Browse Surnames

Traviss English
English variant of Travers.

Treloar English
Originally denoted a person from a place of this name in Cornwall, England.

Trengove English
Originally indicated a person from Trengove in Cornwall, England.

Trent English
Denoted one who lived near the River Trent in England.

Trevis English
English variant of Travers.

Tritten German
Originally denoted someone who lived by a set of steps, from Middle High German trit "step".

Troy English
Originally denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France.

Tuff English
Variant of Tuft.

Tuft English
Denoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.

Tveit Norwegian
Habitational name derived from Old Norse þveit meaning "clearing".

Twist English, Literature
Probably from the name of towns in England and Wales called Twist or Twiss. This surname was used by Charles Dickens for the hero of his novel Oliver Twist (1838), about an orphan surviving the streets of London. Dickens probably had the vocabulary word twist in mind when naming the character.

Underhill English
Means "dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English under and hyll.

Underwood English
Means "dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English under and wudu.

Unkle German
Possibly denoted a person from the town of Unkel in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Upton English
Denoted a person hailing from one of the many towns in England bearing this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English upp "up" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Van Aalsburg Dutch
Means "from Aalsburg", which is possibly Adelsburg, composed of adal "noble" and burg "fortress".

Van Aalst Dutch
Variant of Van Alst.

Van Aarle Dutch
Variant of Aarle.

Van Achteren Dutch
Variant of Van Agteren.

Van Achthoven Dutch
Variant of Achthoven.

Van Adrichem Dutch
Variant of Adrichem.

Van Aggelen Dutch
Denoted someone from Aggelen, which could refer to Achel in the Belgian province of Limburg or Egchel in the Dutch province of Limburg.

Van Agteren Dutch
Means "from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.

Van Agthoven Dutch
Variant of Achthoven.

Van Akkeren Dutch
Variant of Van den Akker.

Van Aller Dutch
Means "from the Aller", a river in Germany, of uncertain meaning.

Van Alphen Dutch
Means "from Alphen", a town in the Netherlands. It is derived from the name of the Roman fort Albaniana, itself from Latin albus "white".

Van Alst Dutch
Means "from Aalst", the name of towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, which is possibly from Germanic *alhs meaning "temple, shelter".

Van Altena Dutch
Variant of Altena.

Van Althuis Dutch
Dutch cognate of Althaus.

Van Amelsvoort Dutch
Means "from Amersfoort", a city in the Netherlands. It means "ford of the Amer (Eem) River" in Dutch.

Van Amersvoort Dutch
Variant of Van Amelsvoort.

Van Amstel Dutch
Means "from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".

Van Andel Dutch
Means "from Andel", a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "upper forest" in Old Dutch.

Van Ankeren Dutch
Means "from the anchor" in Dutch.

Van Antwerp Dutch
Means "from Antwerp", a city in Belgium.

Van Antwerpen Dutch
Variant of Van Antwerp.

Van Apeldoorn Dutch
Variant of Apeldoorn.

Van Arendonk Dutch
Variant of Arendonk.

Van As Dutch
Means "from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".

Van Asch Dutch
Variant of Van As.

Van Assen Dutch
Means "from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from essen meaning "ash trees".

Van Baarle Dutch
Means "from Baarle", a town in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

Van Beek Dutch
Means "from the creek" in Dutch.

Van Bokhoven Dutch
Means "from Bokhoven", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It means "goat yards" in Dutch.

Van Breda Dutch
Means "from Breda", a city in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch breed meaning "wide" and Aa, the name of a river.

Van Bueren Dutch
Variant of Van Buren.

Van Buggenum Dutch
Means "from Buggenum", a small town in the middle of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.

Van Buren Dutch
Means "from Buren", a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in the Dutch province Gelderland. The place names derive from Old Dutch bur meaning "house, dwelling". In the 16th century the countess Anna van Buren married William of Orange, the founder of the Dutch royal family. A famous bearer of this surname was Martin van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States.

Van Can Dutch
Variant of Van Kan.

Van Cann Dutch
Variant of Van Kan.

Vance English
Indicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English fenn meaning "fen, marsh".

Van Daal Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Van Daalen Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Van Dael Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Van Daele Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Van Dale Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Vandale Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Van Dalen Dutch
Means "from the valley", from Old Dutch dal meaning "valley".

Van Dam Dutch
Means "from the dam" in Dutch.

Van Damme Flemish
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 de Laar Dutch
Variant of Van Laar.

Van den Akker Dutch
Means "from the field" in Dutch.

Van den Andel Dutch
Variant of Van Andel.

Van den Berg Dutch
Means "from the mountain", derived from Dutch berg meaning "mountain".

Van den Brink Dutch
Means "from the village center" in Dutch.

Van den Broek Dutch
Means "from the marsh" in Dutch.

Van den Heuvel Dutch
Means "from the hill" in Dutch.

Van der Aart Dutch
Means "from the earth", derived from Dutch aarde "earth". It perhaps referred to either an earth bank or to a farmer.

Van der Beek Dutch
Variant of Van Beek.

Van der Berg Dutch
Variant of Van den Berg.

Van Der Heijden Dutch
Means "from the heathland" in Dutch.

Van der Hout Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van der Laar Dutch
Variant of Van Laar.

Van der Linden Dutch
Means "from the linden trees", from Dutch linde meaning "linden tree".

Van der Meer Dutch
Means "from the lake" in Dutch.

Van der Stoep Dutch
Means "from the paved entrance", from Dutch stoep meaning "paved porch at the entrance to a house".

Van der Veen Dutch
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.

Van der Ven Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Van der Venne Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Van der Vennen Dutch (Rare)
Variant of Van der Veen.

Van der Wal Dutch
Means "from the wall" in Dutch.

Van der Zee Dutch
Means "from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.

Van de Ven Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Van de Vliert Dutch
Means "from the elderberry" in Dutch.

Van Dijk Dutch
Means "from the dike" in Dutch.

Van Donk Dutch
Means "from the hill", derived from Dutch donk meaning "(sandy) hill".

Vandroogenbroeck Flemish
Means "from the dry marsh" in Dutch. The city of Brussels was built on dry marshes.

Vång Swedish
Swedish variant of Wang 3.

Vang 1 Norwegian, Danish
Variant of Wang 3.

Van Gogh Dutch
Means "from Goch", a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. It may be derived from a Low German word meaning "meadow, floodplain". This name was borne by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).

Van Hassel Dutch
Means "from Hassel", a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It may be derived from Old Dutch hasal meaning "hazel tree".

Van Hautum Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van Heel Dutch
Means "from Heel", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.

Van Herten Dutch
Means "from Herten", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. The town's name comes from Dutch herten, the plural of hert meaning "deer".

Van Hofwegen Dutch
Means "from Hofwegen", a town in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch hof "garden, courtyard" and weg "way, path, road".

Van Hoorn Dutch
Dutch form of Horn.

Van Horn Dutch
Dutch form of Horn.

Van Hout Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van Houte Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van Houtem Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van Houten Dutch
Means "from forests", derived from Dutch hout "forest".

Van Houttum Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van Houtum Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Van Kan Dutch
Means "from Kanne", a town in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.

Van Kann Dutch
Variant of Van Kan.

Van Laar Dutch
Derived from Dutch laar (plural laren), which means "open spot in the forest". These areas were used to graze cattle for example.

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 Rijn Dutch
Means "from the Rhine". A famous bearer was the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).

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 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 Vliet Dutch
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.

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 Wijk Dutch
Means "from the settlement", from Dutch wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district, settlement".

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

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

Varnham English
Variant of Farnham.

Veenstra Dutch
Derived from Dutch veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat".

Venner Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

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.

Vervloet Flemish
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.

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

Vik Norwegian
Means "cove, inlet" in Norwegian.

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

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

Vollan Norwegian
Variant of Voll 1.

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).

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".

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.

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.

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
Variant of Weeks.

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

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.

Whittaker English
Variant of Whitaker.

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".

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".

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

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".

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".

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.

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

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.

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".

Zaal Dutch
Means "hall" in Dutch.

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-).

Zuiderduin Dutch
Means "southern dune" in Dutch.