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.
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".
Vlasák m CzechDerived from Czech
vlas "hair", probably referring to a barber or a person who bought and sold hair.
Ward 2 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac an Bhaird, which means
"son of the bard".
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.
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".