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.
WróblewskimPolish Originally indicated a person from Polish towns named Wróblewo or similar, derived from Polish wróbel meaning "sparrow".
WronaPolish Derived from Polish wrona meaning "crow".
WrońskimPolish 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.
ZemanmCzech, Slovak Means "landowner", ultimately from Old Slavic zemľa meaning "land".
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.