 1660s). There is however no record of any Calvert descendants having assumed the title as a surname. The surname is found mainly among African Americans (see also 2 below).2: Jewish (American) and African American: adoption of the surname in 1 above or perhaps of the name of the city in Maryland as a surname. The city was established in 1729 (the port already in 1706) and named after Cecil Calvert second Lord Baltimore (see 1 above) who was the first Lord Proprietor of the colony of Maryland in the 17th century.
Gay : 1: English (southwestern) French and Catalan: nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful person from Middle English Old French gai Catalan gay ‘cheerful’. In Middle English the term could also mean ‘wanton lascivious’ and this sense may lie behind the surname in some instances.2: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of the places in Normandy called Gaye from an early proprietor bearing an ancient Germanic personal name cognate with Wade.3: Catalan: probably also from the personal name Gai (from Latin Gaius).4: Galician: habitational name from Gai in the province of Lugo.5: German: variant of Gau.6: North German: from a Frisian personal name Gay.7: Americanized form of Polish Slovak and Rusyn (from Slovakia) Gaj.8: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 蓋 (see Gai 1) and 倪 (see Ni 1).
Kirchhofer : German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone living near a churchyard or a habitational name for the proprietor or tenant of a farm named as ‘Church Farm’ from Middle High German kirche ‘church’ + hof ‘farmstead manor farm’.
Lorenzana : Spanish: habitational name from Lorenzana (in Galician: Lourenzá) in Lugo province Galicia which was named in Latin as Laurentiana after its original proprietor Laurentius (see Lawrence).
Mars : 1: Scottish and English: variant of Marrs.2: French: habitational name from any of several places called Mars (Ardèche Ardennes Gard Loire Nièvre and Meurthe-et-Moselle) from the Latin personal name Marcius (the name of the proprietor of the villa) used adjectivally. The surname could also be derived directly from the personal name. Compare Demars 2.3: French: from an old vernacular form of the personal name Médard (see Medard).4: French: from mars the name of the month of March probably applied as a nickname for someone born or baptized in that month or for a foundling discovered in March or perhaps denoting seed sown in March and hence a metonymic occupational name for an arable grower. See also 5 below.5: West Indian (mainly Haiti) and Mauritian: from Mars the name of the Roman god of war applied as a nickname or ornamental name or from the personal name Mars of the same origin. The name may also be of the same French origin as the name in 4 above.6: Dutch (also Van der Mars or Van de Mars): topographic name for someone living by a mars denoting lush alluvial land by a watercourse. Compare Marsman and Meers.7: Slovenian (also Marš): unexplained. Compare Marsh 3.
Mule : 1: English: nickname perhaps for a stubborn person from Middle English mule muel meul moile ‘mule’ (Old French mule). See also Moyle and Moule with which this name may have been interchangeable.3: French: nickname from mule ‘female mule’.2: Italian (Sicily; also Mulè): nickname from Arabic mawlā ‘owner proprietor master’.
Muter : 1: English (Northumberland): nickname or occupational name from Middle English motere ‘public speaker spokesman’ (Old English mōtere).2: Scottish (Lanarkshire): occupational name from Middle English (mainly Scots) multerer ‘mill proprietor one to whom the toll of multure is payable’.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
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