WorkScottish Scottish: habitational name from the lands of Work in the parish of St. Ola, Orkney.
WorkmanEnglish Ostensibly an occupational name for a laborer, derived from Middle English work and man. According to a gloss, the term was used in the Middle Ages to denote an ambidextrous person, and the surname may also be a nickname in this sense.
WorsleyEnglish Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname from either of the places called Worsley in Lancashire and in Worcestershire. The place in Lancashire was recorded as "Werkesleia" in 1196, and means Weorchaeth's wood or glade, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Weorchaeth", from weorc, work, fortification, and leah, a wood, or clearing in a wood... [more]
WorthEnglish From the Old English WORÞ, meaning "enclosure".
WorthingtonEnglish Habitational name from places in Lancashire and Leicestershire named Worthington; both may have originally been named in Old English as Wurðingtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Wurð", but it is also possible that the first element was Old English worðign, a derivative of worð ‘enclosure’.
WowereitGerman (East Prussian) East Prussian German (and thus heavily Lithuanian influenced) name meaning "squirrel", from Old Prussian wowere and Lithuanian voveraite (which, apart from "squirrel", also means "chanterelle").... [more]
WoytekCzech, Slovak, Polish Eastern European surname of unknown meaning. A variant of Vojtek.
WrayeEnglish Variant of the habitational name Wray or Ray, from any of various minor places in northern England named Wray, Wrea, or Wreay, from Old Norse vrá ‘nook’, ‘corner’, ‘recess’.
WrbanekPolish Polish, Czech (Urbánek), and Sorbian: from a pet form of the personal name Urban . The surname is also established in Germany.
WrenEnglish Nickname from the bird, Middle English wrenne, probably in reference to its small size.
WrinnIrish (Anglicized) From Irish Gaelic Ó Rinn "descendant of Rinn", a personal name perhaps based on reann "spear".
WriothesleyEnglish (British) Name is of unknown origin, deriving from older Wrotteslega, who were a family that held estates in Staffordshire in the late 1100s. Possibly a combination of wrot "snout" and leah "meadow, cleaning", suggesting it's origin as a pig farm.
WrytaNorman Old Norse Men Normans Wryta brothers fought with William The Conqueror at Battle of Hastings onto King Henry VIII granting landed, gentry, coat of arms, baronetcy, and lord title to Sir John Wright 1 of Kelvedon Hall ESsex on 6/20/1509
WrzesieńPolish Derived from Polish wresień "September (month)".
WrzesińskiPolish Name for someone from a place called Września, Wrzesina or Wrzesiny, all derived from Polish wrzos meaning "heather".
WunderlichGerman A nickname for an eccentric or moody person, derived from the word wunderlich meaning "whimsical" in German.
WünscheGerman Probably denoted a person from Wendland, a region in Germany on the borders of the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Wendling, a municipality in the Grieskirchen District, Upper Austria, Austria.
WürdemannGerman From the German "Würde"-honour or dignity, and "Mann"-man or person. "Man of Honour" or "Person of Dignity".
WurdemannGerman (Rare) This is a German surname, also spelled WÜRDEMANN (original) and often rendered as WUERDEMANN in English. It come from the German "würde", "dignity" or "honor" and "mann", meaning "man" or "person".... [more]
WurnigGerman German origin from the place name am Virgen originally meaning a person from the town of Virgen in Tyrol. Construed as a family name in 1501.
WursterGerman Derived from German Wurst (Middle High German wurst) "sausage" and thus either denoted a butcher who specialized in the production of sausages, or was used as a nickname for a plump person or someone who was particularly fond of sausages.
WurðingtunEnglish Habitational name from places in Lancashire and Leicestershire named Worthington; both may have originally been named in Old English as Wurðingtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Wurð", but it is also possible that the first element was Old English worðign, a derivative of worð ‘enclosure’.
WürttembergGerman Württemberg is an historical German territory. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, it now forms the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg.
WurtzGerman A metonymic occupational name for a greengrocer or grower or seller of herbs, from Middle High German würz, meaning ‘herb’.
WycherleyEnglish Derived from a place name apparently meaning "elm-wood clearing" from Old English wice and leah. A famous bearer was the dramatist William Wycherley (1640-1715).
WyckoffDutch name for someone living at the main farm in a district, from Dutch wijk ‘district’ + hof ‘farmstead’, ‘manor farm’.
WyckoffEast Frisian (Rare) The North Germanic meaning is "settlement on a bay," as in the cognate Viking (Viking is derived from Old Norse vík "bay").
WyethEnglish May come either from the Old English word "withig" meaning "willow" or from Guyat, a pet form of the Old French given name Guy. Probably unrelated to Wyatt.
WykesAnglo-Saxon From the Old English wic, roughly meaning "farm." The plural form is a patronymic of which is "son of Wic."... [more]
WyldeEnglish (British) It is a nickname for a person who was of wild or undisciplined character. Looking back even further, the name was originally derived from the Old English word "wilde," meaning "untamed" or "uncivilized."... [more]
WylieMedieval English It is of locational origin, and derives from the places called Willey in the counties of Cheshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Devonshire and Surrey.
WymerEnglish Either (i) from the medieval male personal name Wymer (from Old English Wīgmǣr, literally "war-famous"); or (ii) from the Old Breton male personal name Wiumarch, literally "worthy-horse".
WynWelsh, English English: from the Old English personal name and byname Wine meaning ‘friend’, in part a short form of various compound names with this first element. Welsh: variant of Gwynn.
WyndScottish, Irish Scotland or Ireland not sure of original origin. There was a childe Wynd some type of royal who slayed a dragon type thing worm or something and a Henery Wynd who was a mercenary in a battle at north inch in Scotland
WynnWelsh, English The surname Wynn ,(also spelled Winn, and Gwynn), is derived from the Welsh element, Gwynn, which can loosely be translated as "white" or "fair". It features in the name of the North Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd, (meaning "white head" or "white land")... [more]
WynnmanEnglish (British) as Wimbledon is said to be rooted in words that mean "Wynnman's Hill," I searched and the closest results indicated that 'Wynnman' must mean 'Heir of Wynn'
XavierEnglish, French Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries.
XenosAncient Greek From Greek xenos ‘stranger’, ‘newcomer’ (equivalent to English Newman), or short for a composite name such as Xenocostas ‘Costas the newcomer’.
XiChinese From Chinese 习 (xí) referring to an ancient territory named Xi, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in the Qin state in what is now Shangxian County, Shaanxi province. A notable berarer is Xi Jinping (1953-), the current president of China.
XiaChinese From Chinese 夏 (xià) referring to the Xia dynasty, the first dynasty in Chinese history that is believed to have existed from 2070 to 1600 BC. According to legend, this name was adopted by the descendants of Yu the Great (who was also known as Xia Yu), a legendary king who supposedly founded the Xia dynasty.
XiangChinese From Chinese 向 (xiàng) referring to the ancient state of Xiang, which existed during the Spring and Autumn period in what is now the Shandong province.
XiangChinese From Chinese 项 (xiàng) referring to the ancient state of Xiang, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
XinChinese From the name of a state of Xin that existed during the Xia dynasty. King Qi (2197–2188 bc) granted this state to one of his sons, whose descendants adopted a modified form of the character for Xin as their surname.
XingChinese From the name of an area called Xing, which existed during in the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Descendants of the ruling family of this area adopted Xing as their surname. Another account of the origin derives it from an area named Pingxing.
XomperoItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Cimbrian somerousch "pack horse", indicating the bearer's strength or occupation. Alternately, may mean "son of Piero".
XueChinese From the area of Xue, in present-day Shandong province. During the Xia dynasty (2205–1766 bc) an official with the title ‘chief of carts’ was granted this area. Much later, in the state of Qi during the Warring States period (403–221 bc) the same area was granted to a prince... [more]
XuerebMaltese Possibly means "noble", of Semitic origin transmitted to Central Europe. Alternatively, it may be derived from Arabic شَارِب (šārib) meaning "drinker, drinking" or "moustache", used as a nickname for an alcoholic or someone with distinctive facial hair.
XūwángChinese A Chinese surname taken from combining 須 (xū) meaning "must, necessary" with 王 (wáng) meaning "king, monarch". It is the Chinese reading of the Japanese surname Suō.
XyoojHmong This name is possible from a location since Chinese during the 18th century gave Hmong surnames based on the location the Hmong were in. It's a possible clan surname.
YaJapanese From Japanese ya meaning "night". Note that other kanji interpretations and meanings could be possible.
YabeJapanese From the Japanese 矢 (ya) "arrow" and 部 (be) "region," "division," "part."
YablokovRussian From Russian яблоко (yabloko) meaning "apple", used as a nickname for a ruddy person or a gardener who received a plentiful harvest.
YabsleyEnglish It is believed to be a derived spelling of Abboldesi, a place now more commonly known as Abbotsley or Abbotsleigh. However, the original surname had nothing to do with "Abbots" in any spelling, and derives from to the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Eadbeald" meaning "Prosperity-bold".
YabukiJapanese (Rare) Derived from the Japanese kanji 矢 (ya) meaning "arrow" and 吹 (buki), from 吹き (buki), the joining continuative form of 吹く (fuku) meaning "to blow". It can also derive from 藪 (yabu) meaning "thicket; grove; copse" and 亀 (ki) meaning "tortoise, turtle"... [more]
YabusakiJapanese From the Japanese 八 (ya) meaning "eight", 武 (bu) which was a traditional unit of measurement approximately equal to 90 centimeters, and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".
YaegerGerman Yaeger is a relatively uncommon American surname, most likely a transcription of the common German surname "Jaeger/Jäger" (hunter). The spelling was changed to become phonetic because standard English does not utilize the umlaut.
YahabaJapanese From Japanese 矢幅 (Yahaba) meaning "Yahaba", a former village in the district of Shiwa in the former Japanese province of Rikuchū in parts of present-day Iwate and Akita in Japan.... [more]
YajimaJapanese Derived from Japanese 矢 (ya) meaning "arrow" or 谷 (ya) meaning "valley, lowland, plain" combined with 島 or 嶋 (shima) meaning "island".... [more]
YajinJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 夜 (ya) meaning "night; evening" and 陣 (jin) meaning "battle formation; camp"
YakumoJapanese (Rare) This surname combines 八 (hachi, ya, ya'.tsu, ya.tsu, you) meaning "eight", 耶 (ja, ya, ka) meaning "question mark" or 家 (ka, ke, ie, uchi, ya) meaning "expert, family, home, house, performer, professional" with 雲 (un, kumo, -gumo) meaning "cloud."... [more]
YakushijiJapanese From Japanese 薬師寺 (Yakushiji) meaning "Yakushiji", a former village in the district of Kawachi in the former Japanese province of Shimotsuke in present-day Tochigi, Japan.
YamabeJapanese From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".
YamabiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 火 (bi), the joining form of 火 (hi) meaning "fire". It is a reference to an event when the leader of the Morioka Domain came to the mountains and the residents warmed him up by starting a fire using flint... [more]
YamabushiJapanese Yama means "mountain, hill" and bushi means "warrior, samurai".
YamadaevChechen Means "son of Yamad", possibly from a form of the given name Ahmad.
YamaderaJapanese Yama means "mountain, hill" and dera comes from tera meaning "temple".
YamahaJapanese (Rare) This Japanese surname is more found in Brazil than Japan, because of Japanese immigrants who immigrated from Japan to Brazil. Notable bearer of this surname: Torakusu Yamaha (Japanese entrepreneur who was the founder of the Yamaha Corporation).