ZimbalistJewish Occupational name for a cymbalist or a dulcimer player, particularly the cimbalom, derived from Yiddish tsimbl meaning "dulcimer, cimbalom, cymbal". The American actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (1918-2014) was a famous bearer of this surname.
ZingerGerman The surname Zinger was first found in Saxony, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. ... In Old German the name meant "lively" and "spritely," or more literally, "a biting, sharp taste."
ZingeserJewish, Yiddish Comes from Yiddish "ציו" meaning "Tin" and "גייסער" meaning "Smith".
ZinnGerman From the German for word for tin "tin." The name indicated someone who worked with the metal. A famous bearer is Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German botanist. Carl Linnaeus named the flower Zinnia in his honor.
ZivanaiShona Zivanai means "You must know each other". #This name is a call to family and relatives to get to know each other by visiting and fellowship - usually so that they do not drift apart"
ZloczowerPolish, Jewish Denoted a person from Zolochiv (known as Złoczów in Polish), a small city in the Lviv Oblast of Ukraine.
ZlodejSlovene (Rare) It is the euphemism (an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant) for the word "devil". Another variant of the surname is Slodej.
ZolaItalian Italian: habitational name from any of various minor places named with Zol(l)a, from a dialect term for a mound or bank of earth, as for example Zola Predosa (Bologna) or Zolla in Monrupino (Trieste)... [more]
ZopfGerman Nickname for someone who wore his hair in a pigtail or plait, Middle High German zopf, zoph, or from a field name from same word in the sense ‘tail’, ‘end’, ‘narrow point’.
ZoppiItalian Nickname from zoppo "lame, unsteady".
ZorefBiblical Hebrew Zoref, spelled צורף in Hebrew and pronounced Tzo-ref, though the typical American pronunciation is with a Z, means "Goldsmith" in both Biblical and Modern Hebrew, Zoref does not necessarily connote working only with gold; rather, it is a metalsmith that works with any kind of metallic substance.... [more]
ZornGerman From Middle High German zorn "wrath, anger". A notable bearer was Swedish painter Anders Zorn (1860-1920) whose father was German.
ZororoShona Zororo means "rest". It may be given to mean that the parent has rested after the birth of this child. Zimbabwean politician Zororo Duri was a well known bearer of this name.
ZouChinese An ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty.
ZouChinese From Chinese 邹 (zōu) referring to the ancient state of Zou, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
ZouaouiArabic (Maghrebi) Indicates a member of the Igawawen (called Zouaoua in French) Kabyle tribe, from Maghrebi Arabic زواوة (zwāwa). The tribe's name is of uncertain meaning; it may be derived from the name of a massif in Kabylie, Algeria.
ZoubekCzech According to my translator, it means "tooth", so my guess is that it's an occupational surname for someone who's a dentist; the word for dentist is 'zubař.'
ZrnčićCroatian Possibly derived from the Slavic element zrn, of unknown meaning.... [more]
ZrnićSerbian Derivative of Serbian tribal name located in Ozrinići, Montenegro.
ZrobokUkrainian Zrobok is a Cossack name from the area near Brody in Ukraine. My ancestors came from the village of Bordulaki on the river Styr. Other Zroboks came from the village of Sokolivka. The name means; Someone who has worked to exhaustion.
ZsigmondyHungarian Derived from the given name Zsigmond. The Austrian-born chemist Richard Adolf Zsigmondy (1865-1929), together with German physicist Henry Siedentopf, invented the ultramicroscope... [more]
ZsirosHungarian Hungarian surname derived from the Serbo-croation word žȋr meaning "acorn".
ZuberGerman, German (Swiss) German: Metonymic occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker, from Middle High German zuber ‘(two-handled) tub’, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a tub. ... [more]
ZucchinoItalian Derived from zucchino meaning "zucchini, courgette" (Cucurbita pepo). It is also related to those surnames derived from zucca meaning "pumpkin" and to those derived from zuccone meaning "dumb, stubborn".
ZuccoliItalian Derived from the Italian word zucca meaning "pumpkin", originally referred to someone who used to grow or trade pumpkins.
ZuckerJewish Occupational name for a confectioner or a nickname for someone with a sweet tooth, from German zucker or Yiddish צוקער (tsuker) both meaning "sugar". It is also used as an ornamental name.
ZuckerbergJewish Means "sugar mountain" from German zucker meaning "sugar" and Old High German berg meaning "mountain".
ZufallMedieval German A German name from the Middle High German "zuoval," meaning "benefit," "coincidence" or "windfall." It was a nickname for a lucky person, most likely a person to whom a plot of land had been given. It could also be an occupational name for a tax collector.
ZugGerman (Swiss) Denotes somebody from either the Canton of Zug or town of Zug, two places which are both located in Switzerland.
ZugrăvescuRomanian Patronymic surname of uncertain origin. It may be derived from the verb a zugrăvi meaning "to paint, to describe figuratively" and therefore mean "The descendant of he who describes/paints".
ZuidemaDutch, West Frisian Either derived from a toponym containing the element zuid "south, southern" (from Middle Dutch suid), or a patronymic form of a name beginning with the element swith "strong".
ZuillEnglish, Scottish From the town of Zuill, Scotland. The "Z" pronounced as "Y" comes from ancient yogh representing a variety of sounds. The name itself is of unknown origin.
ZukinJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 頭巾 (zukin) meaning "headscarf, hood, handkerchief".
ZuletaSpanish, Basque Variant of Zulueta, which comes from the Basque topographic name 'zulo' meaning ‘hole hollow’ + the collective suffix '-eta' meaning "place or group of."
ZumpanoItalian Comes from the town Zumpano in the province Cosenza in Calabria, Italy. The meaning is unknown but it possibly comes from a Greek-Calabrese surname.
ZumwaltGerman German spelling Zum-Wald (to the forest) older german
ZvaitikaShona Zvaitika means "It has happened". This name may be given as a celebration that something that was desired or awaited has finally happened.
ZvezdochkaRussian, Belarusian Means "little star" or "small star", from Russian "звезда (zvezda)" meaning "star" with the suffix "-очка (-ochka)" meaning "little, small, young". It can also be translated as "starlet". It is a surname in Russia that is also common in Belarus... [more]
ZwaanDutch Means "swan" in Dutch. Could be a nickname for a person who resembled a swan in some way, an occupational name for a swan keeper, or a patronymic derived from a given name containing the element swan... [more]
ZwackPolish Comes from the Polish name "Czwak." Possible German roots as well.
ZwagermanDutch Possibly a compound of Dutch zwager "brother-in-law" and man "man, person".
ZwartDutch Means "black, dark, swarthy" in Dutch, a nickname for someone with dark hair or skin.
ZweinstraGerman Zweinstra is a German, relatively unknown surname which is also sometimes used in Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
ZwiersDutch Patronymic form of the given name Swier, composed of swind "strong" and heri "army".
ZwillingGerman, Jewish Means "a twin", as in a twin brother or twin sister. Often given to those who were twins.
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]
ZykRussian, Belarusian A Russian name now found in Belarus and other areas around "white Russia". Literally translates to the Russian word "beetle". It's pronounced "Z'ook" and has taken on other forms of spelling, such as; Zuck, Tzook, Shyk, etc.
ZyrinRussian Derived from Russian зырянин (zyryanin) or зыря (zyrya) meaning "Komi, Zyrian". This may have been a nickname for someone who looked like a person of this ethnic group.
ŻywickiPolish A habitational name that was given to someone from a place named ̣Zywy, or possibly from a nickname from the Polish word ̣'zywy', which means ‘live wire’.