TOSI ItalianMeans
"clean-shaven", usually denoting a younger man, from Latin
tonsus "shaved".
TOSTO ItalianFrom a nickname for a tough, stubborn person, from Italian
tosto "hard, tough".
TÓT HungarianDerived from Hungarian
tót, which means
"Slovak" or
"Slovene".
TOWNSEND EnglishIndicated a person who lived at the town's edge, from Old English
tun "enclosure, yard, town" and
ende "end, limit".
TRACEY (1) EnglishFrom the village of Tracy-sur-mer on the Normandy coast in France. It was brought to England with William the Conqueror.
TRAPANI ItalianFrom the name of the Sicilian city of Trapani, derived from Greek
δρεπάνη (drepane) meaning "sickle".
TRASK EnglishOriginally indicated a person from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, derived from Old Norse
þresk meaning "fen, marsh".
TRAVERS English, FrenchFrom an English and French place name that described a person who lived near a bridge or ford, or occasionally as an occupational name for the collector of tolls at such a location. The place name is derived from Old French
traverser (which comes from Late Latin
transversare), which means
"to cross".
TRELOAR EnglishOriginally denoted a person from a place of this name in Cornwall, England.
TREMBLAY FrenchFrom French
tremble meaning
"aspen". It is especially widespread in Quebec, being the most common surname there.
TRENGOVE EnglishOriginally indicated a person from Trengove in Cornwall, England.
TREVOR WelshOriginally from a place name meaning
"big village" from Welsh
tref "village" and
mawr "large".
TRIGGS EnglishFrom a byname derived from Old Norse
tryggr meaning
"true, loyal".
TRITTEN GermanOriginally denoted someone who lived by a set of steps, from Middle High German
trit "step".
TROY EnglishOriginally denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France.
TRUCCO ItalianDenoted a person coming from a place of this name in northern Italy.
TRUDEAU French (Quebec)From a diminutive of the given name
Thouroude, a medieval French form of the Norse name
TORVALD. This name has been borne by two Canadian prime ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000) and his son Justin Trudeau (1971-).
TRUJILLO SpanishOriginally denoted a person from Trujillo, Spain, originally called
Turgalium in Latin.
TRUMAN EnglishMeans
"trusty man" in Middle English. A famous bearer of the surname was American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972).
TRUMBAUER GermanPossibly from Middle High German
trame "rafter, frame" and
bauer "peasant, neighbour".
TRUMP GermanDerived from Middle High German
trumbe meaning
"drum". This surname is borne by the American president Donald Trump (1946-).
TSCHIDA GermanPossibly derived from a Slavic given name of unknown meaning.
TUCKER EnglishOccupational name for a fuller of cloth, derived from Old English
tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.
TUFT EnglishDenoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English
tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.
TUPPER EnglishOccupational name for a herdsman, derived from Middle English
toupe "ram".
TURATI ItalianFrom the name of the town of Turate near Como in Lombardy.
TURNER EnglishOccupational name for one who worked with a lathe, derived from Old English
turnian "to turn", of Latin origin.
TYLER EnglishOccupational name for a tiler of roofs, derived from Old English
tigele "tile". A famous bearer of this name was American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
TYSON (1) EnglishDerived from a nickname for a quarrelsome person, from Old French
tison meaning
"firebrand".
UCCELLO ItalianMeans
"bird" in Italian, either a nickname for a person who resembled a bird or an occupational name for a birdcatcher.
UEDA JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
UEHARA JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
UENO JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
UNDERHILL EnglishMeans
"dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English
under and
hyll.
UNDERWOOD EnglishMeans
"dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English
under and
wudu.
UNKLE GermanPossibly denoted a person from the town of Unkel in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
UNRUH GermanRefers to a restless, fidgety, nervous person, from German
unruhe meaning
"unrest".
UNTERBRINK Low GermanMeans
"dweller under the slope" from Old Low German
undar "under" and
brink "edge, slope".
UPTON EnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many towns in England bearing this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English
upp "up" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
URBINA BasqueDerived from Basque
ur "water" and
bi "two", indicating a place where two waterways met.
UREÑA SpanishProbably derived from the name of Urueña, a town in the province of Valladolid, Spain, which is of unknown meaning.
URQUHART ScottishDerived from Brythonic
ar "by" and
cardden "thicket". This is the name of several places, the most famous being north of Loch Ness.
VACCA ItalianMeans
"cow" in Italian, originally denoting a person who worked with cattle.
VADAS HungarianFrom Hungarian
vad meaning
"wild", either a nickname or an occupational name for a hunter of wild game.
VALENTI ItalianPatronymic 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.
VALIENTE SpanishFrom a nickname derived from Spanish
valiente meaning
"brave".
VÁMOS HungarianMeans
"customs officer" in Hungarian, a derivative of
vám "customs".
VAN AALSBURG DutchMeans
"from Aalsburg", which is possibly
Adelsburg, composed of
adal "noble" and
burg "fortress".
VAN AGGELEN DutchDenoted someone from Aggelen, which could refer to Achel in the Belgian province of Limburg or Egchel in the Dutch province of Limburg.
VAN AGTEREN DutchMeans
"from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.
VAN ALLER DutchMeans
"from the Aller", a river in Germany, of uncertain meaning.
VAN ALPHEN DutchMeans
"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 DutchMeans
"from Aalst", the name of towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, which is possibly from Germanic
alhust meaning "living place".
VAN AMELSVOORT DutchMeans
"from Amersfoort", a city in the Netherlands. It means "ford of the Amer (Eem) River" in Dutch.
VAN AMSTEL DutchMeans
"from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".
VAN ANDEL DutchMeans
"from Andel", a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "upper forest" in Old Dutch.
VAN AS DutchMeans
"from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".
VAN ASSEN DutchMeans
"from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from
essen meaning "ash trees".
VAN BAARLE DutchMeans
"from Baarle", a town in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
VAN BOKHOVEN DutchMeans
"from Bokhoven", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It means "goat yards" in Dutch.
VAN BREDA DutchMeans
"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 DutchMeans
"from Buggenum", a small town in the middle of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
VAN BUREN DutchMeans
"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.
VANCE EnglishIndicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English
fenn meaning
"fen, marsh".
VAN DALEN DutchMeans
"from the valley", from Old Dutch
dal meaning "valley".
VAN DEN BERG DutchMeans
"from the mountain", derived from Dutch
berg meaning "mountain".
VAN DER AART DutchMeans
"from the earth", derived from Dutch
aarde "earth". It perhaps referred to either an earth bank or to a farmer.
VAN DER STOEP DutchMeans
"from the paved entrance", from Dutch
stoep meaning "paved porch at the entrance to a house".
VAN DER VEEN DutchMeans
"from the swamp, from the peat", from Dutch
veen "fen, swamp, peat". It originally indicated a person who resided in a peat district or fen colony.
VAN DER ZEE DutchMeans
"from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.
VAN DONK DutchMeans
"from the hill", derived from Dutch
donk meaning "(sandy) hill".
VAN HASSEL DutchMeans
"from Hassel", a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It may be derived from Germanic
hasel meaning "hazel tree".
VAN HEEL DutchMeans
"from Heel", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
VAN HERTEN DutchMeans
"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 DutchMeans
"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 KAN DutchMeans
"from Kanne", a town in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.
VAN LAAR DutchDerived from Dutch
laar (plural
laren), which means
"open spot in the forest". These areas were used to graze cattle for example.
VAN MIDDELBURG Dutch (Rare)Means
"from Middelburg", the name of a city in Zeeland in the Netherlands, itself meaning "middle fortress" in Dutch.
VANN EnglishFrom Old English
fenn meaning
"fen, swamp, peat", indicating a person who lived near such a place.
VAN NIFTRIK DutchMeans
"from Niftrik", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
VAN OIRSCHOT DutchMeans
"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 DutchMeans
"from Ophoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. Their names mean "upper gardens, upper courtyards" in Dutch.
VAN ROMPAEY Flemish, DutchMeans
"from the wide path", derived from Middle Dutch
ruum "wide, spacious" combined with
pat "path".
VAN ROMPUY FlemishVariant of
VAN ROMPAEY. A well-known bearer of this surname is the Flemish politician Herman Van Rompuy (1947-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.
VAN ROSSUM DutchMeans
"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".
VAN TONDER DutchMeans
"from Tønder", a town in Denmark near the German border.
VAN WEGBERG DutchMeans
"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, DutchMeans
"from Wieren". This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands, which mean "seaweed".
VARANO ItalianDerived from one of the many towns of this name in Italy.
VARELA SpanishDerived 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.
VARLEY EnglishOriginally denoted a person from Verly, France, itself derived from the Roman name
Virilius.
VASS HungarianDerived 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.
VAUGHAN WelshFrom Welsh
bychan meaning
"little". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
VEGA SpanishFrom Spanish
vega meaning
"meadow, plain", of Basque origin.
VELA SpanishDerived from Spanish
vela meaning
"sail" or the homonym
vela meaning
"watchful".
VENÄLÄINEN FinnishMeans
"Russian" in Finnish. This name was originally used by the ethnic Finns who lived on the Russian side of the border.
VENTIMIGLIA ItalianFrom the name of the historical Italian city Ventimiglia, now near the French border, ultimately from Latin
Albintimilium.
VERHOEVEN DutchMeans
"from the farm" in Dutch, derived from
hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.
VERITY EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"truth", perhaps given originally to a truthful person.
VERNON EnglishLocational name in the Eure region of Normandy, from the Gaulish element
vern "alder (tree)" with the genitive case maker
onis.
VERONA ItalianFrom 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 DutchOccupational name derived from Dutch
verver meaning
"dyer, painter".
VESELÝ CzechFrom a nickname meaning
"cheerful" in Czech.
VICARIO Spanish, ItalianMeans
"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".
VICO ItalianMeans
"town" in Italian, derived from Latin
vicus.