WildfongGerman An Americanized form of German Wildfang. A nickname from Middle High German Wiltvanc "Wildman Stranger", denoting a person who was not a member of the community.
WildinEnglish The former placename is composed of the Olde English pre 7th Century words "wilg", willow, and "denu", a valley; while the latter place in Worcestershire is derived from the Olde English personal name "Winela", plus the Olde English "dun", a hill or mountain.
WildrickEnglish From German Wildreich, a medieval personal name, from Old High German wildi "wild".
WilgarIrish An ancient surname of Olde English and Scottish origins. It is usually occupational for a textile fuller, deriving from the pre 7th century word wealcere, meaning to walk or tread.
WillScottish, English, German Scottish and northern English from the medieval personal name Will, a short form of William, or from some other medieval personal names with this first element, for example Wilbert or Willard... [more]
WillertGerman German cognate and variant of Willard. From a personal name composed of the ancient Germanic elements willo "will, desire" and hard "hardy, brave, strong".
WillingEnglish Patronymic from the Old English personal name Willa.
WillinghamEnglish Habitational name from a place named Willingham, notably one in Cambridgeshire and one in Suffolk. The first is recorded in Domesday Book as Wivelingham "homestead (Old English hām) of the people of a man called Wifel".
WillockEnglish From the medieval male personal name Willoc, a pet-form based on the first syllable of any of a range of Old English compound names beginning with willa "will, desire".
WillowEnglish topographic name from Middle English wilwewilghewillowe "willow" (Old English wiligwelig) for a person who lived at or near a willow tree or in an area where willow trees grew... [more]
WillowsEnglish (British) This is an English residential or perhaps occupational surname. It may originate from one of the various places in England called 'The Willows', or even a place such as Newton le Willows in Lancashire, or it may describe a supplier of willow.
WimmerGerman Occupational last name, meaning "wine maker," using a derivation of the element Wein (meaning "wine") and likely another derivation from -macher (meaning "maker"). It's possible as well that it is derived from Weimann.
WimpEnglish The surname has at least two origins. The first is occupational and describes a maker of 'wimplels', an Old English veil later much associated with nuns. Second, it may also be locational from the village of Whimple in Devonshire, or Wimpole in Cambridge.
WimpeyEnglish Perhaps a deliberate alteration of Impey. It is borne by George Wimpey, a British construction company, founded in Hammersmith, London in 1880 by George Wimpey (1855-1913)... [more]
WinchelEnglish from Old English wencel ‘child’, perhaps used to distinguish a son from his father with the same forename or perhaps a nickname for a person with a baby face or childlike manner
WindhamEnglish, Irish (Anglicized) English habitational name from Wyndham in West Sussex, near West Grinstead, probably named from an unattested Old English personal name Winda + Old English hamm ‘water meadow’; or from Wymondham in Leicestershire and Norfolk, named from the Old English personal name Wigmund (see Wyman) + Old English ham ‘homestead’... [more]
WindusEnglish Variant of Wingers. The name is a metonymic occupational name for a textile worker or weaver, derived from the Middle English wyndhows ("winding house").
WinegarGerman This German surname may belong to one whose ancestors worked in the food industry or in the production of vinegar. In German the letter “W” is pronounced as the letter “V” in English.
WinegardnerEnglish (American) Anglicized form of the German occupational surname Weingartner. A known bearer of this surname is the American writer Mark Winegardner (b. 1961).
WinehouseJewish, German Anglicized variant of German and Yiddish 'Weinhaus'. From German wein, 'vine, grapevine' and haus 'house, building, home', likely indicating a house with a vineyard. ... [more]
WinfordEnglish English location name meaning "from a white ford or water crossing" or "from a meadow ford".
WinfreyEnglish From the Old English personal name Winfrith, literally "friend-peace". A famous bearer of this surname is Oprah Winfrey (1954-), a US television talk-show presenter.
WinkelGerman, Jewish, Dutch, Belgian German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner of land in the country or a street corner in a town or city, from Middle High German winkel, German Winkel ‘corner’... [more]
WinkelmannGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner or kept a corner shop (see Winkel), with the addition of Middle High German man, German Mann ‘man’... [more]
WinneyEnglish Derived from an unattested Old English given name, *Wyngeofu, composed of the elements wyn "joy" and geofu "battle".... [more]
WinnickEnglish (Rare) Habitational name for someone from a place called Winwick, for example in Northamptonshire or Cambridgeshire, both of which are named from the Old English personal name Wina + wic 'outlying dairy farm or settlement'.
WinsininskiPolish (Anglicized) Winsininski is an anglicized version of the name "Wisniewski", which is from multiple places in Poland called Wisniewo, Wisniew, and Wisniewa. These names all have "wisna" which means cherry, or cherry tree.... [more]
WinsletEnglish A notable bearer is the actress Kate Winslet.
WinstanleyEnglish Means "person from Winstanley", Lancashire ("Wynnstān's glade", Wynnstān being an Old English male personal name, literally "joy-stone"; cf. Winston)... [more]
WinsteadEnglish Perhaps derived from the town of Wanstead in Greater London, England (recorded in the Domesday Book as Wenesteda), named with Old English wænn meaning "wagon" and stede meaning "place, site", but it is more likely derived from the village of Winestead in East Yorkshire, England, named from Old English wefa meaning "wife" and hamstede meaning "homestead"... [more]
WinterbergGerman Habitational name from any of several places named with Middle High German winter "winter" and berg "mountain".
WinterbournEnglish A variant spelling of the surname Winterbourne, means "winter stream", a stream or river that is dry through the summer months.
WinterbourneEnglish (British) Probably meaning "winter stream". A large village in Gloucestershire, From the Thomas Hardy novel "The Woodlanders".
WinterburnEnglish habitational name from any of various places called with Old English winter "winter" and burna "stream" meaning "winter stream" for a stream which only flows or flows at a faster rate during the winter and more or less dries up in summer such as Winterburn in Gargrave (Yorkshire) Winterbourne (Berkshire Gloucestershire) Winterbourne Bassett (Wiltshire) or one of thirteen parishes named Winterborne in Dorset including Winterborne Abbas Winterborne Monkton and Winterborne Zelstone... [more]
WirtaFinnish From virta ‘stream’, used as a topographic name, also as a soldier’s name in the 17th century. Also adopted as an ornamental name, especially in western and southern Finland.
WiseEnglish Nickname for a wise or learned person, or in some cases a nickname for someone suspected of being acquainted with the occult arts, from Middle English wise "wise" (Old English wis). This name has also absorbed Dutch Wijs, a nickname meaning "wise", and possibly cognates in other languages.
WiseauEnglish (American, Rare) Meaning unknown, believed to be derived from French oiseau, meaning bird. As a surname, it is born by American Director Tommy Wiseau.
WishEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, Middle English wyshe (Old English wisc). Americanized spelling of Wisch.
WispEnglish The surname of the author of Quidditch Through The Ages in the Harry Potter Universe, Kennilworthy Whisp. Probably referring to the wind, or a family of people who usually were nearly bald.
WitekPolish, English (Rare) From the personal name Wit, a short form of Witold, a derivative of Lithuanian Vytautas, a compound of vyti 'to guide' + tauta 'the people'... [more]
WithallEnglish "Withall" comes from the village of "Cornwall" called "Withiel." There is also a connection to an aristocratic level, in the 15th at Henry VII court a noble man and knight went under the family name "Wit-hall"... [more]
WithamEnglish habitational name from any of various places so called particularly those in Essex Lincolnshire and Somerset though most often from Essex. The Essex placename may derive from Old English wiht "curve bend" and ham "village homestead"... [more]
WittgensteinGerman, Jewish Denoted one who came from the Wittgenstein castle in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, derived from Old High German witt meaning "white" and stein meaning "stone"... [more]
WittlinJewish Eastern Ashkenazic, from the Yiddish female personal name Vitle, a pet form of Vite combined with the eastern Slavic suffix -in
WittmanGerman Wittman was first found in the Palatinate in the Rhineland valley. The surname Wittman was given to someone who lived in the area that was referred to as widem which was originally derived from the German word denoting church property.
WitzGerman, Jewish From the medieval personal name Witzo, a short form of any of several Germanic compound names beginning with wig ‘battle’... [more]
WitzelGerman The German surname is of patronymic origin, deriving from the name of the father of the original bearer.
WitzigGerman German: nickname from Middle High German witzic ‘clever’, ‘prudent’, ‘knowing’.
WlodawskiJewish Habitual surname from Włodawa, Poland. First seen in a 1806 revision list of the city Kobryn (Grodno Guberniya), now Kobryn Belarus. ... [more]
WłoszczowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Lesser Polish localities: the town of Włoszczowa or the village of Włoszczowice.
WodehouseEnglish The name "de Wodehouse" is attested as early as in the 11th century, of one Bertram, of Wodehouse-tower, Yorkshire, who lived at the time of the Norman conquest.
WodzińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Wodzin in Piotrków voivodeship, named with Polish woda meaning "water".
WoehrleGothic Origin from Ohio Known for Farmers, less common occupation was Baker Farmer, Gardener and Bag Maker were the top 3 reported jobs.
WoganIrish From the Old Welsh personal name Gwgan or Gwgon, originally probably a nickname meaning literally "little scowler". (Cf. the second element in Cadogan.) This surname is borne by Irish radio and television presenter Terry Wogan (1938-).
WohlGerman, Yiddish Meaning "pleasant" in both Middle German and Ashkenazic Yiddish
WójcickiPolish Habitational name for a person originally from a place called Wójcice.
WójcińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of the many places called Wójcin, or from Wójcina in Tarnów voivodeship, named with wójt meaning "village headman".
WójtMedieval Polish Occupational name and title from Medieval Polish meaning Lord Protector or Governor. Derived from Latin advocatus. German variant Vogt, Swedish variant Fogde... [more]
WolfendenEnglish derived from the place called Wolfenden in the parish of Newchurch-in-Rossendale, Lancashire. The placename means "Wulfhelm's valley", or "the valley of Wulfhelm" derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name Wulfhelm, composed of the elements wulf "wolf" and helm "helmet, protection" and denu "valley".
WolferGerman Either from a shortened form of the ancient Germanic personal names Wolfher or Wolfhart composed of the elements wolf "wolf" and hari "army" or hard "hardy, brave"... [more]
WolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswesenchafewGerman (Rare) Full name Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswesenchafewarenwholgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangereifenduchihrraubgiriigfeindewelchevorralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenbanderersteerdeemmeshedrraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelshegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevanverstandigmenshlichkeittkonntevortpflanzenundsicherfreunanlebenslamdlichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintlligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum... [more]
WolfhardGerman, Jewish This name derives from the Old High German name “Wolfhard”, composed of two elements: the “*-wulfaz” (wolf) plus “*harduz / *hardu-” (hard, strong, brave, valiant, powerful one). In turn the name means “the one who is strong like a wolf”.
WolfitEnglish From the medieval male personal name Wolfet or Wolfat (from Old English Wulfgēat, literally "wolf-Geat" (the name of a Germanic people)). This surname was borne by Sir Donald Wolfit (1902-1968), a British actor and manager.
WollmannGerman Occupational name for a wool worker or wool trader Middle High German Middle Low German wollman derived from German wolle "wool" and man "man".
WollschlägerGerman Occupational name for someone who prepared wool for spinning by washing and combing or carding it, from Middle High German wolle(n)slaher, -sleger, Middle Low German wullensleger (literally ‘wool beater’).
WollstonecraftAnglo-Saxon Wollstonecraft derived originally from the Saxon name of Wulfstan which later developed into Wol(f)stan. The name means wolf stone and is one of a number of names based on Wolf.... [more]
WolowitzJewish This is the surname of the character Howard in the American television show "The Big Bang Theory".
WolseyEnglish From the medieval male personal name Wulsi (from Old English Wulfsige, literally "wolf-victory"). A famous bearer of the surname was English churchman and statesman Thomas Wolsey (Cardinal Wolsey), ?1475-1530.
WolstenholmeEnglish (British, Rare) A famous bearer is Chris Wolstenholme, bassist and sometimes vocalist of British alternative rock band Muse.
WolstonEnglish From the Middle English personal name Wolfstan or Wolstan, Old English Wulfstan, composed of the elements wulf ‘wolf’ + stan stone or a habitational name from any of a large number of places called Woolston(e) or Wollston, all of which are named with Old English personal names containing the first element Wulf (Wulfheah, Wulfhelm, Wulfric, Wulfsige, and Wulfweard) + Old English tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.
WoltringDutch Derived from the German or Germanic name "Woltering".... [more]