Van IerselDutch Habitational name from the town of Eersel in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from the Old Dutch personal name *Ari combined with lo "forest clearing, light forest".
Van IersselDutch Variant of Van Iersel. A famous bearer is the former Dutch soccer player Kees van Ierssel (1945-).
Van LaarhovenDutch Means "from Laarhoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. The place names derive from Dutch laar meaning "open spot in the forest" and hoven meaning "farmstead".
van MaarschalkerweerdDutch Habitational name denoting someone from Maarschalkerweerd, a place near Utrecht in the Netherlands. Derived from Dutch maarschalk "marshal" and weerd "land next to water, riverine island".
Van MaastrichtDutch Means "from Maastricht", a city in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands, itself derived from the name of the Maas (Meuse) river combined with Dutch tricht meaning "ford, passage, crossing, ferry".
Van MaurikDutch Means "from Maurik" in Dutch, which is a town in the east of the Netherlands.
Van MierloDutch Means "from Mierlo", a village in the Netherlands. Likely derived from a compound of Old Dutch *mier "swamp" and lo "light forest".
Van MolDutch, Flemish Derived from Middle Dutch mol, meaning "mole." This surname can either derive from the nickname mol, meaning "mole", perhaps given to someone with dark hair or blindness, or from a house with the sign of a mole.
Van MusschenbroekDutch Means "from Musschenbroek", a hamlet in Limburg, derived from plural form of Dutch mus "sparrow" and broek "marsh, wetland". Pieter van Musschenbroek (1692–1761) was a Dutch scientist credited with the invention of the first capacitor.
VanneboNorwegian Taken from the farm Vanebu, spelled Vannebo in pre-1950 records. From the Norwegian words vann, meaning water, and bo, meaning to live or reside.
van NiekerkAfrikaans Topographic name for any of the various locations named Nieuwerkerk in The Netherlands or Nieuwerkerken in Belgium. The name itself means "of the new church" from Dutch van meaning "of" combined with nieuw meaning "new" and kerk meaning "church".
Van NistelrooijDutch Means "from Nistelrode", a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch nest meaning "nest, burrow, resting place" and lo meaning "light forest", combined with rode meaning "land cleared of trees"... [more]
Van NoortDutch Means "from the north", derived from Middle Dutch nort "north, northwards". Alternatively, can be an altered form of Van Oort.
Van OmmenDutch Means "from Ommen" in Dutch, a city and municipality in northeastern Netherland, historically attested as de Vmme or Ummen, of unknown etymology. It could derived from a prehistoric hydronym.
Van OmmerenDutch Means "from Ommeren", a small village in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van OoijenDutch Means "from Ooijen" in Dutch, the name of a hamlet in Limburg, Netherlands, as well as several other settlements derived from Middle Dutch ooy "floodplain, wetland, meadow in the bend of a river".
Van OortDutch Means "from the edge (of town)", derived from Middle Dutch ort "edge, corner, outermost point of a region". Sometimes altered to or from the surname Van Noort.
Van PersieDutch Means "from Persia", most likely derived from the name of a house that traded in Persian goods. Alternatively, it might derive from Perche, a former province in France.
Van ReenenDutch, South African Means "from Rhenen", the name of a city in Utrecht, Netherlands. Possibly derived from Proto-Germanic *hraini "clean, pure", or from Rijn "the Rhine (river)" combined with Old Dutch hem "home, settlement".
Van ReesDutch Means "from Rees", a German town on the bank of the Rhine that probably derives its name from Kleverlandish rys "willow grove".
Van RensselaerDutch From Soleur, one of the areas or regions of Switzerland.
Van RielDutch Means "from Riel" in Dutch, a toponym of uncertain origin.
Van RijsbergenDutch Means "from Rijsbergen", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch rise meaning "twig, branch, brushwood" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
Van RooijenDutch Derived from any of several places named using the suffix rooien, denoting an area cleared of trees.
Van RooyenAfrikaans van Rooyen related to Van Rooijen, is an Afrikaans and Dutch toponymic surname. May be rooted from the Rhine area of the Netherlands, possibly having meant "from Rhine" originally... [more]
Van RuisdaelDutch Means "from Ruisdael", the name of a lost castle, also called Ruisschendaal, near the village of Blaricum in North Holland, the Netherlands. It means "noisy valley" in Dutch. This name was borne by members of the Van Ruisdael family of artists during the Dutch Golden Age, notably the landscape painter Jacob van Ruisdael (c... [more]
Van SchaikDutch Derived from any of several places called Schaik, Schaijk, or Schadijk, derived from the original form Schadewijk possibly meaning "shaded place" or "inhospitable place" from Middle Dutch scade meaning either "shadow, shade" or "damage" combined with wijk "village, settlement".
Van SchalkwijkDutch Means "from Schalkwijk", the name of either a small village in the province of Utrecht, or a large neighbourhood in the city of Haarlem in North Holland, the Netherlands. The place names are derived from Old Dutch scalc meaning "servant" and wic meaning "village, town, farmstead, settlement".
Van SchieDutch Means "from Schie" in Dutch, the name of a canalised river that lends its name to several nearby toponyms. Possibly related to Middle Dutch scheiden "to separate, to part".
Van SchijndelDutch Means "from Schijndel" in Dutch, the name of a village in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from lo "forest clearing, light forest" and an uncertain first element.
VansickleDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname, probably derived from either the given name Sikkel (see Siegel) or from sikkel meaning "sickle, scythe".
Van 't BoveneindDutch Means "from Boveneind", the name of various places in the Netherlands, itself meaning "from the top end" in Dutch. It is derived from boven meaning "upper, upstream" and eind meaning "edge, end".
Van 't HoffDutch Contracted form of Van het Hoff. A famous bearer is Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, the first chemist to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Another famous bearer is Dilano van 't Hoff who won the F4 Spanish Championship in 2021 with MP Motorsport.
Van TienhovenDutch Means "from Tienhoven", the name of several villages in the Netherlands. Their names mean "ten parcels of land" in Dutch. A famous bearer was the Dutch politician Gijsbert van Tienhoven (1841-1914), a Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Van TilburgDutch Means "from Tilburg" in Dutch, the name of a city in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch tilli "newly cultivated land" and burg "fortress, fortified settlement, citadel".
Van TolDutch Means "of (the) toll" or "from Tol" in Dutch, derived from tol "toll (fee); toll booth, toll house", a habitational name for someone who lived near or in a toll house or a place named for one, or a metonymic occupational name for a toll collector... [more]
Van TuijlDutch Means "from Tuil", the name of two different settlements, both derived from Old Dutch tiole or tiuli "agricultural land, pasture".
Van WageningenDutch Means "from Wandeningen" in Dutch, denoting a person from the municipality of Gelderland, Netherlands, from Dutch Wagano with collective suffix -ung-
Van WanrooijDutch Means "from Wanroij" in Dutch, the name of a town in North Brabant, Netherlands, probably derived from Middle Dutch wan "bad, insufficient, lacking; un-" and rode "land cleared of trees".
Van WezelDutch Means "from Wezel", the name of several locations in the Netherlands.
Van WormerDutch (Rare) Means "from Wormer", a town in North Holland. Derived from Old Dutch wer "fishing weir" and mere "lake", or possibly from Proto-Germanic *werm "water".
Van ZonDutch Variant of van Son. In some cases, it could denote someone who lived or worked in a building named De Zon "the sun", probably named for a sign depicting the sun.
VaqueroSpanish Means "cowherd, cowboy" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin vacca "cow". Essentially a cognate of Italian Vaccaro.
VaradkarIndian, Hindi, Marathi Derived from the name of the village of Varad in the Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, India. A famous bearer is the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar (1979-).
VargiuItalian From the name of a former settlement. Possibly from Latin varius, "many colours, variegated".
VarnellEnglish Variant of Farnell. This form originated in southwestern England, where the change from F to V arose from the voicing of F that was characteristic of this area in Middle English.
VarneyEnglish From the French place name Vernay meaning "alder grove, alder wood", derived from Gaulish vern "alder (tree)" and the Latin locative suffix -etum "place of; plantation, grove" (-aie in modern French).
VaronFrench From the old high german name Waro short form of given names with the element war "aware,cautious".
VarshavskiRussian, Soviet, Jewish Denotes someone from Varshav which is the genitive plural form of Varshava, which is the Russian name for Warsaw.
VasaOld Swedish, Swedish (Archaic) Swedish noble and former royal family. Possibly from vase meaning "bundle" or "withy". The name is believed to be a reference to the family's coat of arms. The most notable member of the family was Gustav Eriksson Vasa (1496-1560), later known as Gustav I of Sweden (in modern times known exclusively as Gustav Vasa)... [more]
VascoSpanish Originally denoted a Basque person or someone from the Basque Country in Spain, from Latin Vascones of uncertain etymology.
VasilovBulgarian, Russian Meaning "son of Vasil" in Russian and "from Bulgaria" in Bulgarian.
VassEnglish Status name denoting a serf, Middle English, Old French vass(e), from Late Latin vassus, of Celtic origin. Compare Welsh gwas "boy", Gaelic foss "servant".
VassalloMaltese Rich people who formed part of the night of saint john "vassals"
VassarFrench, English Name indicating the status of "a vassal or serf" in feudal society.
VasseurFrench From Old French vavasour meaning "subvassal", a historical term used to refer to a tenant of a baron or lord who also had tenants under him.
VatanabeJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Watanabe more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
VatatzisGreek This surname is a diminutive form of the word βάτος, "bramble, briar", perhaps signifying a harsh character. Another possible origin is βατάκι, "ray fish".
VauxFrench French, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.
VavasourEnglish (Rare) From the word for a feudal rank, possibly derived (via Old French) from Latin vassus vassorum meaning "vassal of vassals".
VaynerYiddish Weiner is a surname or, in fact, the spelling of two different surnames originating in German and the closely related Yiddish language. In German, the name is pronounced vaɪnɐ(ʁ),of which the rare English pronunciation vaɪnər is a close approximation... [more]
VəzirovAzerbaijani Means "son of the vizier", from the Arabic title وَزِير (wazīr) denoting a minister or high-ranking official in an Islamic government.
VeaSpanish, Galician Habitational name, principally from Vea in Soria province, but in some cases from any of four places with the same name in Pontevedra province, Galicia.
VeaNorwegian Habitational name from any of four farmsteads so named, from the plural of Old Norse viðr meaning "wood", "tree".
VecaItalian Southern Italian: possibly from vece ‘change’, ‘mutation’, ‘alternation’ (from Latin vix, vicis, plural vices), or from a pet form of a personal name formed with this element.
VeeberEstonian Veeber is an Estonian surname, an Estonianization of the German surname "Weber".
VeemaaEstonian Veemaa is an Estonian surname meaning "water land".
VeeorgEstonian Veeorg is an Estonian surname meaning "water valley/gully".
VeermanDutch Means "ferryman, skipper" in Dutch, from veer "ferry". Alternatively, it could be an occupational name for a feather merchant or fletcher, derived from veer "feather, plume", a contracted form of the archaic veder.
VenierisGreek The Greek version of the Venetian surname Venier attested in Kythera, where the Venier family ruled on behalf of the Republic of Venice. Originally is thought that the surname derives from Venus.
VenizelosGreek From the baptismal name Benizelos, which is already in existence since the 16th century in Athens. Uncertain etymology, most likely to be of Italian origin, (Bene + angelo, the good angel, ie Evangelos)... [more]
VenkataramanIndian From Sanskrit venkạteša ‘lord of Venkata hill’, an epithet of the god Vishnu (from venkạta ‘name of the hill’ + īša‘lord’).
VenkateshIndian, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada Means "lord of Venkata", from Venkata, the name of a hill in southern India (see Venkata), combined with Sanskrit ईश (īśa) meaning "lord, master, husband" (see Isha).
VentrisEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a bold or slightly reckless person (from a reduced form of Middle English aventurous "venturesome"). It was borne by British architect and scholar Michael Ventris (1922-1956), decipherer of the Mycenaean Greek Linear B script.
VenzorMexican Northern Mexican surname, possibly of Native American origin.
VerdeItalian, Spanish, Portuguese From Spanish verde "green" (Latin viridis), presumably a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in this color or had green eyes, etc. This is also a common element of place names.
VerdéFrench Possibly a Gallicized form of the Italian and Spanish surname Verde.
VerdejoSpanish Habitational name from any of the places so called.
VerdierFrench, Norman, English Occupational name for a forester. Derived from Old French verdier (from Late Latin viridarius, a derivative of viridis "green"). Also an occupational name for someone working in a garden or orchard, or a topographic name for someone living near one... [more]
VerhofstadtDutch, Flemish Means "from the farmstead" or "from the homestead" in Dutch. A notable bearer is the Flemish politician Guy Verhofstadt (1953-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.
VerkuilenDutch, Flemish Reduced form of van der Kuylen, a topographic name derived from kuil "pit, quarry, hole in the ground", or a habitational name for someone from Kuil in East Flanders or Kuilen in Limburg.
VerlaineFrench, French (Belgian) Habitational name for someone from Verlaine in the province of Liège, Belgium. Paul Verlaine was a noted bearer.
VermilionScottish From the name of the bright red color that is halfway betweed red and orange.
VermillionEnglish Differential spelling of Vermilion. Meaning of the name is a red pigment derived from Mercury Sulfide (cinnabar). The name originally was developed because of the dyes similar color to the natural dye developed with the insect Kermes Vermilio.
VerneFrench, English As a French surname refers to someone who lived where alder trees grew. While the English version can mean someone who lived where ferns grew, Verne can also mean a seller of ferns which in medieval times were used in bedding, as floor coverings and as animal feed.
VernierFrench Surname for a person who lived near an alder tree. Also a variant of Garnier 1 and Varnier and the eastern French form of Warner.
VernikovmRussian From Russian верник (vernik), meaning "believer", usually in the context of religion due to the term вера (vera) "faith, belief, trust" which is often associated with religion.
VéronFrench There are three etymologies possible for this surname: which one applies, will vary per Véron family, as the meaning depends on the personal history of the original bearer of their surname.... [more]
VerranCornish Perhaps means "person from Treverran", Cornwall (from Cornish tre "farmstead" with an unknown second element), or "person from Veryan", Cornwall ("church of St Symphorian").
VerroneItalian Italian: probably a nickname from an augmentative form of verro ‘boar’.
VerwoerdDutch Means "from the man-made hill", derived from Dutch woerd meaning "man-made hill", indicating someone who lived near or on terps (artificial dwelling mounds created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides or flooding)... [more]
VesiloikEstonian Vesiloik is an Estonian surname meaning "water puddle/a small pool of water."
VeskiojaEstonian Veskioja is an Estonian surname meaning "(water) mill creek".
VestinSwedish Combination of Swedish väst "west" and the common surname suffix -in.
VetterGerman from a nickname from Middle High German veter(e) ‘uncle’, ‘nephew’. The word is from Old High German fetiro (a derivative of fater ‘father’), which was used more generally to denote various male relatives; the meaning of modern German Vetter is ‘cousin’.
VeyeraPortuguese (Modern) Originated in East Providence, RI about 1900 variation of the common Vieira portuguese surname.
ViVietnamese Vietnamese form of Wei, from Sino-Vietnamese 韋 (vi).
VianneyFrench The surname in origin is a variant of Viennet, a diminutive of Vien, a short form of Vivien 1. A famous bearer is Jean-Marie Vianney (1786-1859), a French saint.
VicaryEnglish (British) There are a number of theories as to the origins of the name, Spanish sailors shipwrecked after the Armada and French Huguenots fleeing the Revolution are two of the more romantic ones. It is more likely to have come as someone associated with the church - the vicar, who carried out the pastoral duties on behalf of the absentee holder of a benefice... [more]
ViceEnglish May come from "devise", an Old French word that means "dweller at the boundary". It may also derive a number of place names in England, or be a variant of Vise.
VidegainSpanish Videgain is a surname. It is of Basque origin language with the form Bidegain. Videgain is considered a Spanish surname because the letter V does not exist in the Basque alphabet. It extended through the Iberian peninsula following the Reconquista, where different forms of the name developed and houses were founded with the differentiation of Videgáin, Bidegain, Videgaín... [more]
VieiraEnglish (Anglicized) A surname of British origin mainly from Ireland and Scotland but Anglicised into and english name when many Vieira's immigrated to England.
VierlingGerman Derived from Middle High German vierlinc meaning "one-fourth of a measure", hence a status name or nickname for someone who had an annual tax liability of this amount.
VietmeyerGerman German: distinguishing name for a tenant farmer who was a tenant of or owed some obligation to an estate or monastery named for Saint Veith.
VieuFrench From a place called Vieu in Ain from Latin vicus "village". French cognitive of Vico.
VighHungarian Variant of Vig, a surname derived from Hungarian víg "happy, cheerful".
VignolaItalian habitational name from any of various minor places so named from vignola "small vineyard".
VignoneItalian Probably an augmented form of Vigna "vineyard", or derived from the name of a town in Piedmont, Italy, named with the same etymology. Alternatively, could be a nickname for someone from Avignon, a city in France.
VihurEstonian Vihur is an Estonian surname meaning "whirlwind" or "gust of wind".
ViimneEstonian Viimne is an Estonian surname meaning "the very last" and "the last of".
ViirmaaEstonian Viirmaa is an Estonian surname derived from "viir" meaning both "sea swallow" and "varved" (annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock) and "maa" ("land").