Surnames Starting with V

usage
Vacca Italian
Means "cow" in Italian, originally denoting a person who worked with cattle.
Vaccaro Italian
Occupational name meaning "cowherd" in Italian.
Vacek Czech
Derived from the given name Václav.
Vacík Czech
Derived from the given name Václav.
Vadas Hungarian
From Hungarian vad meaning "wild", either a nickname or an occupational name for a hunter of wild game.
Văduva Romanian
From Romanian văduvă meaning "widow".
Valdez Spanish
Means "son of Baldo".
Vale Portuguese
Means "valley" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin vallis.
Valencia Spanish
From the name of the Spanish city of Valencia.
Valenta Czech
Derived from the given name Valentin.
Valenti Italian
Patronymic from the given name Valente, an Italian form of Valens. A famous bearer of the surname was Jack Valenti (1921-2007), advisor to American president Lyndon Johnson.
Valentini Italian
Means "son of Valentino".
Valeriev Bulgarian
Means "son of Valeri".
Valerio Italian
From the given name Valerio.
Valero Spanish
From the given name Valero.
Valiente Spanish
From a nickname derived from Spanish valiente meaning "brave".
Valjean Literature
Created by Victor Hugo for Jean Valjean, the hero of his novel Les Misérables (1862). The novel explains that his father, also named Jean, received the nickname Valjean or Vlajean from a contraction of French voilá Jean meaning "here's Jean".
Vámos Hungarian
Means "customs officer" in Hungarian, a derivative of vám "customs".
Văn Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Wen, from Sino-Vietnamese (văn).
Van Aalsburg Dutch
Means "from Aalsburg", which is possibly Adelsburg, composed of adal "noble" and burg "fortress".
Van Aarle Dutch
Variant of Aarle.
Van Aggelen Dutch
Denoted someone from Aggelen, which could refer to Achel in the Belgian province of Limburg or Egchel in the Dutch province of Limburg.
Vanags Latvian
Means "hawk" in Latvian.
Van Agteren Dutch
Means "from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.
Van Aller Dutch
Means "from the Aller", a river in Germany, of uncertain meaning.
Van Alphen Dutch
Means "from Alphen", a town in the Netherlands. It is derived from the name of the Roman fort Albaniana, itself from Latin albus "white".
Van Alst Dutch
Means "from Aalst", the name of towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, which is possibly from Germanic *alhs meaning "temple, shelter".
Van Althuis Dutch
Dutch cognate of Althaus.
Van Amelsvoort Dutch
Means "from Amersfoort", a city in the Netherlands. It means "ford of the Amer (Eem) River" in Dutch.
Van Amstel Dutch
Means "from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".
Van Andel Dutch
Means "from Andel", a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "upper forest" in Old Dutch.
Van Ankeren Dutch
Means "from the anchor" in Dutch.
Van Antwerp Dutch
Means "from Antwerp", a city in Belgium.
Van As Dutch
Means "from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".
Van Asch Dutch
Variant of Van As.
Van Assen Dutch
Means "from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from essen meaning "ash trees".
Van Baarle Dutch
Means "from Baarle", a town in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
Van Bokhoven Dutch
Means "from Bokhoven", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It means "goat yards" in Dutch.
Van Breda Dutch
Means "from Breda", a city in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch breed meaning "wide" and Aa, the name of a river.
Van Buggenum Dutch
Means "from Buggenum", a small town in the middle of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Buren Dutch
Means "from Buren", a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in the Dutch province Gelderland. The place names derive from Old Dutch bur meaning "house, dwelling". In the 16th century the countess Anna van Buren married William of Orange, the founder of the Dutch royal family. A famous bearer of this surname was Martin van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States.
Van Can Dutch
Variant of Van Kan.
Vance English
Indicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English fenn meaning "fen, marsh".
Vanchev Bulgarian
Means "son of Vancho" in Bulgarian.
Vančura Czech
Derived from the given name Václav.
Van Dalen Dutch
Means "from the valley", from Old Dutch dal meaning "valley".
Van Damme Flemish
Means "from Damme", the name of a town in Belgium, derived from Dutch dam meaning "dam". A famous bearer is the Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960-), who was born with the surname Van Varenberg.
Van den Akker Dutch
Means "from the field" in Dutch.
Van den Berg Dutch
Means "from the mountain", derived from Dutch berg meaning "mountain".
Van der Aart Dutch
Means "from the earth", derived from Dutch aarde "earth". It perhaps referred to either an earth bank or to a farmer.
Van der Beek Dutch
Means "from the creek" in Dutch.
Van der Linden Dutch
Means "from the linden trees", from Dutch linde meaning "linden tree".
Van der Meer Dutch
Means "from the lake" in Dutch.
Van der Stoep Dutch
Means "from the paved entrance", from Dutch stoep meaning "paved porch at the entrance to a house".
Van der Veen Dutch
Means "from the swamp", from Dutch veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat". It originally indicated a person who resided in a peat district or fen colony.
Van der Zee Dutch
Means "from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.
Van de Vliert Dutch
Means "from the elderberry" in Dutch.
Van Dijk Dutch
Means "from the dike" in Dutch.
Van Donk Dutch
Means "from the hill", derived from Dutch donk meaning "(sandy) hill".
Vandroogenbroeck Flemish
Means "from the dry marsh" in Dutch. The city of Brussels was built on dry marshes.
Vaněk Czech
From an archaic diminutive of the given name Václav.
Vanev Bulgarian
Means "son of Ivan" in Bulgarian.
Vång Swedish
Swedish variant of Wang 3.
Vang 2 Yiddish
Variant of Wang 4.
Vanhanen Finnish
From Finnish vanha meaning "old".
Van Hassel Dutch
Means "from Hassel", a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It may be derived from Old Dutch hasal meaning "hazel tree".
Van Heel Dutch
Means "from Heel", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Herten Dutch
Means "from Herten", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. The town's name comes from Dutch herten, the plural of hert meaning "deer".
Van Hofwegen Dutch
Means "from Hofwegen", a town in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch hof "garden, courtyard" and weg "way, path, road".
Van Hoorn Dutch
Dutch form of Horn.
Van Horn Dutch
Dutch form of Horn.
Van Houten Dutch
Means "from forests", derived from Dutch hout "forest".
Van Kan Dutch
Means "from Kanne", a town in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.
Vankov Bulgarian
Means "son of Ivan" in Bulgarian.
Van Laar Dutch
Derived from Dutch laar (plural laren), which means "open spot in the forest". These areas were used to graze cattle for example.
Van Leeuwen Dutch
Means "from Leeuwen", the name of towns in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Limburd. The place names may be from the Old Dutch word leo meaning "hill, burial mound".
Van Leeuwenhoek Dutch
Variant of Leeuwenhoek. A famous bearer of this surname is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a pioneer in the field of microscopy.
Van Middelburg Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Middelburg", the name of a city in Zeeland in the Netherlands, itself meaning "middle fortress" in Dutch.
Vann English
From Old English fenn meaning "fen, swamp", indicating a person who lived near such a place.
Van Niftrik Dutch
Means "from Niftrik", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van Oirschot Dutch
Means "from Oirschot", a town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is possibly from Dutch oeros meaning "aurochs" and schoot meaning "projection (of land)".
Van Ophoven Dutch
Means "from Ophoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. Their names mean "upper gardens, upper courtyards" in Dutch.
Van Pey Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Pey", a town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Rompaey Flemish, Dutch
Means "from the wide path", derived from Middle Dutch ruum "roomy, spacious" combined with pat "path".
Van Rompuy Flemish
Variant of Van Rompaey. A famous bearer is the Flemish politician Herman Van Rompuy (1947-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.
Van Rossum Dutch
Means "from Rossum", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is mentioned as Rotheheim in a 9th-century document, and is derived from Dutch rothe "cleared area in a forest" and heim "home".
Vantchev Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Ванчев (see Vanchev).
Van Tonder Dutch
Means "from Tønder", a town in Denmark near the German border.
Van Wegberg Dutch
Means "from Wegberg", a small town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, close to the Dutch border. It is derived from old German weg "way, path, road" and berg "mountain".
Van Wieren Frisian, Dutch
Means "from Wieren". This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands, which mean "seaweed".
Van Willigen Dutch
Means "from the willows", from Old Dutch wilga "willow".
Varano Italian
Derived from one of the many towns of this name in Italy.
Vardanyan Armenian
Means "son of Vardan".
Varela Spanish
Derived from Spanish vara "stick". It may have originally been given to one who used a stick in his line of work, for example an animal herder.
Varga Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "cobbler" in Hungarian.
Vargas Spanish, Portuguese
Means "slope, flooded field, pastureland" or "hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word varga.
Varley English
Originally denoted a person from Verly, France, itself derived from the Roman name Virilius.
Vartanian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Վարդանյան (see Vardanyan).
Vašek Czech
Derived from the given name Vašek.
Vasile Romanian
Derived from the given name Vasile.
Vasilescu Romanian
Means "son of Vasile".
Vasilev Bulgarian, Russian
Means "son of Vasil".
Vasilyev Russian
Means "son of Vasil".
Vásquez Spanish
Means "son of Vasco".
Vass Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian vas meaning "iron", referring to a worker in iron, a miner of iron ore or a vendor of iron goods. Alternatively, from the same root word, it may have been a nickname referring to one with a distinctively strong constitution.
Vastag Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "stout, thick" in Hungarian.
Vasylenko Ukrainian
From the given name Vasyl.
Vasylyk Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Vasyl.
Vasylyshyn Ukrainian
Means "son of Vasyl".
Vaughan Welsh
From Welsh bychan (mutated to fychan) meaning "little". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Vaughn Welsh
Variant of Vaughan.
Vávra Czech
Derived from the given name Vávra, a diminutive of Vavřinec.
Vega Spanish
From Spanish vega meaning "meadow, plain", of Basque origin.
Vela Spanish
Derived from Spanish vela meaning "sail" or the homonym vela meaning "watchful".
Velasco Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.
Velásquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.
Velázquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.
Velitchkov Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Величков (see Velichkov).
Vemulakonda Indian, Telugu
Indicated a person from the city of Vemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Venäläinen Finnish
Means "Russian" in Finnish. This name was originally used by the ethnic Finns who lived on the Russian side of the border.
Vencel Hungarian
Derived from the given name Vencel.
Venczel Hungarian
Derived from the given name Vencel.
Ventimiglia Italian
From the name of the historical Italian city Ventimiglia, now near the French border, ultimately from Latin Albintimilium.
Verboom Dutch
Means "from the tree" in Dutch.
Veres Hungarian
Dialectical variant of Vörös.
Vergoossen Dutch
Means "son of Goswin".
Verhoeven Dutch
Means "from the farm" in Dutch, derived from hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.
Verity English
From a nickname meaning "truth", perhaps given originally to a truthful person.
Vermeulen Flemish
Means "from the mill" in Dutch.
Vernersen Danish
Means "son of Verner".
Vernon English
Locational name in the Eure region of Normandy, from the Gaulish element vern "alder (tree)" with the genitive case maker onis.
Verona Italian
From the name of the city of Verona, one of the most important historical cities of northern Italy. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain.
Ververs Dutch
Occupational name derived from Dutch verver meaning "dyer, painter".
Vervloet Flemish
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.
Vescovi Italian
Derived from Italian vescovo meaning "bishop".
Vesela Czech
Moravian Czech variant of Veselý.
Veselý Czech
From a nickname meaning "cheerful" in Czech.
Vespa Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "wasp".
Vestergaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish vest "west" and gård "farm, yard".
Vestri Italian
From the given name Silvestro.
Vicario Spanish, Italian
Means "vicar" in Spanish and Italian, an ecclesiastic title used to denote a representative of a bishop. It is derived from Latin vicarius meaning "substitute, deputy".
Vicente Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Vicente.
Vico Italian
Means "town" in Italian, derived from Latin vicus.
Victor French, English
Derived from the male given name Victor.
Victors English
Derived from the given name Victor.
Victorsson Swedish
Means "son of Victor".
Vida Hungarian
From the given name Vid.
Vidal Spanish, Catalan, French
From the given name Vidal.
Vidović Croatian
Means "son of Vid".
Vieira Portuguese
Denoted a person who came from a Portuguese town by this name, derived from vieria meaning "scallop". The scallop was a symbol of Saint James, and was traditionally worn by pilgrims to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
Vieth German
From the given name Veit.
Vigo Italian
Variant of Vico.
Vik Norwegian
Means "cove, inlet" in Norwegian.
Vilar Portuguese, Galician, Catalan
Means "hamlet, farm" in Portuguese, Galician and Catalan, from Late Latin villare, a derivative of Latin villa.
Vilaró Catalan
Catalan variant of Vilar.
Villa Italian, Spanish
Means "town" in Italian and Spanish, from Latin. It was originally given to a person who came from a town, as opposed to the countryside.
Villalba Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various Spanish places by this name. It is derived from Spanish villa "town" and alba "white".
Villalobos Spanish
Habitational name for a person from the town of Villalobos, Spain, which is derived from Spanish villa "town" and lobo "wolf".
Villanueva Spanish
Originally denoted someone who came from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and nueva "new".
Villar Spanish
Spanish cognate of Vilar.
Villaverde Spanish
Originally denoted a person from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and verde "green".
Villeneuve French
French cognate of Villanueva.
Vincent 1 English, French
From the given name Vincent.
Vincent 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Dhuibhinse meaning "son of Duibhinse", a given name meaning "black island".
Vinci 1 Italian
From the given name Vincenzo.
Vinci 2 Italian
Originally indicated a person from Vinci near Florence, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.
Vincze Hungarian
From the given name Vince.
Vinković Croatian
Means "son of Vinko".
Vinogradov Russian
Means "vineyard" in Russian (ultimately from German), referring to a person who worked at a vineyard or lived near one.
Vinter Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian variant of Winter.
Viola Italian
From the given name Viola.
Vipond English
From Vieux-Pont, the name of various places in Normandy, derived from French vieux "old" and pont "bridge".
Virág Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "flower" in Hungarian.
Virgo English
Possibly from Latin virgo "virgin, maiden". It may have been a nickname for an actor who played the Virgin Mary in mystery plays, or for a shy man or a lecher.
Virtanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish virta meaning "stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
Visscher Dutch
Variant of Visser.
Visser Dutch
Occupational name meaning "fisherman" in Dutch.
Vitale Italian
From the given name Vitale.
Vitali Italian
From the given name Vitale.
Viteri Spanish, Basque
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a Basque place name.
Vivas Catalan
From the Catalan byname vivas meaning "may you live", which was bestowed upon children to bring good luck.
Vives Catalan
Variant of Vivas.
Vlahović Serbian, Croatian
Patronymic from Serbo-Croatian Vlah meaning "Romanian".
Vlasák Czech
Derived from Czech vlas "hair", probably referring to a barber or a person who bought and sold hair.
Vlašić Croatian
Patronymic from the nickname Vlah meaning "Romanian".
Vlašič Slovene
Patronymic from the nickname Vlah meaning "Romanian".
Vlček Czech
Diminutive form of Czech vlk meaning "wolf".
Vietnamese
Variant of used more often in southern Vietnam.
Voclain French
From the Old French given name Vauquelin.
Vodenicharov Bulgarian
Patronymic derived from Bulgarian воденичар (vodenichar) meaning "miller".
Vogel German, Dutch
From Old High German and Old Dutch fogal meaning "bird". It was originally an occupational name for a bird catcher, or a nickname for a person who liked to sing.
Vogels Dutch
Variant of Vogel.
Vogt German
Occupational name from Middle High German voget meaning "bailiff, administrator, steward", ultimately from Latin advocatus.
Vogts German
Patronymic variant of Vogt.
Voigt German
Variant of Vogt.
Voigts German
Patronymic variant of Vogt.
Volk German
Derived from given names beginning with the Old High German element folk meaning "people".
Volkov Russian
Patronymic derived from Russian волк (volk) meaning "wolf".
Voll 1 Norwegian
Originally indicated a person who lived in a meadow, from Old Norse vǫllr "meadow, field".
Voll 2 German
Variant of Volk.
Voltolini Italian
From the name of the alpine valley of Valtellina in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Von Brandt German
Means "from the area cleared by fire", from Middle High German brant.
Von Essen German
Means "from Essen", a city in Germany, possibly a derivative of Old High German asc meaning "ash tree".
Von Grimmelshausen German
Means "from Grimmelshausen", a town in Germany. It is itself derived from Grimmel, of uncertain meaning, and hausen meaning "houses". A famous bearer was the German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621-1676).
Von Ingersleben German
Means "from Ingersleben", a town in Germany, which means "Inge's village".
Vonnegut German
Possibly from the German words von meaning "from, of, by" and gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).
Voronin Russian
Derived from Russian ворона (vorona) meaning "crow".
Vörös Hungarian
Means "red" in Hungarian, referring to a person with red hair or face.
Vos Dutch
Dutch cognate of Voss.
Voss German
From Middle Low German vos meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.
Voß German
Variant of Voss.
Vossen Dutch
From the given name Vos, which comes from the Frisian name Fos, which is from Old German given names beginning with the element folk meaning "people".
Vroom Dutch, Flemish
From a nickname derived from Dutch vroom meaning "pious, devout".
Vrubel Czech
From a nickname derived from Czech vrabec meaning "sparrow".
Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Wu 2, from Sino-Vietnamese ().
Vukoja Croatian
Derived from the given name Vuk.
Vuković Serbian, Croatian
Derived from the given name Vuk.