Surnames Starting with Y

usage
Yakovlev Russian
Means "son of Yakov".
Yamada Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yamagishi Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (kishi) meaning "beach, shore, bank".
Yamaguchi Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance". Olympic figure-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi (1971-) bears this name.
Yamamoto Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
Yamashita Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (shita) meaning "under, below".
Yamauchi Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (uchi) meaning "inside".
Yamazaki Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".
Yancy Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Jansen.
Yanev Bulgarian
Means "son of Yane", a diminutive of Yoan 2.
Yang Chinese
From Chinese (yáng) meaning "willow, poplar, aspen".
Yankov Bulgarian
Means "son of Yanko".
Yap English
From a nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English yap meaning "devious, deceitful, shrewd".
Yasuda Japanese
From Japanese (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yates English
From Old English geat meaning "gate", a name for a gatekeeper or someone who lived near a gate.
Ye Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "leaf".
Yegorov Russian
Means "son of Yegor".
Yeung Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Yang.
Yi Korean
Variant of Lee 2.
Yıldız Turkish
Means "star" in Turkish.
Yılmaz Turkish
From the given name Yılmaz.
Yokota Japanese
From Japanese (yoko) meaning "beside, next to" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yong English
Variant of Young.
Yonker Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Jonker.
Yonkers Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized spelling of Jonkers.
Yoon Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul (see Yun).
Yordanov Bulgarian
Means "son of Yordan".
York English
From the name of the English city of York, which was originally called Eburacon (Latinized as Eboracum), meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to Eoforwic, based on Old English eofor "boar" and wic "village". This was rendered as Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to York.
Yoshida Japanese
From Japanese (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yoshinaga Japanese
From Japanese (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and (naga) meaning "perpetual, eternal".
Yoshino Japanese
From Japanese (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Yoshioka Japanese
From Japanese (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".
Young English
Derived from Old English geong meaning "young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Younge English
Variant of Young.
Yount German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Jundt.
Yoxall English
Originally indicated a person from the town of Yoxall in Staffordshire, itself derived from Old English geoc "oxen yoke" and halh "nook, recess".
Yu 1 Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "in, on, at". According to legend, King Wu of Zhou bestowed the realm of Yu to his second son, who subsequently adopted this as his surname.
Yu 2 Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "surplus".
Yu 3 Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "consent, approve".
Yu 4 Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "concerned, anxious" and also referring to the ancient state of Yu, which was situated in what is now Shanxi province.
Yuan Chinese
From Chinese (yuán), (yuán) or (yuán), which mean "origin, source".
Yuen Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Ruan.
Yūki Japanese
From Japanese () meaning "tie, bind" and (ki) meaning "castle".
Yukimura Japanese
From Japanese (yuki) meaning "snow" and (mura) meaning "town, village".
Yun Korean
From Sino-Korean (yun) meaning "govern, oversee".
Yuuki Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 結城 (see Yūki).