Simpson EnglishMeans
"son of Sim",
Sim being a medieval short form of
Simon 1. This is the name of a fictional American family on the animated television series
The Simpsons, starting 1989.
Sjögren SwedishFrom Swedish
sjö (Old Norse
sær) meaning "lake, sea" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Soto SpanishMeans
"grove of trees, small forest" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin
saltus.
Stanford EnglishDerived from various English place names meaning
"stone ford" in Old English.
Stolarz PolishOccupational name from Polish
stolarz meaning
"joiner, maker of furniture".
Strand Norwegian, Swedish, DanishFrom Old Norse
strǫnd meaning
"beach, sea shore". It was originally given to someone who lived on or near the sea.
Styles EnglishLocational name for one who lived near a steep hill, from Old English
stigol "stile, set of steps".
Sullivan IrishAnglicized form of the Irish name
Ó Súileabháin meaning
"descendant of Súileabhán". The name
Súileabhán means "dark eye".
Taggart Irish, ScottishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac an tSagairt meaning
"son of the priest". This name comes from a time when the rules of priestly celibacy were not strictly enforced.
Teahan IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Téacháin meaning
"descendant of Téachán". The given name
Téachán possibly means "fugitive".
Tinker EnglishOccupational name for a mender of kettles, pots and pans. The name could derive from the tinking sound made by light hammering on metal. It is possible that the word comes from the word
tin, the material with which the tinker worked.
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.
Urano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Urbina BasqueDerived from Basque
ur "water" and
bi "two", indicating a place where two waterways met.
Van der Zee DutchMeans
"from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.
Verhoeven DutchMeans
"from the farm" in Dutch, derived from
hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.
Vincent 2 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac Dhuibhinse meaning
"son of Duibhinse", a given name meaning "black island".
Virtanen FinnishDerived from Finnish
virta meaning
"stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
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".
Ward 2 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac an Bhaird, which means
"son of the bard".
Waterman 2 English, DutchOccupational name for a boatman or a water carrier. It could also describe a person who lived by water.
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.
Wells EnglishDerived from Middle English
wille meaning
"well, spring, water hole".
Westenberg DutchMeans
"west of the mountain", originally referring to a person who lived there.
Wilson EnglishMeans
"son of Will". A famous bearer was the American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).
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.
Wu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
吴 (wú) referring to the ancient state of Wu, which was located in present-day Jiangsu province.
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".
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-).
Zeng ChineseFrom Chinese
曾 (zēng) referring to the former state of Zeng, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hubei province.
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.
Zupan SloveneFrom Old Slavic
županŭ meaning
"head of the district, community leader", a derivative of
župa meaning "district, region".