Muktupāvels (masculine), Muktupāvela (feminine) is a Latvian-language surname.
Valdis Muktupāvels put forth a plausible hypothesis about the origin of his surname: basing on the traditions of Latvian name formation, it would literally mean "Pavels from Mukti", and the placename Mukti may derive from obsolete Lithuanian word "mukt" for "swampy place".[1]
Notable people with the surname include:
- Laima Muktupāvela (born 1962), Latvian author
- Rūta Muktupāvela (born 1963), Latvian cultorologist, musician, and academic, rector of the Latvian Academy of Culture
- Valdis Muktupāvels (born 1958), ethnomusicologist, composer, musician, teacher, ad art critic
- Zigfrīds Muktupāvels (born 1965) Latvian musician, journalist, radio and TV program host