Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ValenzuelaSpanish Habitational name from places named Valenzuela in Córdoba and Ciudad Real. The place name is a diminutive of Valencia, literally "Little Valencia".
ValeraSpanish Habitational name from either of two places in Spain named Valera.
VallanceEnglish Means "person from Valence", southeastern France (probably "place of the brave").
ValleSpanish, Filipino, Italian Habitational name from any of the many places named with valle "valley", or topographic name for someone who lived in a valley (Latin vallis).
ValléeFrench topographic name for someone who lived in a valley from Old French valee "valley" (from Latin vallis) or a habitational name from (La) Vallée the name of several places in various parts of France... [more]
VallejoSpanish Denoted someone who lived in a small valley.
ValletFrench, English French topographic name from a diminutive of Old French val "valley" (see Val ) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France and French and English occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English vallet "manservant groom".
ValleyEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, Middle English valeye.
ValmoridaFilipino, Cebuano Means "valley of the forest field" derived from Spanish val, a contraction of valle meaning "valley", combined with Japanese 森 (mori) meaning "forest, woods" and 田 (ta) "paddy, field" (see Morita).
ValoisFrench topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, or a habitational name from any of the various places called Val(l)ois, or regional name from the district in northern France so called, which was once an independent duchy... [more]
ValsecchiItalian Denoting someone from the former municipality of Valsecca in Lombardy.
Van AgtDutch Means "from Acht", a small village within the city of Eindhoven in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch acht, achte meaning either "eight" or "preserve, lordly possession, legal district"... [more]
Van AmerongenDutch Means "from Amerongen", a town in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Van ArkDutch Habitational name from a place called Ark in Gelderland.
Van BeekDutch Like Verbeek and Van de(r) Beek, the family name Van Beek can indicate a place of residence on a certain stream, the name for a narrow and shallow (clear and sometimes erratic) water stream, or in a village or hamlet that leads to a stream... [more]
Van BeethovenFlemish Means "from the beet fields". A famous bearer of this name was German Clasical composer Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827).
Van BlankenbergDutch, Belgian Habitational name from any of various places so called, in particular in Hennef and Gelderland, or from Blankenberge in West Flanders, Belgium.
Van BoxtelDutch The family name Van Boxtel indicates origin from the North Brabant place Boxtel, written around 1110 Buchestelle, and later in the Middle Ages, among others, Bucstelle and Boextel.... [more]
Van BreukelenDutch Means "from Breukelen", a town in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, itself derived from Old Dutch bruoc meaning "marsh, marshland, wetland" and lētha meaning "excavated, canalised watercourse"... [more]
Van BronckhorstDutch Means "from Bronckhorst", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch brink meaning "edge, slope, village green" and horst meaning "overgrown hillock" or "higher located brushwood"... [more]
Van BurgenDutch Comes from the Middle Dutch word "burch," or "burg," meaning a fortified town. The prefixes "Van" and "den" mean "from" and "the" respectively. Thus this surname means "from the hill". As such, it may have been topographic name for someone who lived by a citadel or walled city; or, it may have been a habitational name
Van BuskirkDutch The name is made up of two Dutch words: "bos," meaning "woods," and "kerk," meaning "church." The characteristic Dutch prefix "van" literally means "from," and thus the surname indicates "one from the church in the woods."
Van De KerkhofDutch Means "from the churchyard", derived from Middle Dutch kerke meaning "church" and hof meaning "court, garden, yard". Famous bearers of this surname include twin brothers René and Willy Van De Kerkhof (1951-), both retired Dutch soccer players.
Van De MarkDutch Topographic name for someone who lived by a border or boundary, from Middle Dutch marke, merke meaning "boundary", "borderland".
Van den BogaardDutch Means "from the orchard", derived from Dutch boomgaard literally meaning "orchard".
Van Den BroekDutch The family name Van den Broek is derived from a toponym with the component Broek, for example a farm name that owes its name to its location near a Broek, a name for a swampy terrain.
Van Den VondelDutch Means "from the small wooden bridge", derived from a dialectal variant of Dutch vonder meaning either "narrow bridge" or "plank bridge". This name was borne by the Dutch playwright, poet, literary translator and writer Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679).
Van Der BiltDutch (Rare) Topographic name for someone living by a low hill, from Middle Low German bulte "mound", "low hill"
Van Der HeijdenDutch The family name Van der Heijden indicates that the original name bearers inhabited a settlement or a farm located near an area or a heathland that was known as 'de Heide'.
Van Der KooiDutch name for someone from either of two places, De Kooi in South Holland or De Kooy in North Holland.
Van Der LeijDutch Derived from Dutch lei meaning "slate" (effectively meaning "from the slate"), indicating that the original bearer of this name may have come from a place where slate was produced.
Van Der LoopDutch Topographical name for someone who lived by a waterway, Middle Dutch lo(e)pe, in particular a waterway called De Loop in North Brabant.
VandermastDutch Topographic name for someone from a place rich in animal fodder, for example acorns.
Van Der MerweDutch, South African While the name is currently very common in South Africa, it originates in Holland, literally meaning "From the Merwe". The first van der Merwes hail from the Merwede river. The name went to South Africa with the Dutch settlers in 1652.
van der MostDutch Topographic name for someone who lived in a place where moss grew.
Van Der SteenDutch, Belgian Habitational name for someone from any of various minor places called Steen or Ten Stene (from steen meaning "stone"), for example in the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and Brabant.
Van Der VeldeDutch Meaning "of the field" from Dutch van -"Of"- der - "The"- and veld - "field".
Van Der WaalDutch Toponymic surname of Dutch origin. The original bearer of the name may have lived or worked at or near a "wal": a river embankment, quay, or rampage.
Van Der ZandenDutch Literally means 'From the sand', most likely given to someone who lived near sand grounds. It originated in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.
Van DeusenDutch Habitational name for someone from the German town of Deusen, north of Dortmund, in North Rhine-Westphalia near the Dutch border.
Van de VeldeDutch A toponymic name meaning "from the field" in Dutch.
VandykeDutch Topographic name for someone living near a dyke or levee. Dykes are common structures for keeping lands dry in the low lying Netherlands. ... [more]
Van DyneDutch Habitational name for someone from Duinen in Gelderland.
Van EckDutch Means "from Eck", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van HaitsmaDutch Habitational name for someone from Haitsma, a place in Friesland.
Van HalenDutch Habitational name for a person from the villages Hoog en Laaghalen in the Dutch province of Drenthe or Halen near Hasselt in Belgian Limburg. Famous bearers include Dutch-born American musicians Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) and his brother Alex Van Halen (1953-) of the rock band Van Halen... [more]
Van HertrooijDutch Means "from Hertrooij", most likely a place name in the Netherlands. It could possibly derive from Middle Dutch hert meaning "deer" and rood meaning "red".
Van HeusenDutch Heusen is derived from the town Husum in Holland. The town was on the Zuyder Zee, Holstein, Holland.
Van HeutszDutch A bearer of this name is J.B. van Heutsz, also known as the Pacificator of Aceh, former governor general of the Dutch East Indies.
Van HonstéFlemish Meaning "From Honsté". "Honsté", possibly a Village in Belgium.
Van KleefDutch Van meaning 'of' Kleef is a variant spelling of Kleve: a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine.
van MaarschalkerweerdDutch Habitational name denoting someone from Maarschalkerweerd, a place near Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Van MaurikDutch Means "from Maurik" in Dutch, which is a town in the east of the Netherlands.
van NiekerkAfrikaans Topographic name for any of the various locations named Nieuwerkerk in The Netherlands or Nieuwerkerken in Belgium. The name itself means "of the new church" from Dutch van meaning "of" combined with nieuw meaning "new" and kerk meaning "church".
Van NistelrooijDutch Means "from Nistelrode", a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch nest meaning "nest, burrow, resting place" and lo meaning "light forest", combined with rode meaning "land cleared of trees"... [more]
Van PraagDutch Means "from Prague" name given to someone from Prague.
Van ReenanDutch Toponymic surname meaning "from/of Rhenen", a city in the province of Utrecht.
Van RensselaerDutch From Soleur, one of the areas or regions of Switzerland.
Van RijnDutch Means "from the Rhine", the second-longest river in central and western Europe (after the Danube). This was the surname of the Dutch Baroque painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669), usually known simply as Rembrandt.
Van RooyenAfrikaans van Rooyen related to van Rooijen, is an Afrikaans and Dutch toponymic surname. May be rooted from the Rhine area of the Netherlands, possibly having meant "from Rhine" originally... [more]
Van 't BoveneindDutch Means "from Boveneind", the name of various places in the Netherlands, itself meaning "from the top end" in Dutch. It is derived from boven meaning "upper, upstream" and eind meaning "edge, end".
Van TienhovenDutch Means "from Tienhoven", the name of several villages in the Netherlands. Their names are derived from Middle Dutch tien meaning "ten" and a plural form of huue meaning "piece of land of a certain size"... [more]
Van 't SchipDutch Means "from the ship", derived from Middle Dutch schip literally meaning "ship". It is borne by the Dutch-Canadian former soccer player John van 't Schip (1963-).
Van WertDutch (Americanized, Modern) From Dutch and Belgian: habitational name for someone from places in Belgium and the Netherlands called Weert, (De) Weerd, Weerde, or Waarde.
Van ZandtDutch, Belgian Habitational name for someone from any of the places called Zandt, in Gelderland, Friesland, South Holland, and Zeeland; or Zande in Belgium.
VaradkarIndian, Hindi, Marathi Derived from the name of the village of Varad in the Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, India. A famous bearer is the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar (1979-).
VargiuItalian From the name of a former settlement. Possibly from Latin varius, "many colours, variegated".
VarnellEnglish Variant of Farnell. This form originated in southwestern England, where the change from F to V arose from the voicing of F that was characteristic of this area in Middle English.
VarnerGerman Habitational name for someone from Farn near Oberkirch, or Fahrnau near Schopfheim.
VarneyEnglish From the French place name Vernay, derived from Gaulish verno- "alder" and the locative suffix -acum. A fictional bearer is the vampire Sir Francis Varney, the title character of the mid-19th-century gothic horror story Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood.
VasilovBulgarian, Russian Meaning "son of Vasil" in Russian and "from Bulgaria" in Bulgarian.
VatanabeJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Watanabe more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
VauxFrench French, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.
VeaSpanish, Galician Habitational name, principally from Vea in Soria province, but in some cases from any of four places with the same name in Pontevedra province, Galicia.
VeaNorwegian Habitational name from any of four farmsteads so named, from the plural of Old Norse viðr meaning "wood", "tree".
VeeNorwegian Habitational name from farmsteads named Ve, for example in Hordaland and Sogn, from Old Norse vé "sacred place".
VeermetsEstonian Veermets is an Estonian surname meaning "border forest".
VeesaarEstonian Veesaar is an Estonian surname meaning "water island".
VeetammEstonian Veetamm is an Estonian surname meaning "water oak".
VerdejoSpanish Habitational name from any of the places so called.
VerdierFrench, Norman, English Occupational name for a forester. Derived from Old French verdier (from Late Latin viridarius, a derivative of viridis "green"). Also an occupational name for someone working in a garden or orchard, or a topographic name for someone living near one... [more]
VerdonFrench Habitational name from a place so named, for example in Dordogne, Gironde, and Marne.
VerkuilenDutch, Belgian Reduced form of van der Kuylen, a topographic name for someone who lived by a pit or hole, or a habitational name for someone from Kuil in East Flanders or Kuilen in Limburg.
VerlaineFrench, French (Belgian) Habitational name for someone from Verlaine in the province of Liège, Belgium. Paul Verlaine was a noted bearer.
VermontFrench (Rare) Derived from french, meaning "green mountain" (Vert, "green"; mont, "mountain").
VerneFrench, English As a French surname refers to someone who lived where alder trees grew. While the English version can mean someone who lived where ferns grew, Verne can also mean a seller of ferns which in medieval times were used in bedding, as floor coverings and as animal feed.
VernedaSpanish, Catalan As a Spanish and Catalan surname refers to someone who lived where alder trees grew.
VerranCornish Perhaps means "person from Treverran", Cornwall (from Cornish tre "farmstead" with an unknown second element), or "person from Veryan", Cornwall ("church of St Symphorian").
VeskiojaEstonian Veskioja is an Estonian surname meaning "(water) mill creek".
ViceEnglish May come from "devise", an Old French word that means "dweller at the boundary". It may also derive a number of place names in England, or be a variant of Vise.
VidegainSpanish Videgain is a surname. It is of Basque origin language with the form Bidegain. Videgain is considered a Spanish surname because the letter V does not exist in the Basque alphabet. It extended through the Iberian peninsula following the Reconquista, where different forms of the name developed and houses were founded with the differentiation of Videgáin, Bidegain, Videgaín... [more]
VienneauFrench Denoted a person from Vienne, a commune in the Isère department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France, or perhaps derived from the given name Vivien 1.
VieuFrench From a place called Vieu in Ain from Latin vicus "village". French cognitive of Vico.
VignaItalian Meaning "vineyard", referring to someone who lived near one.
VignolaItalian habitational name from any of various minor places so named from vignola "small vineyard".
ViigipuuEstonian Viigipuu is an Estonian surname meaning "ficus tree".
ViirelaidEstonian Viirelaid is an Estonian surname meaning "tern islet".
ViirmaaEstonian Viirmaa is an Estonian surname derived from "viir" meaning both "sea swallow" and "varved" (annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock) and "maa" ("land").
VilaCeltic It means village or small town. In the Gaelic languaje is pentref or bentref.
VilaamilSpanish Habitational name from Villamil a place in Asturias.
VilallongaCatalan It indicates familial origin within the eponymous Valencian municipality.
ViljamaaEstonian Viljamaa is an Estonian surname meaning "fruit-bearing land".
ViljevacCroatian Habitational name for someone from Viljevo, Croatia.
VillaniItalian Derives from Latin villa "village, farm, settlement", related to Italian villano "peasant" or "rude, bad-mannered".
VillanovaItalian, Spanish Habitational name from any of numerous places so called from Latin villa nova "new settlement" (see Villa) from the elements villa "town" and nova "new"... [more]
VillaquiránSpanish It indicates familial origin within either of 2 municipalities: Villaquirán de los Infantes or Villaquirán de la Puebla.
VillardGalician, Portuguese A Galician and Portuguese surname in the north of Iberian Peninsula. It's a last name belonging to ancient Celtic tribes.
VillarrealSpanish Habitational name from any of various places called Villarreal (or Villareal), derived from Spanish villa meaning "farm, town, settlement" and real meaning "royal".
VillarrubiaSpanish Spanish: habitational name from Villarrubia (Córdoba) Villarrubia de los Ojos (Ciudad Real) or Villarrubia de Santiago (Toledo) so named from villa '(outlying) farmstead (dependent) settlement' (see Villa ) + rubia 'light red'.
VillarruelSpanish Cognate of Villa with the second element of unexplained etymology. Compare Villarroel.
VillasanteSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Merindad de Montija.
VillasenorSpanish Habitational name, apparently a Castilianized spelling of Galician Vilseñor, from any of three places in Lugo province named Vilaseñor.
VillatoroSpanish Presumably a name given to someone from Villatoro, Spain
ViniegraSpanish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Riojan municipalities in the Comarca of Anguiano: Viniegra de Arriba or Viniegra de Abajo.
ViningEnglish (British) Habitational name for someone from a place called Fyning in Rogate in Sussex.
VintEnglish, Scottish Either an English habitational name from places so named, or a Scottish variant of Wint.
VinuesaSpanish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
VioletteFrench Perhaps a topographic name from a diminutive of viol "path", itself a derivative of vie "way". It is more likely, however, that this name is from the secondary surname Laviolette "the violet (flower)", which was common among soldiers in French Canada.
ViramontesSpanish Viramontes is composed of the elements "mira" and "montes," two Spanish words with the combined meaning of "place with a view of the mountains."
ViseEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a boundary, Old French devise.
VišneviškasLithuanian This indicates familial origin within the Belarusian agrotown of Víšneva, which was originally Lithuanian & under the name of ''Višnevas''.
VivancoSpanish This indicates familial origin within the Castilian locality of Vivanco de Mena.
VivarSpanish, History From the village of Vivar, later renamed Vivar del Cid, nowadays part of Quintanilla Vivar located near Burgos, Castile and León, Spain.... [more]
VivierFrench Derived from Latin vivarium, ultimately from Latin vivus "alive". This name is locational relating to living near a fish pond.
VolkonskyRussian This indicates familial origin within the vicinity of the Volkona river south of Moscow. This was the name of a Russian family of nobility.
VolkovskyRussian Habitational name for someone who lives in a multiplicity named Volikovski. Derived from волк (volk) meaning "wolf" in Russian.
Von HammersmarkPopular Culture, German (?) Means "from Hammersmark" in German. Bridget von Hammersmark is a fictional character in Quentin Tarantino's film 'Inglourious Basterds' from 2009.
Von SydowSwedish, German von Sydow is a German and Swedish noble family from Pomerania, an area in modern day Poland and Germany. Some members of the family immigrated to Sweden in 1724. The name literary means "from Sydow"... [more]
VooglaidEstonian Vooglaid is an Estonian surname meaning "billowing islet".
VoorheesDutch Habitational name from a place in Drenthe called Voorhees.
VorotyntsevRussian Derived from place names Воротынск (Vorotynsk), Воротынцево (Vorotyntsevo) or Воротынец (Vorotynets).
VorstDutch, Low German topographic name for someone who lived in a vorst "forest" or habitational name for someone from any of numerous places called Vorst or Voorst... [more]
VorwaldGerman Topographic name for someone who lived "in front of (Middle High German vor) a forest (Middle High German walt)".
VosnakisGreek From the Greek word "Vosnia" which means Bosnia
VreelandDutch Habitational name for a person from a place bearing the same name in the province of Utrecht, which is itself derived from the Middle Dutch word vrede, meaning "legal protection against armed violence".
VreeswijkDutch Possibly a habitational name from a former village and municipality in the province Utrecht, Netherlands. A notable bearer was Dutch-Swedish singer-songwriter and poet Cornelis Vreeswijk (1937-1987).