This is a list of submitted surnames in which the description contains the keywords ruler or of or water.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
WhitleyEnglish This surname is derived from a place name composed of Old English elements hwit meaning "white" and leah meaning "clearing, grove."
WhitlockEnglish Nickname for someone with white or fair hair, from Middle English whit ‘white’ + lock ‘tress’, ‘curl’. Compare Sherlock. ... [more]
WhitmanEnglish From Middle English whit ‘white’ + man ‘man’, either a nickname with the same sense as White, or else an occupational name for a servant of a bearer of the nickname White.... [more]
WhitmarshEnglish English habitational name from Whitemarsh, a place in the parish of Sedgehill, Wiltshire, named from Old English hwit ‘white’ (i.e. ‘phosphorescent’) + mersc ‘marsh’. Compare Whitmore.
WhitterEnglish Occupational name for someone who painted structures white or a caulker or bleacher, from an agent derivative of Old English hwitian "to whiten", itself from hwit "white".
WhittleseyEnglish A habitational surname for someone from Whittlesey, an ancient market town in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire in England. The town's name is derived from an unattested Old English personal name Wittel (or Witil), an occupational name given to a moneyer, and the Old English eg, meaning "island", also used to describe a piece of firm land in a fen... [more]
WhittumFrench (Rare) Altered form of French Vieuxtemps: apparently a nickname meaning literally ‘old-time’. The surname Vieuxtemps is very rare in France; it is, however, also found in Belgium.
WibergSwedish Combination of Old Norse víðr "forest, wood" (probably taken from a place name) and Swedish berg "mountain".
WibowoChinese (Indonesian) Indonesianized form of Chinese surnames such as Huang (黃). Surnames like these were instituted during the New Order era (1966–1998) in Indonesia due to social and political pressure toward Chinese Indonesians.
WicherekPolish, English Means "a light, gentle breeze", or figuratively, "an unruly strand of hair". It is a diminutive of the Polish word wicher, "strong wind".
WickEnglish, German English: topographic name for someone who lived in an outlying settlement dependent on a larger village, Old English wic (Latin vicus), or a habitational name from a place named with this word, of which there are examples in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Worcestershire... [more]
WickershamEnglish A habitational surname that originates from a lost medieval site or village of Norse origins.... [more]
WidmanSwedish Meaning uncertain. Perhaps a combination of Old Swedish viþr "wood, forest" or vid "wide" and man "man". It is also possible, though less likely, that it is a re-spelling of Vikman, where the first element is Swedish vik "bay".
WiegelGerman From a pet form of any of the various Germanic personal names beginning with the element wig 'battle', 'war'.
WiemannLow German Variant of Weinmann, from Middle Low German, Middle High German winman ‘viticulturalist’, ‘wine merchant’. Variant of Wiedemann... [more]
WienerGerman Derived from German Wiener meaning "inhabitant of Vienna". The Austrian capital city is known as Wien in German.
WiensGerman Patronymic from a short form of an ancient Germanic compound personal name beginning with wini "friend".
WiersmaWest Frisian Can be a patronymic form of the given name Wier, a contracted form of Wieger (see also Wiro), or a toponymic surname from West Frisian wier "artificial hill, dwelling mound", a cognate of English weir and Dutch wierde.
WiesenthalGerman Habitational name from any of various places called Wiesent(h)al.
WieslanderSwedish Combination of an unexplained first element and the common surname suffix -lander.
WiesnerGerman German: habitational name for someone from a place called Wiesen, or topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow, a derivative of Middle High German wise ‘meadow’.
WiggsEnglish (British) The surname Wiggs was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, at Lennerlyde. This interesting name has two possible origins. The first being a metonymic occupational name for a maker of wedge-shaped bread, from the Medieval English "Wigge" meaning "wedge-shaped"... [more]
WightmanEnglish "Wight" in Anglo-saxon could refer to a "soul," a "being," or to "courage." It is similar to the different meanings of the words "spirit" and "spirited." ... [more]
WiibaruOkinawan The Okinawan language reading of its kanji, 上原 meaning "upper plain" or 植原 meaning "planted plain".
WijnaldumFrisian, 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]
WilbrahamEnglish Denoted 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.
WilburnEnglish A 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.
WildfongGerman An 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.
WildinEnglish The 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.
WilewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Wilewo.
WilfordEnglish habitational name from either of two places called Wilford in Nottinghamshire and Suffolk both probably named with an Old English welig "willow" and Old English ford "ford".
WilgarIrish An 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.
WillScottish, English, German Scottish and northern English from the medieval personal name Will, a short form of William, or from some other medieval personal names with this first element, for example Wilbert or Willard... [more]
WillertGerman German cognate and variant of Willard. From a personal name composed of the ancient Germanic elements willo "will, desire" and hard "hardy, brave, strong".
WilletsEnglish Occasionally 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.
WillinghamEnglish Habitational 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".
WillmanEnglish Occupational name for someone who was the servant of a man called Will.
WillockEnglish From 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".
WillowEnglish topographic name from Middle English wilwewilghewillowe "willow" (Old English wiligwelig) for a person who lived at or near a willow tree or in an area where willow trees grew... [more]
WillowsEnglish (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.
WimmerGerman Occupational 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.
WimpEnglish The 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.
WimpeyEnglish Perhaps 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)... [more]
WindhamEnglish, 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]
WindusEnglish Variant of Wingers. The name is a metonymic occupational name for a textile worker or weaver, derived from the Middle English wyndhows ("winding house").
WinegarGerman This 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.
WinegardnerEnglish (American) Anglicized form of the German occupational surname Weingartner. A known bearer of this surname is the American writer Mark Winegardner (b. 1961).
WinehouseJewish, German Anglicized variant of German and Yiddish 'Weinhaus'. From German wein, 'vine, grapevine' and haus 'house, building, home', likely indicating a house with a vineyard. ... [more]
WinfordEnglish English location name meaning "from a white ford or water crossing" or "from a meadow ford".
WinfreyEnglish From 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.
WingardEnglish from Middle English vineyerdevine-yard "vineyard" (Old English wīngeard given a partly French form) hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a vineyard or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one or a habitational name from any place so named such as Wynyard Hall in Grindon (Durham)... [more]
WinkelGerman, Jewish Derived 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]
WinkelDutch, Belgian Habitational name from any of numerous minor places named using the element winkel "corner".
WinkelmannGerman, Jewish German 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’... [more]
WinkleEnglish it's said to originate from the village of Wincle, near the town of Macclesfield in the county of Cheshire.
WinkworthMedieval English Locative 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.
WinneyEnglish Derived from an unattested Old English given name, *Wyngeofu, composed of the elements wyn "joy" and geofu "battle".... [more]
WinnickEnglish (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'.
WinningerGerman Probably denoted a person from the municipality of Winningen in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany.
WinsininskiPolish (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.... [more]
WinstanleyEnglish From 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"... [more]
WinsteadEnglish Perhaps 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]
WinterbergGerman Habitational name from any of several places named with Middle High German winter "winter" and berg "mountain".
WinterbournEnglish A variant spelling of the surname Winterbourne, means "winter stream", a stream or river that is dry through the summer months.
WinterburnEnglish habitational 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... [more]
WinterfeldGerman A 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... [more]
WisemanEnglish Variant of Wise combined with the suffix man. It may have also been used ironically.
WishEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, Middle English wyshe (Old English wisc). Americanized spelling of Wisch.
WispEnglish The 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.
WitekPolish, English (Rare) From the personal name Wit, a short form of Witold, a derivative of Lithuanian Vytautas, a compound of vyti 'to guide' + tauta 'the people'... [more]
WithakEnglish Habitational 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]
WithallEnglish Possibly 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".
WithamEnglish habitational 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]
WithielCornish (Anglicized, Rare) From the name of a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, derived from Cornish Gwydhyel "wooded place" (compare Old Welsh guid "trees").
WitlyEnglish Variant of Whitley, a habitational name from any of various places named with Old English hwit ‘white’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
WitschgeDutch Dutch cognate of Witzke. Famous bearers of this surname include brothers Rob (1966-) and Richard Witschge (1969-), both of whom are former Dutch soccer players.
WlodawskiJewish Habitual surname from Włodawa, Poland. First seen in a 1806 revision list of the city Kobryn (Grodno Guberniya), now Kobryn Belarus. ... [more]
WodehouseEnglish The 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.
WodzińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Wodzin in Piotrków voivodeship, named with Polish woda meaning "water".
WójcińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of the many places called Wójcin, or from Wójcina in Tarnów voivodeship, named with wójt meaning "village headman".
WójtMedieval Polish Occupational name and title from Medieval Polish meaning Lord Protector or Governor. Derived from Latin advocatus. German variant Vogt, Swedish variant Fogde... [more]
WolfendenEnglish derived from the place called Wolfenden in the parish of Newchurch-in-Rossendale, Lancashire. The placename means "Wulfhelm's valley", or "the valley of Wulfhelm" derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name Wulfhelm, composed of the elements wulf "wolf" and helm "helmet, protection" and denu "valley".
WolfensbergerGerman (Swiss) Habitational name derived from the name of the now ruined castle of Wolfsberg near Bauma in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
WolferGerman Either from a shortened form of the ancient Germanic personal names Wolfher or Wolfhart composed of the elements wolf "wolf" and hari "army" or hard "hardy, brave"... [more]
WolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffGerman (Rare) The truncated form of the surname Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffwelchevoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvorangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolfhunderttausendjahresvorandieerscheinenvonderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgenachtmittungsteinundsiebeniridiumelektrischmotorsgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchennachbarschaftdersternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneuerassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortpflanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvorandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum... [more]
WolfitEnglish From the medieval male personal name Wolfet or Wolfat (from Old English Wulfgēat, literally "wolf-Geat" (the name of a Germanic people)). This surname was borne by Sir Donald Wolfit (1902-1968), a British actor and manager.