SwanEnglish, Scottish Originally given as a nickname to a person who was noted for purity or excellence, which were taken to be attributes of the swan, or who resembled a swan in some other way. In some cases it may have been given to a person who lived at a house with the sign of a swan... [more]
SwedenborgSwedish Derived from the surname Svedberg (sometimes spelled Swedberg). A notable bearer was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish theologian and scientist.
SwintonEnglish, Scottish From various place names composed of Old English swin "pig, wild boar" and tun "settlement, enclosure".
SydowLow German Habitational name from any of several places so named in Germany.
SyrénSwedish Meaning uncertain. Perhaps a combination of an unknown first element and the common surname suffix -én, or taken directly from Swedish syren "lilac".
TackleberryPopular Culture, American (Rare) This is a surname most notably used by Officer Eugene Tackleberry (played by the lovably hilarious David Graf) in the classic Police Academy movies of the 1980s-90s. Officer Tackleberry is a markedly boyish police officer who has a passionate adoration for guns and adventure... [more]
TakahideJapanese (Rare) Taka means "eagle" such as in surname "Takasu" but more commonly means "tall,high" instead. Hide means "fine,excellence". This must be one of the very few Japanese surnames that has "Hide" in it. It is mostly just a first name element... [more]
TakeharaJapanese (Rare) Take means "Bamboo" while Hara means "Plain". This surname means " Plain of the Bamboo". Takehara is also a city in Hiroshima and a railway station.
TakemiyaJapanese From Japanese 竹 (take) meaning "bamboo" and 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace".
TakiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 滝 or 瀧 (taki) meaning "waterfall, rapids".
TegnérSwedish Derived from the name of Tegnaby parish in Småland, Sweden. The name was originally spelled Tegnérus, but was later shortened to Tegnér. Notable bearers include Alice Tegnér (1864-1943), composer of many Swedish hymns and children's songs, and Esaias Tegnér (1782-1846), bishop and writer.
ThalGerman, Jewish Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a valley, derived from Middle High German tal "valley". As a Jewish name, it is ornamental.
ThulinSwedish Meaning uncertain. Possibly derived from thule, an ancient Greek and Roman term for an area in northern Europe which some believe to be the Nordic countries.
ThunbergSwedish Combination of Swedish tun (from Old Norse tún) "enclosure, courtyard, plot, fence" and berg "mountain".
TigerSwedish Perhaps taken from Swedish tiga "to keep quiet, to say nothing". Tiger is one of the names adopted by Swedish soldiers in the 17th century.
TinsleyEnglish From a place name in England composed of the unattested name Tynni and Old English hlaw "hill, mound, barrow".
TippettsEnglish (American) Tippetts Recorded as Tipp, Tippe, diminutives Tippell, Tippets, Tipping, patronymics Tippett, Tipples, Tippins, and possibly others, this is a medieval English surname. ... [more]
TjernströmSwedish Combination of Swedish tjärn "tarn" and ström "stream".
TolivarAsturian (Modern, Rare), English (Rare) Variant of Tolliver. Apparently, this name may have originated in Candamo, Asturias, in the 18th (or earlier) century. The "var" last syllable may be related to "fer," and the meaning may be related to iron, e.g. iron miner, iron refiner, etc... [more]
TopeliusFinnish (Rare), Swedish (Rare) Latinized form of the Finnish place name Toppila in Ostrobothnia, Finland. Zachris Topelius (1818-1898) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, journalist, and historian.
TörnbladSwedish Combination of Swedish törne "thorn" and blad "leaf".
TorvaldsFinland Swedish From the given name Torvald. A notable bearer is Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds (b. 1969), inventor of the Linux kernel.
TorvaldssonSwedish Swedish patronymic meaning "son of Torvald". It was the surname name of Erik the Red (Eiríkr Þorvaldsson, anglicized as Erik Thorvaldsson or Erik Torvaldsson), father of Viking explorer Leif Erikson.
TothEnglish (Anglicized), German Either an anglicized form of Hungarian Tóth or derived from German tot "dead" or Middle High German tote "godfather".
TremaineCornish Variant of Tremayne. A famous fictional bearer is Lady Tremaine, the main antagonist of Disney's Cinderella (1950).
TrifilettiSicilian Topographic name from a diminutive of Greek τρίφυλλον (triphyllon) meaning "clover, pitch trefoil", literally "three-leaved" from τρία (tría) "three" and φύλλον (phyllon) "leaf, foliage".
TrolleOld Swedish, Swedish, Danish Swedish noble family who got their name from the image depicted on the family's coat of arms showing a headless troll. The earliest known ancestor is Birger Knutsson Trulle (died approx. 1367).
TrollopeEnglish Locational surname derived from Trolhop, the original name of Troughburn, a place in Northumberland, England. The place name means "troll valley" from Old Norse troll "troll, supernatural being" and hop "enclosed valley, enclosed land"... [more]
TuffinEnglish (Archaic), Anglo-Norman Tuffin is a surname that was brought to England in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the medieval female given name Tiffania, that comes from the Greek Theophania, composed of the elements theos, meaning God and phainein meaning to appear... [more]
TurneyEnglish, Norman Habitational name from places in France called Tournai, Tournay, or Tourny. All named with the pre-Roman personal name Turnus and the locative suffix -acum.
TyskSwedish Means "German" in Swedish. It probably started out as a nickname for someone who had immigrated from Germany or for someone who had German ancestry. It could also be a 'soldier name' and refer to the military unit someone belonged to... [more]
UelandNorwegian Meaning uncertain. Perhaps derived from Old Norse úfr "owl" (usually the European eagle-owl) and land "land, farmstead".
UlvaeusSwedish (Rare) Allegedly a latinization of Ulfsäter, a combination of Swedish ulv "wolf" and säter "mountain pasture". Björn Ulvaeus (b. 1945) is a Swedish songwriter, composer and former member of ABBA.
UmburterTiv Means, "Remember the father". Father also used in the context of God.
UnderbergNorwegian Habitational name from a place named with Old Norse undir meaning "under" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
VærnesNorwegian Værnes is a village in the municipality of Stjørdal in Nord-Trøndelag county in Mid-Norway. The original spelling of the village's name was Vannes and it is a combination of var "calm, quiet" and nes "headland"... [more]
VågeNorwegian Habitational name from any of several farms named Våge, derived from Old Norse vágr "bay, inlet, fjord".
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]
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]
VighHungarian Variant of Vig, a surname derived from Hungarian víg "happy, cheerful".
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.
Von HammersmarkPopular Culture, German (?) Means "from Hammersmark" in German. Bridget von Hammersmark is a fictional character in Quentin Tarantino's film 'Inglourious Basterds' from 2009.
von StauffenbergGerman From the name of the former castle Burg Stauffenberg in Swabia, southwestern Germany.
Von SydowSwedish, German von Sydow is a German and Swedish noble family from Pomerania, an area in modern day Poland and Germany. Some members of the family immigrated to Sweden in 1724. The name literary means "from Sydow"... [more]
VreeswijkDutch Habitational name from a former village and municipality in the province Utrecht, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch Frieso "Frisian" and wic "village, town"... [more]
WestlingSwedish Combination of Swedish väst "west" and the common surname suffix -ling. A notable bearer is Prince Daniel (b. 1973), husband of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
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]
WidemannGerman Derived from the given name Widiman, composed of Old High German witu "wood" or wit "wide" and man "man".
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".
WieslanderSwedish Combination of an unexplained first element and the common surname suffix -lander.
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".
YíngChinese (Rare) From the name of the royal house of the Qin Dynasty from the ancient Chinese state also known as Qin.
YingChinese From Chinese 应 (yīng) referring to the ancient state of Ying, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
YlvisåkerNorwegian (Rare) Meaning unknown. Famous bearers of this name are the Norwegian comedy duo "Ylvis" consisting of brothers Vegard (b. 1979) and Bård Ylvisåker (b. 1982).
ŻakPolish A nickname given to youthful or studious people. Comes from the Polish żak, meaning "student" or "schoolboy". It originally meant "novice" or "candidate for the priesthood", and so in some cases it is perhaps a nickname for someone who had been destined for holy orders.
ZatarainBasque From any of several place names in Basque Country, Spain, probably derived from the toponymic suffix -ain and an uncertain first element possibly meaning "thicket, underbrush". Alternatively, could derive from an altered form of Basque talaia "watchtower, lookout, vantage point", which is ultimately from Arabic طليعة (ṭalīʕa) "forefront, vanguard".
ZelmerlöwSwedish (Rare) Rare Swedish surname composed of the name of the family's ancestor SelmaLöf. One bearer is Swedish artist Måns Zelmerlöw (b.1986) who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016.
ZervasGreek Meaning unknown. The surname is borne by American rapper, singer and composer Arizona Zervas.
ZetterbergSwedish Combination of Swedish säter "outlying meadow" and berg "mountain, hill".
ZettergrenSwedish Combination of Swedish säter "outlying meadow" and gren "branch".
ZetterlundSwedish Combination of Swedish säter "outlying meadow" and lund "grove".
ZetterströmSwedish Combination of Swedish säter "outlying meadow" and ström "stream".
ZornGerman From Middle High German zorn "wrath, anger". A notable bearer was Swedish painter Anders Zorn (1860-1920) whose father was German.
ZwingliSwiss Possibly derived from a place name in Toggenburg, Switzerland. A notable bearer was Huldrych Zwingli (1484 – 1531), leader of the protestant reformation in Switzerland, who was born in Wildhaus, Toggenburg... [more]