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.
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.