This is a list of surnames in which the origin is Ancient.
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".
Zanetti ItalianDerived from a diminutive of the given name
Giovanni. A famous bearer is Argentinian soccer player Javier Zanetti (1973-).
Zeman m Czech, SlovakMeans
"landowner", ultimately from Old Slavic
zemľa meaning "land".
Zieliński m PolishFrom Polish
zieleń meaning
"green". It was possibly a nickname for a person who dressed in green clothing.
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.
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.
Zupan SloveneFrom Old Slavic
županŭ meaning
"head of the district, community leader", a derivative of
župa meaning "district, region".