Westley EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
west "west" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Weston EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
west "west" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Wheatley EnglishFrom any of the various places in England with this name, meaning "wheat clearing" in Old English.
Wheeler EnglishOccupational name for a maker of wagon wheels, derived from Middle English
whele "wheel".
Wheelock EnglishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Wheelock, England. It was named for the nearby River Wheelock, which is derived from Welsh
chwylog meaning "winding".
Whinery EnglishFrom Middle English
whin "gorse bush" and
wray "nook of land".
White EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had white hair or a pale complexion, from Old English
hwit "white".
Whitney EnglishOriginally from the name of an English town, meaning "white island" in Old English.
Wiater PolishDerived from Polish
wiatr "wind", a nickname for a quick person.
Wickham EnglishFrom any of various towns by this name in England, notably in Hampshire. They are derived from Old English
wic "village, town" (of Latin origin) and
ham "home, settlement".
Wieck GermanMeans
"village, town", derived from Latin
vicus.
Wieczorek PolishFrom a nickname meaning
"bat" in Polish, ultimately from
wieczór meaning "evening".
Wilbur EnglishFrom the nickname
Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English.
Wild English, GermanMeans
"wild, untamed, uncontrolled", derived from Old English
wilde. This was either a nickname for a person who behaved in a wild manner or a topographic name for someone who lived on overgrown land.
Wildgrube GermanFrom the name of a German town, derived from German
wild "wild, untamed" and
Grube "hollow, pit".
Willis EnglishDerived from the given name
William. A famous bearer of this surname is actor Bruce Willis (1955-).
Willoughby EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
welig "willow" and Old Norse
býr "farm, settlement".
Wilson EnglishMeans
"son of Will". A famous bearer was the American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).
Winchester EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from
Venta, of Celtic origin, and Latin
castrum meaning "camp, fortress".
Windsor EnglishFrom the name of a few English towns, one notably the site of Windsor Castle. Their names mean
"riverbank with a windlass" in Old English, a windlass being a lifting apparatus. In 1917 the British royal family adopted this name (after Windsor Castle), replacing their previous name
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Winfield EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from Old English
winn "meadow, pasture" and
feld "field".
Winkler GermanDerived from Old High German
winkil meaning
"corner".
Winship EnglishPossibly denoted a person who came from Wincheap Street in Canterbury, England. It is uncertain origin, possibly meaning "wine market" in Old English.
Winter English, German, SwedishFrom Old English
winter or Old High German
wintar meaning
"winter". This was a nickname for a person with a cold personality.
Winterbottom EnglishFrom Old English
winter meaning "winter" and
botm meaning "ground, soil, bottom". This name probably referred to a winter pasture at the bottom of a lowland valley.
Winton EnglishDerived from the name of several English villages. Their names derive from Old English meaning "enclosure belonging to
Wine".
Wirth German, JewishOccupational name for an innkeeper, derived from German
wirt meaning
"host".
Wiśniewski m PolishFrom the name of various Polish towns called
Wiśniewo, derived from Polish
wiśnia meaning "sour cherry".
Witherspoon EnglishOriginally given to a person who dwelt near a sheep enclosure, from Middle English
wether "sheep" and
spong "strip of land".
Witkowski m PolishFrom the name of various Polish places called
Witkowo,
Witków or
Witkowice, all derived from the given name
Witek.
Wójcik PolishFrom the Polish word
wójt meaning
"chief, mayor" (related to German
Vogt).
Wojewoda PolishFrom the Polish title
wojewoda meaning
"governor, voivode" (originally meaning "warlord").
Wolański m PolishDenoted a person who came from one of the places in Poland called
Wola or
Wolany, derived from the given name
Wolan meaning "to want".
Wolf German, EnglishFrom Middle High German or Middle English
wolf meaning
"wolf", or else from an Old German given name beginning with this element.
Womack EnglishOf uncertain origin. One theory suggests that it indicated a dweller by a hollow oak tree, derived from Old English
womb "hollow" and
ac "oak".
Wood English, ScottishOriginally denoted one who lived in or worked in a forest, derived from Old English
wudu "wood".
Woodham EnglishIndicated a person who had a home near a wood, derived from Old English
wudu "wood" and
ham "home, settlement".
Woodrow EnglishFrom a place name meaning
"row of houses by a wood" in Old English.
Woodward EnglishOccupational name for a forester, meaning
"ward of the wood" in Old English.
Wortham EnglishDerived from the name of a town in Suffolk, England meaning
"enclosed homestead".
Wray EnglishOriginally denoted someone who came from any of the various places of this name in northern England, from Old Norse
vrá meaning
"corner, nook".
Wright 1 EnglishFrom Old English
wyrhta meaning
"wright, maker", an occupational name for someone who was a craftsman. Famous bearers were Orville and Wilbur Wright, the inventors of the first successful airplane.
Wróblewski m PolishOriginally indicated a person from Polish towns named
Wróblewo or similar, derived from Polish
wróbel meaning "sparrow".
Wruck GermanFrom Middle Low German
wrok meaning
"cantankerous".
Wu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
吴 (wú) referring to the ancient state of Wu, which was located in present-day Jiangsu province.
Wuopio SwedishMeaning uncertain, possibly referred to a dweller in a narrow bay with steep shores.
Wyndham EnglishFrom the name of the town of Wymondham, meaning "home belonging to Wigmund", from the given name
Wigmund combined with Old English
ham meaning "home, settlement".
Wyrzykowski m PolishPossibly from the Polish place name
Wyrzyki, of uncertain meaning, maybe "away from the river".
Xiao ChineseFrom Chinese
蕭 (xiāo) referring to the fiefdom or territory of Xiao (in present-day Anhui province) that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
Xie ChineseFrom Chinese
谢 (xiè) referring to the minor state of Xie, which existed in what is now Hubei province.
Xu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
徐 (xú) referring to the ancient state of Xu, which existed to the 6th century BC in what is now Jiangsu and Anhui. The character
徐 means "slowly, calmly".
Xu 2 ChineseFrom Chinese
许 (xǔ) referring to the minor state of Xu, which existed to the 4th century BC in what is now Henan province. The character
许 means "allow, permit".
Yamaguchi JapaneseFrom Japanese
山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and
口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance". Olympic figure-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi (1971-) bears this name.
Yap EnglishFrom a nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English
yap meaning
"devious, deceitful, shrewd".
Yasuda JapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or
保 (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yates EnglishFrom Old English
geat meaning
"gate", a name for a gatekeeper or someone who lived near a gate.
Yokota JapaneseFrom Japanese
横 (yoko) meaning "beside, next to" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
York EnglishFrom the name of the English city of York, which was originally called
Eburacon (Latinized as
Eboracum), meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to
Eoforwic, based on Old English
eofor "boar" and
wic "village". This was rendered as
Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to
York.
Young EnglishDerived from Old English
geong meaning
"young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Yoxall EnglishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Yoxall in Staffordshire, itself derived from Old English
geoc "oxen yoke" and
halh "nook, recess".
Yu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
于 (yú) meaning
"in, on, at". According to legend, King Wu of Zhou bestowed the realm of Yu to his second son, who subsequently adopted this as his surname.
Yu 4 ChineseFrom Chinese
虞 (yú) meaning
"concerned, anxious" and also referring to the ancient state of Yu, which was situated in what is now Shanxi province.
Yūki JapaneseFrom Japanese
結 (yū) meaning "tie, bind" and
城 (ki) meaning "castle".
Yun KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
尹 (yun) meaning
"govern, oversee".
Zabala BasqueOriginally denoted someone who lived in a place of this name in Biscay. It is derived from Basque
zabal meaning "large, wide".
Ząbek PolishFrom Polish
zab "tooth" and a diminutive suffix.
Žagar SloveneOccupational name for a woodcutter, from Slovene
žaga meaning
"saw".
Zambrano SpanishPossibly a habitational name for someone from Zambrana, a town in the province of Álava in Spain.
Zamorano SpanishOriginally denoted a person from Zamora, the name of both a province in Spain and its capital city.
Zanetti ItalianDerived from a diminutive of the given name
Giovanni. A famous bearer is Argentinian soccer player Javier Zanetti (1973-).
Zappa ItalianFrom 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).
Żbikowski m PolishFrom Polish towns named
Żbikowice or
Żbików, which are derived from
żbik meaning "wildcat".
Zdunowski m PolishDenoted 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.
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 m Czech, SlovakMeans
"landowner", ultimately from Old Slavic
zemľa meaning "land".
Zeng ChineseFrom Chinese
曾 (zēng) referring to the former state of Zeng, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hubei province.
Zentai HungarianOriginally indicated a person from the city of Senta in Serbia (formerly a part of Hungary and called
Zenta).
Zhang ChineseFrom Chinese
张 (zhāng) meaning
"stretch, extend". It may have denoted a bowmaker whose job it was to stretch bow wood.
Zhao ChineseFrom Chinese
赵 (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 ChineseFrom Chinese
郑 (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.
Zhou ChineseFrom Chinese
周 (zhōu) referring to the Zhou dynasty, which held power from 1046 to 771 BC, continuing for a few more centuries as figureheads.
Zhu ChineseFrom Chinese
朱 (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 GermanMeans
"bricklayer" or
"brickmaker" in German, from Middle High German
ziegel "brick, tile".
Zieliński m PolishFrom Polish
zieleń meaning
"green". It was possibly a nickname for a person who dressed in green clothing.
Ziętek PolishPossibly from a diminutive of Polish
zięć meaning
"son-in-law".
Zilberschlag JewishOccupational name for a silversmith from Yiddish
zilber "silver" and
schlag "strike".
Zima mu Czech, Slovak, Polish, RussianFrom an Old Slavic word meaning
"winter". This may have been a nickname for a person with a chilly personality.
Zimmermann German, JewishFrom the German word for
"carpenter", derived from Middle High German
zimber "timber, wood" and
mann "man".
Zingel JewishFrom Middle High German
zingel "defensive wall". This name was originally applied to a person who lived near the outermost wall of a castle.
Zino ItalianDerived 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 JewishOrnamental name, or from a given name, meaning
"sweet child", derived from Yiddish
זיס (zis) meaning "sweet" and
קינד (kind) meaning "child", both words of Old High German origin.
Žitnik SloveneFrom the Slavic root
žito meaning
"rye, grain". This was an occupational name for a dealer in rye or a baker.
Zubizarreta BasqueMeans
"old bridge", from Basque
zubia "bridge" and
zahar "old". A famous bearer is the Spanish soccer player Andoni Zubizarreta (1961-).
Żukowski PolishFrom various Polish towns named
Żukowo or
Żuków, which are derived from
żuk meaning "beetle".
Zuñiga BasqueFrom the name of a Spanish town, formerly named Estuniga in Basque, possibly derived from Basque
istuin "channel, strait".
Zupan SloveneFrom Old Slavic
županŭ meaning
"head of the district, community leader", a derivative of
župa meaning "district, region".
Żuraw PolishMeans
"crane" in Polish, a nickname for a tall person.