Surnames Starting with Z

usage
Zaal Dutch
Means "hall" in Dutch.
Zabala Basque
Originally denoted someone who lived in a place of this name in Biscay. It is derived from Basque zabal meaning "large, wide".
Ząbek Polish
From Polish zab "tooth" and a diminutive suffix.
Zahariev Bulgarian
Means "son of Zahari".
Zahradník Czech
Derived from Czech zahrada meaning "garden". It referred to someone who owned less land than a Sedlák or a Dvořák, but more land than a Chalupník.
Zając Polish
Means "hare" in Polish.
Zaman Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name Zaman.
Zambrano Spanish
Possibly a habitational name for someone from Zambrana, a town in the province of Álava in Spain.
Zamorano Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Zamora, the name of both a province in Spain and its capital city.
Zanetti Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Giovanni. A famous bearer is Argentinian soccer player Javier Zanetti (1973-).
Zangari Italian
Southern Italian name, derived from Greek τσαγκάρης (tsankaris) meaning "shoemaker, cobbler".
Zapatero Spanish
Spanish cognate of Savatier.
Zappa Italian
From Italian zappa meaning "hoe, mattock", probably denoting a farmer. Two musicians of Italian origin have bore this name: Francesco Zappa (1717-1803) and Frank Zappa (1940-1993).
Zariņš Latvian
From Latvian zars meaning "branch".
Zavala Spanish
Variant of Zabala.
Zawisza Polish
Derived from the Old Polish given name Zawisza.
Żbikowski Polish
From Polish towns named Żbikowice or Żbików, which are derived from żbik "wildcat".
Zdravkov Bulgarian
Means "son of Zdravko".
Zdunowski Polish
Denoted a person from one of the various towns named Zduny in Poland, which is derived from Polish zdun meaning "potter". It can also be an occupational surname derived directly from zdun.
Zeegers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".
Zeelen Dutch
Derived from the given name Ceel.
Zegers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".
Zelenka Czech
Czech cognate of Zieliński.
Zelenko Ukrainian
Ukrainian cognate of Zieliński.
Zellweger German (Swiss)
Originally denoted a person from the Appenzell region of Switzerland. The place name is derived from Latin abbatis cella meaning "estate of the abbot". A famous bearer is actress Renée Zellweger (1969-).
Zeman Czech
Means "landowner", derived from Czech zem "land". A famous bearer is the soccer coach Zdeněk Zeman (1947-).
Zeng Chinese
From Chinese (zēng) referring to the former state of Zeng, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hubei province.
Zeni Italian
Means "son of Zeno".
Zentai Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from the city of Senta in Serbia (formerly a part of Hungary and called Zenta).
Zhang Chinese
From Chinese (zhāng) meaning "stretch, extend". It may have denoted a bowmaker whose job it was to stretch bow wood.
Zhao Chinese
From Chinese (zhào), which refers to an ancient city-state in what is now Shanxi province. According to legend, King Mu rewarded his chariot driver Zaofu with the city, at which time Zaofu adopted this surname. The later historic state of Zhao, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, was named after this city.... [more]
Zheng Chinese
From Chinese (zhèng), which refers to the ancient state of Zheng. Zheng existed between the 9th to 4th centuries BC in present-day Henan province. A famous bearer of this surname was the 15th-century explorer Zheng He.
Zhivkov Bulgarian
Means "son of Zhivko".
Zhou Chinese
From Chinese (zhōu) referring to the Zhou dynasty, which held power from 1046 to 771 BC, continuing for a few more centuries as figureheads.
Zhu Chinese
From Chinese (zhū) meaning "vermilion red, cinnabar" and also referring to the ancient state of Zhu, which existed in what is now Shandong province. This was the surname of the emperors of the Ming dynasty.
Ziegler German
Means "bricklayer" or "brickmaker" in German, from Middle High German ziegel "brick, tile".
Zieliński Polish
From Polish zieleń meaning "green". It was possibly a nickname for a person who dressed in green clothing.
Ziemniak Polish
Means "potato" in Polish.
Ziętek Polish
Possibly from a diminutive of Polish zięć meaning "son-in-law".
Zilberschlag Jewish
Occupational name for a silversmith from Yiddish zilber "silver" and schlag "strike".
Zilberstein Jewish
Ornamental name meaning "silver stone", from Yiddish זילבער (zilber) and שטיין (shtein), both of Old High German origin.
Žilinskas Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Zieliński.
Zima Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian
From a Slavic word meaning "winter". This may have been a nickname for a person with a chilly personality.
Zimman Jewish
Possibly a variant of Zimmermann.
Zimmermann German, Jewish
From the German word for "carpenter", derived from Middle High German zimber "timber, wood" and mann "man".
Zingel Jewish
From Middle High German zingel "defensive wall". This name was originally applied to a person who lived near the outermost wall of a castle.
Zini Italian
Derived from names such as Lorenzino, a diminutive of Lorenzo, or Vincenzino, a diminutive of Vincenzo.
Zino Italian
Derived from the given name Zino, a short form of names ending with -zino, such as Lorenzino, a diminutive of Lorenzo, or Vincenzino, a diminutive of Vincenzo.
Ziskind Jewish
Ornamental name meaning "sweet child", from Yiddish זיס (zis) meaning "sweet" and קינד (kind) meaning "child", both words of Old High German origin.
Žitnik Slovene, Czech
From the Slavic root žito meaning "rye". This was an occupational name for a dealer in rye or a baker.
Zlatkov Bulgarian
Means "son of Zlatko".
Zoltánfi Hungarian
Means "son of Zoltán".
Zorić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Zora".
Zsoldos Hungarian
Means "mercenary" in Hungarian.
Zubizarreta Basque
Means "old bridge", from Basque zubia "bridge" and zahar "old". A famous bearer is the Spanish soccer player Andoni Zubizarreta (1961-).
Zuiderduin Dutch
Means "southern dune" in Dutch.
Žukauskas Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Żukowski.
Żukowski Polish
From various Polish towns named Żukowo or Żuków, which are derived from żuk "beetle".
Zuñiga Basque
From the name of a Spanish town, formerly named Estuniga in Basque, possibly derived from Basque istuin "channel, strait".
Zunino Italian
Derived from the given name Giovanni.
Župan Croatian
Croatian cognate of Zupan.
Zupan Slovene
From Slavic župan meaning "head of the district, community leader".
Zupančič Slovene
Patronymic form of Zupan.
Żuraw Polish
Means "crane" in Polish, a nickname for a tall person.
Zvirbulis Latvian
Means "sparrow" in Latvian.
Zyma Ukrainian
Ukrainian form of Zima.