Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Wijnaldum Frisian, Dutch, Dutch (Surinamese)From
Wijnaldum, the name of a village within the city of Harlingen in northwest Friesland in the Netherlands, derived from the given name
Winald combined with Old Frisian
hēm meaning "home, settlement"... [
more]
Wijs DutchMeans "wise, learned, clever" in Dutch.
Wilberforce EnglishMeans "person from Wilberfoss", Yorkshire ("
Wilburh's ditch"). This is borne by Wilberforce University, a university in Xenia, Ohio, USA, founded in 1856 and named in honour of the British philanthropist and anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce (1759-1833)... [
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Wilbraham EnglishDenoted a person hailing from Wilbraham in Cambridgeshire, England. The place name itself means "
Wilburg's homestead or estate" in Old English, Wilburg or Wilburga allegedly referring to a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon princess who was given the lands later called Wilbraham by her father, King Penda of Mercia.
Wilburn EnglishA habitation name of uncertain origin found in the East Midlands. Speculation includes the possibility of the meaning "well" and "burn, borne" therefore meaning one who lived near a well or spring by a waterway crossing.
Wilczek PolishDiminutive form of Wilk, which means "wolf" in Polish.
Wildfong GermanAn Americanized form of German
Wildfang. A nickname from Middle High German
Wiltvanc "Wildman Stranger", denoting a person who was not a member of the community.
Wildin EnglishThe former placename is composed of the Olde English pre 7th Century words "wilg", willow, and "denu", a valley; while the latter place in Worcestershire is derived from the Olde English personal name "Winela", plus the Olde English "dun", a hill or mountain.
Wildschut DutchOccupational name meaning "gamekeeper, game warden" in Dutch. A famous bearer is the Dutch former soccer player Piet Wildschut (1957-).
Wile Hungarianno particular meaning. the word wile means to trick though.
Wiles EnglishOccupational name for a trapper or hunter, from Middle English
wile "trap, snare". It could also be a nickname for a devious person.
Wilewski PolishThis indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Wilewo.
Wilgar IrishAn ancient surname of Olde English and Scottish origins. It is usually occupational for a textile fuller, deriving from the pre 7th century word wealcere, meaning to walk or tread.
Wilkowski PolishHabitational name for someone from Wilkowo or Wilków, derived from Polish
wilk meaning "wolf".
Willert GermanGerman cognate and variant of
Willard. From a personal name composed of the ancient Germanic elements
willo "will, desire" and
hard "hardy, brave, strong".
Willets EnglishOccasionally a Habitational name from Willet in Elworthy. Probably a compound of Old English wiell will 'spring' + an unrecorded gīete 'stream'.(Ancestory.com) Or is a varation of the given name William.
Willingham EnglishHabitational name from a place named Willingham, notably one in Cambridgeshire and one in Suffolk. The first is recorded in Domesday Book as
Wivelingham "homestead (Old English
hām) of the people of a man called
Wifel".
Willock EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Willoc, a pet-form based on the first syllable of any of a range of Old English compound names beginning with
willa "will, desire".
Willows English (British)This is an English residential or perhaps occupational surname. It may originate from one of the various places in England called 'The Willows', or even a place such as Newton le Willows in Lancashire, or it may describe a supplier of willow.
Wills GermanPatronymic from any of the Germanic personal names beginning with
wil "will, desire".
Wimmer GermanOccupational last name, meaning "wine maker," using a derivation of the element
Wein (meaning "wine") and likely another derivation from
-macher (meaning "maker"). It's possible as well that it is derived from
Weimann.
Wimp EnglishThe surname has at least two origins. The first is occupational and describes a maker of 'wimplels', an Old English veil later much associated with nuns. Second, it may also be locational from the village of Whimple in Devonshire, or Wimpole in Cambridge.
Wimpey EnglishPerhaps a deliberate alteration of
Impey. It is borne by George Wimpey, a British construction company, founded in Hammersmith, London in 1880 by George Wimpey (1855-1913)... [
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Win GermanOne who acted as host in a tavern or inn.
Winchel Englishfrom Old English wencel ‘child’, perhaps used to distinguish a son from his father with the same forename or perhaps a nickname for a person with a baby face or childlike manner
Wind English, German, DanishNickname for a swift runner, from Middle English
wind "wind", Middle High German
wint "wind", also "greyhound".
Wind EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived near a pathway, alleyway, or road, Old English
(ge)wind (from
windan "to go").
Wind Swedish (Rare)From Swedish
vind "wind". It's either ornamental or a habitational name derived from a place named with this element.
Windham English, Irish (Anglicized)English habitational name from Wyndham in West Sussex, near West Grinstead, probably named from an unattested Old English personal name
Winda + Old English
hamm ‘water meadow’; or from Wymondham in Leicestershire and Norfolk, named from the Old English personal name
Wigmund (see
Wyman) + Old English
ham ‘homestead’... [
more]
Windus EnglishVariant of
Wingers. The name is a metonymic occupational name for a textile worker or weaver, derived from the Middle English wyndhows ("winding house").
Winegar GermanThis German surname may belong to one whose ancestors worked in the food industry or in the production of vinegar. In German the letter “W” is pronounced as the letter “V” in English.
Winehouse Jewish, GermanAnglicized variant of German and Yiddish 'Weinhaus'. From German
wein, 'vine, grapevine' and
haus 'house, building, home', likely indicating a house with a vineyard. ... [
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Winford EnglishEnglish location name meaning "from a white ford or water crossing" or "from a meadow ford".
Winfrey EnglishFrom the Old English personal name
Winfrith, literally "friend-peace". A famous bearer of this surname is Oprah Winfrey (1954-), a US television talk-show presenter.
Winkel German, JewishDerived from Middle High German
winkel "corner, angle", a topographic name for someone who lived on a corner of land in the country or a street corner in a town or city. This word also came to denote a corner shop (see
Winkelmann)... [
more]
Winkel Dutch, BelgianHabitational name from any of numerous minor places named using the element
winkel "corner".
Winkelmann German, JewishGerman and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner or kept a corner shop (see
Winkel), with the addition of Middle High German man, German Mann ‘man’... [
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Winkle Englishit's said to originate from the village of Wincle, near the town of Macclesfield in the county of Cheshire.
Winkworth Medieval EnglishLocative name from Winkworth Farm in Lea (Wilts), recorded as Winkeworthe in 1248. It is also possible that the surname is from Winkworth Farm in Godalming (Surrey), considering the presence of medieval early bearers in the county, but there are no medieval forms for this place-name and so the early bearers in Surrey may be migrants from the Wilts place, who later gave their name to the place in Surrey.
Winne FlemishOccupational name for an agricultural worker, from Middle Dutch
winne "farmer, peasant, tenant".
Winney EnglishDerived from an unattested Old English given name, *
Wyngeofu, composed of the elements
wyn "joy" and
geofu "battle".... [
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Winnick English (Rare)Habitational name for someone from a place called Winwick, for example in Northamptonshire or Cambridgeshire, both of which are named from the Old English personal name Wina + wic 'outlying dairy farm or settlement'.
Winninger GermanProbably denoted a person from the municipality of
Winningen in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany.
Winsininski Polish (Anglicized)Winsininski is an anglicized version of the name "Wisniewski", which is from multiple places in Poland called Wisniewo, Wisniew, and Wisniewa. These names all have "wisna" which means cherry, or cherry tree.... [
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Winstanley EnglishFrom the name of a place in Lancashire, England, which means "Wynnstan's field" from the Old English masculine given name
Wynnstan and
leah meaning "woodland, clearing"... [
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Winstead EnglishPerhaps derived from the town of
Wanstead in Greater London, England (recorded in the Domesday Book as
Wenesteda), named with Old English
wænn meaning "wagon" and
stede meaning "place, site", but it is more likely derived from the village of
Winestead in East Yorkshire, England, named from Old English
wefa meaning "wife" and
hamstede meaning "homestead"... [
more]
Winterberg GermanHabitational name from any of several places named with Middle High German
winter "winter" and
berg "mountain".
Winterbourne English (British)Probably meaning "winter stream". A large village in Gloucestershire, From the Thomas Hardy novel "The Woodlanders".
Winterburn Englishhabitational name from any of various places called with Old English
winter "winter" and
burna "stream" meaning "winter stream" for a stream which only flows or flows at a faster rate during the winter and more or less dries up in summer such as Winterburn in Gargrave (Yorkshire) Winterbourne (Berkshire Gloucestershire) Winterbourne Bassett (Wiltshire) or one of thirteen parishes named Winterborne in Dorset including Winterborne Abbas Winterborne Monkton and Winterborne Zelstone... [
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Winterfeld GermanA topographic name from Middle High German
winter "winter" and
feld "field" denoting a winter pasture or a field with an autumn sowing or a winter crop or a habitational name from any of various places so named for example near Salzwedel... [
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Wirta FinnishFrom virta ‘stream’, used as a topographic name, also as a soldier’s name in the 17th century. Also adopted as an ornamental name, especially in western and southern Finland.
Wise EnglishNickname for a wise or learned person, or in some cases a nickname for someone suspected of being acquainted with the occult arts, from Middle English
wys "wise, thoughtful, knowledgeable; alert, aware"... [
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Wiseau English (American, Rare)Meaning unknown, believed to be derived from French oiseau, meaning bird. As a surname, it is born by American Director Tommy Wiseau.
Wish EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, Middle English wyshe (Old English wisc). Americanized spelling of Wisch.
Wisp EnglishThe surname of the author of Quidditch Through The Ages in the Harry Potter Universe, Kennilworthy Whisp. Probably referring to the wind, or a family of people who usually were nearly bald.
Withak EnglishHabitational name from any of various places so called, particularly those in Essex, Lincolnshire, and Somerset, though most often from Essex. The Essex placename may derive from Old English
wiht ‘curve, bend’ +
hām ‘village, homestead’... [
more]
Withall EnglishPossibly a variant of
Whitehall or
Whittle. Could alternatively derive from
Withiel, the name of a village in Cornwall, ultimately from Cornish
Gwydhyel meaning "wooded place".
Witham Englishhabitational name from any of various places so called particularly those in Essex Lincolnshire and Somerset though most often from Essex. The Essex placename may derive from Old English
wiht "curve bend" and
ham "village homestead"... [
more]
Witly EnglishVariant of
Whitley, a habitational name from any of various places named with Old English hwit ‘white’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
Witschge DutchDutch cognate of
Witzke. Famous bearers of this surname include brothers Rob (1966-) and Richard Witschge (1969-), both of whom are former Dutch soccer players.
Witt GermanEither from the given name
Wittigo or from Middle Low German
witte "white", a nickname for a pale person or someone with white hair.
Witte German, Dutch, EnglishCognate to and variant of
White, a nickname for someone with white or blonde hair or an unusually pale complexion
Wittenberg Low GermanHabitational name for someone from a place called Wittenberg, Wittenberge, or Wittenbergen.
Wittenborn Low GermanHabitational name from any of several places so named, for example near Bad Segeberg and near Neubrandenburg.
Witter GermanFrom a Germanic personal name, composed of the elements
widu "wood" and
hari "army".
Witteveen DutchFrom Dutch
witte "white" and
veen "peat bog, marsh", derived from any of several place names.
Wittgenstein German, JewishDenoted one who came from the
Wittgenstein castle in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, derived from Old High German
witt meaning "white" and
stein meaning "stone"... [
more]
Wittlin JewishEastern Ashkenazic, from the Yiddish female personal name
Vitle, a pet form of
Vite combined with the eastern Slavic suffix -
in Wittman GermanWittman was first found in the Palatinate in the Rhineland valley. The surname Wittman was given to someone who lived in the area that was referred to as widem which was originally derived from the German word denoting church property.
Witz German, JewishFrom the medieval personal name
Witzo, a short form of any of several Germanic compound names beginning with wig ‘battle’... [
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Witzel GermanThe German surname is of patronymic origin, deriving from the name of the father of the original bearer.
Witzig GermanGerman: nickname from Middle High German witzic ‘clever’, ‘prudent’, ‘knowing’.
Wlodawski JewishHabitual surname from Włodawa, Poland. First seen in a 1806 revision list of the city Kobryn (Grodno Guberniya), now Kobryn Belarus. ... [
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Włoszczowski PolishThis indicates familial origin within either of 2 Lesser Polish localities: the town of Włoszczowa or the village of Włoszczowice.
Wodehouse EnglishThe name "de Wodehouse" is attested as early as in the 11th century, of one Bertram, of Wodehouse-tower, Yorkshire, who lived at the time of the Norman conquest.
Wodziński PolishHabitational name for someone from Wodzin in Piotrków voivodeship, named with Polish woda meaning "water".
Woehrle GothicOrigin from Ohio Known for
Farmers, less common occupation was
Baker Farmer, Gardener and
Bag Maker were the top 3 reported jobs.
Wogan IrishFrom the Old Welsh personal name
Gwgan or
Gwgon, originally probably a nickname meaning literally "little scowler". (Cf. the second element in
Cadogan.) This surname is borne by Irish radio and television presenter Terry Wogan (1938-).
Wójcicki PolishHabitational name for a person originally from a place called Wójcice.
Wójciński PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the many places called Wójcin, or from Wójcina in Tarnów voivodeship, named with wójt meaning "village headman".