Surnames from Locations

Van Laren Dutch
Variant of Van Laar.

Van Leeuwen Dutch
Means "from Leeuwen", the name of towns in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Limburd. The place names may be from the Old Dutch word leo meaning "hill, burial mound".

Van Leeuwenhoek Dutch
Variant of Leeuwenhoek. A famous bearer of this surname is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a pioneer in the field of microscopy.

Van Middelburg Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Middelburg", the name of a city in Zeeland in the Netherlands, itself meaning "middle fortress" in Dutch.

Van Middlesworth Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Van Middelburg.

Vann English
From Old English fenn meaning "fen, swamp", indicating a person who lived near such a place.

Van Nifterick Dutch
Variant of Van Niftrik.

Van Nifterik Dutch
Variant of Van Niftrik.

Van Niftrik Dutch
Means "from Niftrik", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.

Van Ogtrop Dutch
Variant of Ogtrop.

Van Oirschot Dutch
Means "from Oirschot", a town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is possibly from Dutch oeros meaning "aurochs" and schoot meaning "projection (of land)".

Van Oorschot Dutch
Variant of Van Oirschot.

Van Ophoven Dutch
Means "from Ophoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. Their names mean "upper gardens, upper courtyards" in Dutch.

Van Peij Dutch (Rare)
Variant of Van Pey.

Van Pey Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Pey", a town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.

Van Rompa Flemish (Rare)
Variant of Van Rompaey.

Van Rompaey Flemish, Dutch
Means "from the wide path", derived from Middle Dutch ruum "roomy, spacious" combined with pat "path".

Van Rompay Flemish, Dutch
Variant of Van Rompaey.

Van Rompaye Flemish (Rare)
Variant of Van Rompaey.

Van Rompu Flemish (Rare)
Variant of Van Rompaey.

Van Rompuy Flemish
Variant of Van Rompaey. A famous bearer is the Flemish politician Herman Van Rompuy (1947-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.

Van Rossem Dutch
Variant of Van Rossum.

Van Rossum Dutch
Means "from Rossum", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is mentioned as Rotheheim in a 9th-century document, and is derived from Dutch rothe "cleared area in a forest" and heim "home".

Van Schoorl Dutch
Variant of Schoorl.

Van 't Hout Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van Tonder Dutch
Means "from Tønder", a town in Denmark near the German border.

Van Veen Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Van Veenen Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Van Wegberg Dutch
Means "from Wegberg", a small town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, close to the Dutch border. It is derived from old German weg "way, path, road" and berg "mountain".

Van Wieren Frisian, Dutch
Means "from Wieren". This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands, which mean "seaweed".

Van Willigen Dutch
Means "from the willows", from Old Dutch wilga "willow".

Varano Italian
Derived from one of the many towns of this name in Italy.

Vargas Spanish, Portuguese
Means "slope, flooded field, pastureland" or "hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word varga.

Varley English
Originally denoted a person from Verly, France, itself derived from the Roman name Virilius.

Varnham English
Variant of Farnham.

Vega Spanish
From Spanish vega meaning "meadow, plain", of Basque origin.

Vemulakonda Telugu
Indicated a person from the city of Vemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Venner Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Ventimiglia Italian
From the name of the historical Italian city Ventimiglia, now near the French border, ultimately from Latin Albintimilium.

Verboom Dutch
Means "from the tree" in Dutch.

Verhoeven Dutch
Means "from the farm" in Dutch, derived from hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.

Vermeulen Flemish
Means "from the mill" in Dutch.

Vernon English
Locational name in the Eure region of Normandy, from the Gaulish element vern "alder (tree)" with the genitive case maker onis.

Verona Italian
From the name of the city of Verona, one of the most important historical cities of northern Italy. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain.

Veronesi Italian
Variant of Verona.

Vervloet Flemish
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.

Vestergaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish vest "west" and gård "farm, yard".

Vico Italian, Spanish
Means "town, village", derived from Latin vicus.

Vieira Portuguese
Denoted a person who came from a Portuguese town by this name, derived from vieria meaning "scallop". The scallop was a symbol of Saint James, and was traditionally worn by pilgrims to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

Vigo Italian, Spanish
Variant of Vico.

Vik Norwegian
Means "cove, inlet" in Norwegian.

Vilar Portuguese, Galician, Catalan
Means "hamlet, farm" in Portuguese, Galician and Catalan, from Late Latin villare, a derivative of Latin villa.

Vilaró Catalan
Catalan variant of Vilar.

Villa Italian, 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.

Villalba Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various Spanish places by this name. It is derived from Spanish villa "town" and alba "white".

Villalobos Spanish
Habitational name for a person from the town of Villalobos, Spain, which is derived from Spanish villa "town" and lobo "wolf".

Villanueva Spanish
Originally denoted someone who came from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and nueva "new".

Villar Spanish
Spanish cognate of Vilar.

Villaverde Spanish
Originally denoted a person from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and verde "green".

Villeneuve French
French cognate of Villanueva.

Vinci 2 Italian
Originally indicated a person from Vinci near Florence, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.

Vinogradov m Russian
Means "vineyard" in Russian (ultimately from German), referring to a person who worked at a vineyard or lived near one.

Vinogradova f Russian
Feminine form of Vinogradov.

Vipond English
From Vieux-Pont, the name of various places in Normandy, derived from French vieux "old" and pont "bridge".

Virtanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish virta meaning "stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.

Viteri Spanish, Basque
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a Basque place name.

Voll 1 Norwegian
Originally indicated a person who lived in a meadow, from Old Norse vǫllr "meadow, field".

Vollan Norwegian
Variant of Voll 1.

Voltolini Italian
From the name of the alpine valley of Valtellina in Lombardy, northern Italy.

Von Brandt German
Means "from the area cleared by fire", from Middle High German brant.

Von Essen German
Means "from Essen", a city in Germany, possibly a derivative of Old High German asc meaning "ash tree".

Von Grimmelshausen German
Means "from Grimmelshausen", a town in Germany. It is itself derived from Grimmel, of uncertain meaning, and hausen meaning "houses". A famous bearer was the German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621-1676).

Von Ingersleben German
Means "from Ingersleben", a town in Germany, which means "Inge's village".

Vonnegut German
Possibly from the German words von meaning "from, of, by" and gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).

Wada Japanese
From Japanese 和 (wa) meaning "harmony, peace" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Wade 1 English
Derived from the Old English place name wæd meaning "a ford".

Wakefield English
Originally indicated a person who came from the English city of Wakefield, derived from Old English wacu "wake, vigil" and feld "field".

Walkenhorst German
Possibly derived from a German place name Falkenhorst, from Falken meaning "falcons" and Horst meaning "thicket".

Wall English
Originally denoted a person who lived near a prominent wall, from Old English weall.

Waller 2 English
Derived from Old English weall meaning "wall", denoting a builder of walls or someone who lived near a prominent wall.

Waller 3 English
From Old English wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".

Walmsley English
Originally denoted a person from the English town of Walmersley.

Walton English
From the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English wealh "foreigner, Celt", weald "forest", weall "wall", or wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Wang 3 German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German wang or Old Norse vangr meaning "grassy slope, meadow".

Wang 4 Yiddish
Name for a Jew from Hungary, ultimately from Russian Венгрия (Vengriya) meaning "Hungary".

Ware 1 English
From Old English wer meaning "dam, weir", indicating someone who lived near such a structure.

Warren 1 English
Denoted a person who lived near a warren, from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure" (of Germanic origin).

Warren 2 English
Originally denoted a person from the town of La Varenne in Normandy, which may derive from a Gaulish word meaning "sandy soil".

Warrick English
Variant of Warwick.

Warshawsky Jewish
Variant of Warszawski.

Warszawska f Polish
Feminine form of Warszawski.

Warszawski m & u Polish, Jewish
Place name for someone from the Polish city of Warsaw, itself derived from the given name Warsz, a short form of Warcisław.

Warwick English
From the name of an English town, itself derived from Old English wer "weir, dam" and wic "village, town".

Washington English
From a place name meaning "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name Wassa and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". A famous bearer was George Washington (1732-1799), the first president of the United States. This surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, resulting in a high proportion of African-American bearers.

Watanabe Japanese
From Japanese 渡 (wata) meaning "cross, ferry" and 辺 (nabe) meaning "area, place".

Waterman 2 English, Dutch
Occupational name for a boatman or a water carrier. It could also describe a person who lived by water.

Waters 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived near the water.

Waxweiler German
Denoted a person from Waxweiler, a village in the Eifel region of Germany.

Way English
From Old English weg meaning "way, road, path".

Weaver 2 English
From the name of the River Weaver, derived from Old English wefer meaning "winding stream".

Weekes English
Derived from Old English wic meaning "village, town".

Wei Chinese
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.

Wells English
Derived from Middle English wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".

Wembley English
From the name of a town, now part of Greater London, meaning "Wemba's clearing" in Old English.

Wescott English
Variant of Westcott.

Wesley English
Variant of Westley.

West English, German
Denoted a person who lived to the west of something, or who came from the west.

Westbrook English
From the name of places in England, derived from Old English west "west" and broc "brook, stream".

Westcott English
From any of the several English towns by this name, derived from Old English meaning "west cottage".

Westenberg Dutch
Means "west of the mountain", originally referring to a person who lived there.

Westerberg Swedish
Derived from Swedish *väster (Old Norse vestr) meaning "west" and berg meaning "mountain".

Westley English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Weston English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English west "west" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Wheatley English
From any of the various places in England with this name, meaning "wheat clearing" in Old English.

Wheelock English
Originally indicated a person from the town of Wheelock, England. It was named for the nearby River Wheelock, which is derived from Welsh chwylog meaning "winding".

Whinery English
From Middle English whin "gorse bush" and wray "nook of land".

Whitaker English
From a place name composed of Old English hwit "white" and æcer "field".

Whitney English
Originally from the name of an English town, meaning "white island" in Old English.

Whittemore English
From various English place names derived from Old English hwit "white" and mor "moor, heath, bog".

Whittle English
From various English place names derived from Old English hwit "white" and hyll "hill".

Wickham English
From any of various towns by this name in England, notably in Hampshire. They are derived from Old English wic "village, town" (of Latin origin) and ham "home, settlement".

Wieck German
Means "village, town", derived from Latin vicus.

Wild English, 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.

Wilder English, German
Variant of Wild.

Wildgrube German
From the name of a German town, derived from German wild "wild, untamed" and Grube "hollow, pit".

Wiley English
From any of the various English towns named Willey or from the River Wylye.

Willey English
Variant of Wiley.

Willoughby English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English welig "willow" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement".

Wilton English
From any of the English towns named Wilton.

Winchester English
From an English place name, derived from Venta, of Celtic origin, and Latin castrum meaning "camp, fortress".

Windsor English
From the name of a few English towns, one notably the site of Windsor Castle. Their names mean "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English, a windlass being a lifting apparatus. In 1917 the British royal family adopted this name (after Windsor Castle), replacing their previous name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Winfield English
From various English place names, derived from Old English winn "meadow, pasture" and feld "field".

Winkler German
Derived from Old High German winkil meaning "corner".

Winograd Jewish
Jewish form of Vinogradov.

Winogrodzka f Polish
Feminine form of Winogrodzki.

Winogrodzki m Polish
Polish cognate of Vinogradov.

Winship English
Possibly denoted a person who came from Wincheap Street in Canterbury, England. It is uncertain origin, possibly meaning "wine market" in Old English.

Winslow English
Derived from an Old English place name meaning "hill belonging to Wine".

Winterbottom English
From Old English winter meaning "winter" and botm meaning "ground, soil, bottom". This name probably referred to a winter pasture at the bottom of a lowland valley.

Winthrop English
Habitational name from the place names Winthrope 1 or Winthrope 2.

Winton English
Derived from the name of several English villages. Their names derive from Old English meaning "enclosure belonging to Wine".

Wiśniewska f Polish
Feminine form of Wiśniewski.

Wiśniewski m Polish
From the name of various Polish towns called Wiśniewo, derived from Polish wiśnia meaning "sour cherry".

Witherspoon English
Originally given to a person who dwelt near a sheep enclosure, from Middle English wether "sheep" and spong "strip of land".

Witkowska f Polish
Feminine form of Witkowski.

Witkowski m Polish
From the name of various Polish places called Witkowo, Witków or Witkowice, all derived from the given name Witek.

Wolańska f Polish
Feminine form of Wolański.

Wolański m Polish
Denoted a person who came from one of the places in Poland called Wola or Wolany, derived from the given name Wolan meaning "to want".

Womack English
Of uncertain origin. One theory suggests that it indicated a dweller by a hollow oak tree, derived from Old English womb "hollow" and ac "oak".

Wood English, Scottish
Originally denoted one who lived in or worked in a forest, derived from Old English wudu "wood".

Woodham English
Indicated a person who had a home near a wood, derived from Old English wudu "wood" and ham "home, settlement".

Woodhams English
Variant of Woodham.

Woodrow English
From a place name meaning "row of houses by a wood" in Old English.

Woods English, Scottish
Variant of Wood.

Wootton English
Derived from Old English wudu "wood" and tun "enclosure, town".

Wortham English
Derived from the name of a town in Suffolk, England meaning "enclosed homestead".

Wray English
Originally denoted someone who came from any of the various places of this name in northern England, from Old Norse vrá meaning "corner, nook".

Wu 1 Chinese
From Chinese 吴 (wú) referring to the ancient state of Wu, which was located in present-day Jiangsu province.

Wuopio Swedish
Meaning uncertain, possibly referred to a dweller in a narrow bay with steep shores.

Wyndham English
From the name of the town of Wymondham, meaning "home belonging to Wigmund", from the given name Wigmund combined with Old English ham meaning "home, settlement".

Wyrick Polish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Wyrzyk.

Wyrzyk Polish
Variant of Wyrzykowski.

Wyrzykowska f Polish
Feminine form of Wyrzykowski.

Wyrzykowski m Polish
Possibly from the Polish place name Wyrzyki, of uncertain meaning, maybe "away from the river".

Xiao Chinese
From Chinese 蕭 (xiāo) referring to the fiefdom or territory of Xiao (in present-day Anhui province) that existed during the Zhou dynasty.

Xie Chinese
From Chinese 谢 (xiè) referring to the minor state of Xie, which existed in what is now Hubei province.

Xu 1 Chinese
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 2 Chinese
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".

Xylander German
From Greek ξύλον (xylon) meaning "wood, timber" and ἀνδρός (andros) meaning "man". This surname was a Greek translation of German surnames of the same meaning.

Yamada Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Yamagishi Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 岸 (kishi) meaning "beach, shore, bank".

Yamaguchi Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance". Olympic figure-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi (1971-) bears this name.

Yamamoto Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Yamasaki Japanese
Variant of Yamazaki.

Yamashita Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 下 (shita) meaning "under, below".

Yamauchi Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 内 (uchi) meaning "inside".

Yamazaki Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Yang Chinese
From Chinese 杨 (yáng) meaning "willow, poplar, aspen".

Yasuda Japanese
From Japanese 安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or 保 (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Yates English
From Old English geat meaning "gate", a name for a gatekeeper or someone who lived near a gate.

Ybarra Spanish, Basque
Variant of Ibarra.

Yeung Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Yang.

Yokota Japanese
From Japanese 横 (yoko) meaning "beside, next to" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

York English
From 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.

Yoshida Japanese
From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Yoshino Japanese
From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Yoshioka Japanese
From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".

Yoxall English
Originally indicated a person from the town of Yoxall in Staffordshire, itself derived from Old English geoc "oxen yoke" and halh "nook, recess".

Yu 4 Chinese
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.

Yūki Japanese
From Japanese 結 (yū) meaning "tie, bind" and 城 (ki) meaning "castle".

Yukimura Japanese
From Japanese 雪 (yuki) meaning "snow" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Yuuki Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 結城 (see Yūki).

Zaal Dutch
Means "hall" in Dutch.

Zabala Basque
Originally denoted someone who lived in a place of this name in Biscay. It is derived from Basque zabal meaning "large, wide".

Zambrano Spanish
Possibly a habitational name for someone from Zambrana, a town in the province of Álava in Spain.

Zamorano Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Zamora, the name of both a province in Spain and its capital city.

Zavala Spanish
Variant of Zabala.

Żbikowska f Polish
Feminine form of Żbikowski.

Żbikowski m Polish
From Polish towns named Żbikowice or Żbików, which are derived from żbik "wildcat".

Zdunowska f Polish
Feminine form of Zdunowski.

Zdunowski m Polish
Denoted a person from one of the various towns named Zduny in Poland, which is derived from Polish zdun meaning "potter". It can also be an occupational surname derived directly from zdun.

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 Chinese
From Chinese 曾 (zēng) referring to the former state of Zeng, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hubei province.

Zentai Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from the city of Senta in Serbia (formerly a part of Hungary and called Zenta).

Zhao Chinese
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]

Zheng Chinese
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.

Zhou Chinese
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.

Zhu Chinese
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.

Zingel Jewish
From Middle High German zingel "defensive wall". This name was originally applied to a person who lived near the outermost wall of a castle.

Zubizarreta Basque
Means "old bridge", from Basque zubia "bridge" and zahar "old". A famous bearer is the Spanish soccer player Andoni Zubizarreta (1961-).

Zuiderduin Dutch
Means "southern dune" in Dutch.

Žukauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Žukauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Žukauskas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Żukowski.

Žukauskienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Žukauskas. This form is used by married women.

Żukowska f Polish
Feminine form of Żukowski.

Żukowski Polish
From various Polish towns named Żukowo or Żuków, which are derived from żuk "beetle".

Zuñiga Basque
From the name of a Spanish town, formerly named Estuniga in Basque, possibly derived from Basque istuin "channel, strait".