Van Rompaey Flemish, DutchMeans
"from the wide path", derived from Middle Dutch
ruum "roomy, spacious" combined with
pat "path".
Van Rossum DutchMeans
"from Rossum", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It 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".
Van Wijk DutchMeans
"from the settlement", from Dutch
wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district, settlement".
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.
Vargas Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"slope, flooded field, pastureland" or
"hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word
varga.
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 (mutated to
fychan) meaning
"little". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Veenstra DutchDerived from Dutch
veen meaning
"fen, swamp, peat".
Vega SpanishFrom Spanish
vega meaning
"meadow, plain", of Basque origin.
Vela SpanishOccupational name for a guard, from Spanish
vela meaning
"watch, vigil".
Velázquez SpanishDerived from the given name
Velasco. A famous bearer was the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).
Vemulakonda TeluguIndicated a person from the city of Vemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
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.
Vera SpanishMeans
"shore, bank" in Spanish. This was a name for a person who lived near such a feature, or who came from any of the various locations in Spain named
Vera or
La Vera.
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".
Vestergaard DanishFrom a place name, derived from Danish
vest "west" and
gård "farm, yard".
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".
Vidmar SloveneFrom various places in Slovenia named
Videm, meaning
"church property" in Slovene.
Vieira PortugueseDenoted a person who came from a Portuguese town by this name, derived from
vieria meaning
"scallop". The scallop was a symbol of Saint James, and was traditionally worn by pilgrims to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
Villa Italian, SpanishMeans
"town" in Italian and Spanish, from Latin. It was originally given to a person who came from a town, as opposed to the countryside.
Villalba SpanishDenoted a person from one of the various Spanish places by this name. It is derived from Spanish
villa "town" and
alba "white".
Villalobos SpanishHabitational name for a person from the town of Villalobos, Spain, which is derived from Spanish
villa "town" and
lobo "wolf".
Villanueva SpanishOriginally denoted someone who came from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from
villa "town" and
nueva "new".
Villaverde SpanishOriginally denoted a person from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from
villa "town" and
verde "green".
Vincent 2 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac Dhuibhinse meaning
"son of Duibhinse", a given name meaning "black island".
Vinci 2 ItalianOriginally indicated a person from Vinci near Florence, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.
Vinogradov m RussianMeans
"vineyard" in Russian (ultimately from German), referring to a person who worked at a vineyard or lived near one.
Vipond EnglishFrom
Vieux-Pont, the name of various places in Normandy, derived from French
vieux "old" and
pont "bridge".
Virgo EnglishPossibly from Latin
virgo "virgin, maiden". It may have been a nickname for an actor who played the Virgin Mary in mystery plays, or for a shy man or a lecher.
Virtanen FinnishDerived from Finnish
virta meaning
"stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
Visser DutchOccupational name meaning
"fisherman" in Dutch.
Vivas CatalanFrom the Catalan byname
vivas meaning
"may you live", which was bestowed upon children to bring good luck.
Vlachos m GreekMeans
"Romanian, Wallachian" in Greek, from Old Slavic
volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).
Vlasák m CzechDerived from Czech
vlas "hair", probably referring to a barber or a person who bought and sold hair.
Vlašić CroatianPatronymic from the nickname
Vlah meaning
"Romanian, Wallachian".
Vlašič SlovenePatronymic from the nickname
Vlah meaning
"Romanian, Wallachian".
Vogel German, DutchFrom Old High German and Old Dutch
fogal meaning
"bird". It was originally an occupational name for a bird catcher, or a nickname for a person who liked to sing.
Vogt GermanOccupational name from Middle High German
voget meaning
"bailiff, administrator, steward", ultimately from Latin
advocatus.
Volk GermanDerived from given names beginning with the Old High German element
folk meaning "people".
Voll 1 NorwegianOriginally indicated a person who lived in a meadow, from Old Norse
vǫllr "meadow, field".
Voltolini ItalianFrom the name of the alpine valley of Valtellina in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Von Brandt GermanMeans
"from the area cleared by fire", from Middle High German
brant.
Von Essen GermanMeans
"from Essen", a city in Germany, possibly a derivative of Old High German
asc meaning "ash tree".
Von Grimmelshausen GermanMeans
"from Grimmelshausen", a town in Germany. It is itself derived from
Grimmel, of uncertain meaning, and
hausen meaning "houses". A famous bearer was the German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621-1676).
Vonnegut GermanPossibly from the German words
von meaning "from, of, by" and
gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).
Vörös HungarianMeans
"red" in Hungarian, referring to a person with red hair or face.
Voss GermanFrom Middle Low German
vos meaning
"fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.
Vossen DutchFrom the given name
Vos, which comes from the Frisian name
Fos, which is from Old German given names beginning with the element
folk meaning "people".
Vroom Dutch, FlemishFrom a nickname derived from Dutch
vroom meaning
"pious, devout".
Vrubel m CzechFrom a dialectal variant of Czech
vrabec "sparrow".
Wada JapaneseFrom Japanese
和 (wa) meaning "harmony, peace" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Wade 1 EnglishDerived from the Old English place name
wæd meaning
"a ford".
Wade 2 EnglishFrom the Old English given name
Wada, a derivative of the word
wadan "to go".
Wagner GermanFrom Middle High German
wagener meaning
"wagon maker, cartwright". This name was borne by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).
Wakefield EnglishOriginally indicated a person who came from the English city of Wakefield, derived from Old English
wacu "wake, vigil" and
feld "field".
Waldvogel German, JewishFrom a nickname for a carefree person, derived from German
Wald meaning "forest" and
Vogel meaning "bird". As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Walkenhorst GermanPossibly derived from a German place name
Falkenhorst, from
Falken meaning "falcons" and
Horst meaning "thicket".
Walker EnglishOccupational name for a person who walked on damp raw cloth in order to thicken it. It is derived from Middle English
walkere, Old English
wealcan meaning "to move".
Wall EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived near a prominent wall, from Old English
weall.
Wallace Scottish, English, IrishMeans
"foreigner, stranger, Celt" from Norman French
waleis (of Germanic origin). It was often used to denote native Welsh and Bretons. A famous bearer was the 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace.
Wallach YiddishFrom Middle High German
walch meaning
"foreigner (from a Romance country)".
Waller 1 EnglishDerived from Old French
gallier meaning
"person with a pleasant temper".
Waller 2 EnglishDerived from Old English
weall meaning
"wall", denoting a builder of walls or someone who lived near a prominent wall.
Wallin SwedishFrom Swedish
vall meaning
"wall, bank" (ultimately of Latin origin).
Walton EnglishFrom the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English
wealh "foreigner, Celt",
weald "forest",
weall "wall", or
wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Wang 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
王 (wáng) meaning
"king, monarch". This is the most common surname in China (and the world).
Wang 2 German, DutchFrom Middle High German and Middle Dutch
wange meaning
"cheek", possibly a nickname for someone with round or rosy cheeks.
Wang 4 YiddishName for a Jew from Hungary, ultimately from Russian
Венгрия (Vengriya) meaning
"Hungary".
Ward 1 EnglishDerived from Old English
weard meaning
"guard, guardian".
Ward 2 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac an Bhaird, which means
"son of the bard".
Wardrobe EnglishFrom Old French
warder "to guard" and
robe "garment", an occupational name for a servant responsible for the clothing in a household.
Ware 1 EnglishFrom Old English
wer meaning
"dam, weir", indicating someone who lived near such a structure.
Ware 2 EnglishFrom the Middle English nickname
ware meaning
"wary, astute, prudent".
Warren 1 EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a warren, from Norman French
warrene meaning
"animal enclosure" (of Germanic origin).
Warren 2 EnglishOriginally denoted a person from the town of La Varenne in Normandy, which may derive from a Gaulish word meaning "sandy soil".
Warwick EnglishFrom the name of an English town, itself derived from Old English
wer "weir, dam" and
wic "village, town".
Washington EnglishFrom a place name meaning "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name
Wassa and Old English
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". A famous bearer was George Washington (1732-1799), the first president of the United States. This surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, resulting in a high proportion of African-American bearers.
Waterman 2 English, DutchOccupational name for a boatman or a water carrier. It could also describe a person who lived by water.
Watkins EnglishDerived from the Middle English given name
Wat or
Watt, which was a diminutive of the name
Walter.
Watt EnglishDerived from the Middle English given name
Wat or
Watt, a diminutive of the name
Walter. A noteworthy bearer was the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819).
Watts EnglishPatronymic derived from the Middle English given name
Wat or
Watt, a diminutive of the name
Walter.
Waxweiler GermanDenoted a person from Waxweiler, a village in the Eifel region of Germany.
Way EnglishFrom Old English
weg meaning
"way, road, path".
Wayne EnglishOccupational name meaning
"wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English
wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).
Weasley LiteratureUsed by J. K. Rowling for the character of Ron Weasley (and other members of his family) in her
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997. Rowling presumably derived it from the English word
weasel, perhaps in combination with the common place name/surname suffix
-ley, which is derived from Old English
leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
Weaver 1 EnglishOccupational name for a weaver, derived from Old English
wefan "to weave".
Weaver 2 EnglishFrom the name of the River Weaver, derived from Old English
wefer meaning "winding stream".
Webb EnglishOccupational name meaning
"weaver", from Old English
webba, a derivative of
wefan "to weave".
Webster EnglishOccupational name meaning
"weaver", from Old English
webba, a derivative of
wefan "to weave".
Wei ChineseFrom Chinese
魏 (wèi) referring to the ancient state of Wei, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong provinces.
Weimann GermanFrom German
Wein meaning
"wine", an occupational name for a wine seller or producer.
Weiss German, YiddishFrom Middle High German
wiz or Yiddish
װייַס (vais) meaning
"white". This was originally a nickname for a person with white hair or skin.
Wells EnglishDerived from Middle English
wille meaning
"well, spring, water hole".
Wembley EnglishFrom the name of a town, now part of Greater London, meaning "
Wemba's clearing" in Old English.
Wen ChineseFrom Chinese
文 (wén) meaning
"literature, culture, writing".
West English, GermanDenoted a person who lived to the west of something, or who came from the west.
Westcott EnglishFrom any of the several English towns by this name, derived from Old English meaning "west cottage".
Westenberg DutchMeans
"west of the mountain", originally referring to a person who lived there.