TraversEnglish, French From an English and French place name that described a person who lived near a bridge or ford, or occasionally as an occupational name for the collector of tolls at such a location. The place name is derived from Old French traverser (which comes from Late Latin transversare), which means "to cross".
Van DalenDutch Means "from the valley", from Old Dutch dal meaning "valley".
Van DammeFlemish Means "from Damme", the name of a town in Belgium, derived from Dutch dam meaning "dam". A famous bearer is the Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960-), who was born with the surname Van Varenberg.
Van der VeenDutch Means "from the swamp", from Dutch veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat". It originally indicated a person who resided in a peat district or fen colony.
VeselýCzech From a nickname meaning "cheerful" in Czech.
VicarioSpanish, Italian Means "vicar" in Spanish and Italian, an ecclesiastic title used to denote a representative of a bishop. It is derived from Latin vicarius meaning "substitute, deputy".
VicoItalian Means "town" in Italian, derived from Latin vicus.
VillaItalian, Spanish Means "town" in Italian and Spanish, from Latin. It was originally given to a person who came from a town, as opposed to the countryside.
VlašićCroatian Patronymic from the nickname Vlah meaning "Romanian".
VlašičSlovene Patronymic from the nickname Vlah meaning "Romanian".
VlčekCzech Diminutive form of Czech vlk meaning "wolf".
VogelGerman, Dutch From Old High German and Old Dutch fogal meaning "bird". It was originally an occupational name for a bird catcher, or a nickname for a person who liked to sing.
WalkerEnglish Occupational name for a person who walked on damp raw cloth in order to thicken it. It is derived from Middle English walkere, Old English wealcan meaning "to move".
WallEnglish Originally denoted a person who lived near a prominent wall, from Old English weall.
WallaceScottish, English, Irish Means "foreigner, stranger, Celt" from Norman French waleis (of Germanic origin). It was often used to denote native Welsh and Bretons. A famous bearer was the 13th-century Sir William Wallace of Scotland.
WallachYiddish From Middle High German walch meaning "foreigner (from a Romance country)".
Waller 2English Derived from Old English weall meaning "wall", denoting a builder of walls or someone who lived near a prominent wall.
Waller 3English From Old English wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".
WallinSwedish From Swedish vall meaning "wall, bank" (ultimately of Latin origin).
Ward 1English Derived from Old English weard meaning "guard, guardian".
WardrobeEnglish From Old French warder "to guard" and robe "garment", an occupational name for a servant responsible for the clothing in a household.
Ware 1English From Old English wer meaning "dam, weir", indicating someone who lived near such a structure.
Waters 1English Originally given to a person who lived near the water.
WayEnglish From Old English weg meaning "way, road, path".
WayneEnglish Occupational name meaning "wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).
WechslerGerman, Jewish Means "money changer, banker", from German wechseln "to exchange".
WeekesEnglish Derived from Old English wic meaning "village, town".
WeiChinese From 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.
WeimannGerman From German Wein meaning "wine", an occupational name for a wine seller or producer.
WeissGerman, Yiddish From Middle High German wiz or Yiddish װייַס (vais) meaning "white". This was originally a nickname for a person with white hair or skin.
WibowoIndonesian From Indonesian wibawa meaning "authority, power", ultimately from Sanskrit विभव (vibhava).
WieckGerman Means "village, town", derived from Latin vicus.
WildEnglish, German Means "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.
WinterEnglish, German, Swedish From Old English winter or Old High German wintar meaning "winter". This was a nickname for a person with a cold personality.
WrayEnglish Originally denoted someone who came from any of the various places of this name in northern England, from Old Norse vrá meaning "corner, nook".
Wright 1English From 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.
WronaPolish Derived from Polish wrona meaning "crow".
WronskiPolish Derived from Polish wrona meaning "crow".
Wu 1Chinese From Chinese 吴 (wú) referring to the ancient state of Wu, which was located in present-day Jiangsu province.
Wu 2Chinese From Chinese 武 (wǔ) meaning "military, martial".
XiaoChinese From Chinese 蕭 (xiāo) referring to the fiefdom or territory of Xiao (in present-day Anhui province) that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
XieChinese From Chinese 谢 (xiè) referring to the minor state of Xie, which existed in what is now Hubei province.
Xu 1Chinese From 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 2Chinese From 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".
XunChinese From Chinese 荀 (xún) meaning "plant, ancient state".
YangChinese From Chinese 杨 (yáng) meaning "willow, poplar, aspen".
Yu 1Chinese From 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 3Chinese From Chinese 俞 (yú) meaning "consent, approve".
Yu 4Chinese From Chinese 虞 (yú) meaning "concerned, anxious" and also referring to the ancient state of Yu, which was situated in what is now Shanxi province.
ZengChinese From Chinese 曾 (zēng) referring to the former state of Zeng, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hubei province.
ZhangChinese From Chinese 张 (zhāng) meaning "stretch, extend". It may have denoted a bowmaker whose job it was to stretch bow wood.
ZhaoChinese From 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]
ZhengChinese From 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.
ZhouChinese From Chinese 周 (zhōu) referring to the Zhou dynasty, which held power from 1046 to 771 BC, continuing for a few more centuries as figureheads.
ZhuChinese From 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.
ZielińskiPolish From Polish zieleń meaning "green". It was possibly a nickname for a person who dressed in green clothing.