Sultan ArabicFrom a nickname meaning
"sultan, ruler" in Arabic.
Sumner EnglishOccupational name for a summoner, an official who was responsible for ensuring the appearance of witnesses in court, from Middle English
sumner, ultimately from Latin
submonere "to advise".
Sun ChineseFrom Chinese
孙 (sūn) meaning
"grandchild, descendant". A famous bearer of the surname was Sun Tzu, the 6th-century BC author of
The Art of War.
Süß GermanFrom Old High German
suozi meaning
"sweet".
Sweet EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"sweet, pleasant", from Old English
swete.
Szweda PolishDerived from Polish
Szwed meaning
"Swede, person from Sweden".
Tang 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
唐 (táng) referring to the Tang dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907.
Tash EnglishFrom Middle English
at asche meaning
"at the ash tree".
Taylor EnglishDerived from Old French
tailleur meaning
"tailor", ultimately from Latin
taliare "to cut".
Terrell EnglishProbably derived from the Norman French nickname
tirel meaning
"to pull", referring to a stubborn person.
Terzi 2 TurkishMeans
"tailor" in Turkish, ultimately of Persian origin.
Terzić BosnianFrom Bosnian
terzija meaning
"tailor", ultimately of Persian origin.
Tesla SerbianOccupational name for a carpenter, derived from Serbian
tesla meaning
"adze". This name was notably borne by the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943).
Thatcher EnglishReferred to a person who thatched roofs by attaching straw to them, derived from Old English
þæc meaning "thatch, roof". A famous bearer was the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
Todd EnglishMeans
"fox", derived from Middle English
todde.
Toft EnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many places in Britain of that name, derived from Old Norse
topt meaning
"homestead".
Tosi ItalianMeans
"clean-shaven", usually denoting a younger man, from Latin
tonsus "shaved".
Trần VietnameseVietnamese form of
Chen, from Sino-Vietnamese
陳 (trần). This is the second most common surname in Vietnam.
Travers English, FrenchFrom 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".
Tremblay FrenchFrom French
tremble meaning
"aspen". It is especially widespread in Quebec, being the most common surname there.
Tuft EnglishDenoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English
tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.
Vacca ItalianMeans
"cow" in Italian, originally denoting a person who worked with cattle.
Vale PortugueseMeans
"valley" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
vallis.
Van Agteren DutchMeans
"from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.
Vance EnglishIndicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English
fenn meaning
"fen, marsh".
Van Dalen DutchMeans
"from the valley", from Old Dutch
dal meaning "valley".
Van Damme FlemishMeans
"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 den Berg DutchMeans
"from the mountain", derived from Dutch
berg meaning "mountain".
Van der Aart DutchMeans
"from the earth", derived from Dutch
aarde "earth". It perhaps referred to either an earth bank or to a farmer.
Van der Veen DutchMeans
"from the swamp", from Dutch
veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat". It originally indicated a person who resided in a peat district or fen colony.
Van Laar DutchDerived from Dutch
laar (plural
laren), which means
"open spot in the forest". These areas were used to graze cattle for example.
Vann EnglishFrom Old English
fenn meaning
"fen, swamp", indicating a person who lived near such a place.
Vargas Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"slope, flooded field, pastureland" or
"hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word
varga.
Vaughan WelshFrom Welsh
bychan (mutated to
fychan) meaning
"little". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Vega SpanishFrom Spanish
vega meaning
"meadow, plain", of Basque origin.
Verhoeven DutchMeans
"from the farm" in Dutch, derived from
hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.
Vicario Spanish, ItalianMeans
"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".
Villa Italian, SpanishMeans
"town" in Italian and Spanish, from Latin. It was originally given to a person who came from a town, as opposed to the countryside.
Vinogradov m RussianMeans
"vineyard" in Russian (ultimately from German), referring to a person who worked at a vineyard or lived near one.
Vivas CatalanFrom the Catalan byname
vivas meaning
"may you live", which was bestowed upon children to bring good luck.
Vlachos m GreekMeans
"Romanian, Wallachian" in Greek, from Old Slavic
volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).
Vlašić CroatianPatronymic from the nickname
Vlah meaning
"Romanian, Wallachian".
Vlašič SlovenePatronymic from the nickname
Vlah meaning
"Romanian, Wallachian".
Vogel German, DutchFrom 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.
Vogt GermanOccupational name from Middle High German
voget meaning
"bailiff, administrator, steward", ultimately from Latin
advocatus.
Voll 1 NorwegianOriginally indicated a person who lived in a meadow, from Old Norse
vǫllr "meadow, field".
Von Brandt GermanMeans
"from the area cleared by fire", from Middle High German
brant.
Vörös HungarianMeans
"red" in Hungarian, referring to a person with red hair or face.
Voss GermanFrom Middle Low German
vos meaning
"fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.
Vroom Dutch, FlemishFrom a nickname derived from Dutch
vroom meaning
"pious, devout".
Vrubel m CzechFrom a dialectal variant of Czech
vrabec "sparrow".
Wagner GermanFrom Middle High German
wagener meaning
"wagon maker, cartwright". This name was borne by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).
Walker EnglishOccupational 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".
Wall EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived near a prominent wall, from Old English
weall.
Wallace Scottish, English, IrishMeans
"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 Scottish hero William Wallace.
Wallach YiddishFrom Middle High German
walch meaning
"foreigner (from a Romance country)".
Waller 2 EnglishDerived from Old English
weall meaning
"wall", denoting a builder of walls or someone who lived near a prominent wall.
Wallin SwedishFrom Swedish
vall meaning
"wall, bank" (ultimately of Latin origin).
Wang 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
王 (wáng) meaning
"king, monarch". This is the most common surname in China (and the world).
Wang 2 German, DutchFrom Middle High German and Middle Dutch
wange meaning
"cheek", possibly a nickname for someone with round or rosy cheeks.
Ward 1 EnglishDerived from Old English
weard meaning
"guard, guardian".
Wardrobe EnglishFrom Old French
warder "to guard" and
robe "garment", an occupational name for a servant responsible for the clothing in a household.
Ware 1 EnglishFrom Old English
wer meaning
"dam, weir", indicating someone who lived near such a structure.
Way EnglishFrom Old English
weg meaning
"way, road, path".
Wayne EnglishOccupational name meaning
"wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English
wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).
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.
Weimann GermanFrom German
Wein meaning
"wine", an occupational name for a wine seller or producer.
Weiss German, YiddishFrom Middle High German
wiz or Yiddish
װייַס (vais) meaning
"white". This was originally a nickname for a person with white hair or skin.
Wells EnglishDerived from Middle English
wille meaning
"well, spring, water hole".
Wen ChineseFrom Chinese
文 (wén) meaning
"literature, culture, writing".
West English, GermanDenoted a person who lived to the west of something, or who came from the west.
White EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had white hair or a pale complexion, from Old English
hwit "white".
Wibowo IndonesianFrom Indonesian
wibawa meaning
"authority, power", ultimately from Sanskrit
विभव (vibhava).
Wieck GermanMeans
"village, town", derived from Latin
vicus.
Wild English, GermanMeans
"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.
Winter English, German, SwedishFrom Old English
winter or Old High German
wintar meaning
"winter". This was a nickname for a person with a cold personality.
Wirth German, JewishOccupational name for an innkeeper, derived from German
wirt meaning
"host".
Wójcik PolishFrom the Polish word
wójt meaning
"chief, mayor" (related to German
Vogt).
Wojewoda PolishFrom the Polish title
wojewoda meaning
"governor, voivode" (originally meaning "warlord").
Wolf German, EnglishFrom Middle High German or Middle English
wolf meaning
"wolf", or else from an Old German given name beginning with this element.
Wood English, ScottishOriginally denoted one who lived in or worked in a forest, derived from Old English
wudu "wood".
Wray EnglishOriginally denoted someone who came from any of the various places of this name in northern England, from Old Norse
vrá meaning
"corner, nook".
Wright 1 EnglishFrom 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.
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".
Young EnglishDerived from Old English
geong meaning
"young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Yu 1 ChineseFrom 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 4 ChineseFrom Chinese
虞 (yú) meaning
"concerned, anxious" and also referring to the ancient state of Yu, which was situated in what is now Shanxi province.
Yun KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
尹 (yun) meaning
"govern, oversee".
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.
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.
Zieliński m PolishFrom Polish
zieleń meaning
"green". It was possibly a nickname for a person who dressed in green clothing.
Zima m & u Czech, Slovak, Polish, RussianFrom an Old Slavic word meaning
"winter". This may have been a nickname for a person with a chilly personality.
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".