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.
WillingEnglish Patronymic from the Old English personal name Willa.
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".
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]
WinchelEnglish from Old English wencel ‘child’, perhaps used to distinguish a son from his father with the same forename or perhaps a nickname for a person with a baby face or childlike manner
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]
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'.
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.
WinterbourneEnglish (British) Probably meaning "winter stream". A large village in Gloucestershire, From the Thomas Hardy novel "The Woodlanders".
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]
WiseEnglish Nickname for a wise or learned person, or in some cases a nickname for someone suspected of being acquainted with the occult arts, from Middle English wys "wise, thoughtful, knowledgeable; alert, aware"... [more]
WiseauEnglish (American, Rare) Meaning unknown, believed to be derived from French oiseau, meaning bird. As a surname, it is born by American Director Tommy Wiseau.
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]
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.
WitteveenDutch From Dutch witte "white" and veen "peat bog, marsh", derived from any of several place names.
WittgensteinGerman, Jewish Denoted one who came from the Wittgenstein castle in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, derived from Old High German witt meaning "white" and stein meaning "stone"... [more]
WittmanGerman Wittman was first found in the Palatinate in the Rhineland valley. The surname Wittman was given to someone who lived in the area that was referred to as widem which was originally derived from the German word denoting church property.
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.
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.
WollmannGerman Occupational name for a wool worker or wool trader Middle High German Middle Low German wollman derived from German wolle "wool" and man "man".
WollschlägerGerman Occupational name for someone who prepared wool for spinning by washing and combing or carding it, from Middle High German wolle(n)slaher, -sleger, Middle Low German wullensleger (literally ‘wool beater’).
WolseyEnglish From the medieval male personal name Wulsi (from Old English Wulfsige, literally "wolf-victory"). A famous bearer of the surname was English churchman and statesman Thomas Wolsey (Cardinal Wolsey), ?1475-1530.
WolstenholmeEnglish (British, Rare) A famous bearer is Chris Wolstenholme, bassist and sometimes vocalist of British alternative rock band Muse.
WolstonEnglish From the Middle English personal name Wolfstan or Wolstan, Old English Wulfstan, composed of the elements wulf ‘wolf’ + stan stone or a habitational name from any of a large number of places called Woolston(e) or Wollston, all of which are named with Old English personal names containing the first element Wulf (Wulfheah, Wulfhelm, Wulfric, Wulfsige, and Wulfweard) + Old English tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.
WondergemDutch Habitational name from Wondelgem or Wontergem in East Flanders, Belgium, using the suffix -gem which is related to Old Germanic haimaz meaning "home".
WoodbineEnglish (Rare) From the English word "woodbine" that means "honeysuckle(plant)"in English.It seems uncommon in the English-speak culture for a surname.Also some American place names,too.
WoodbridgeEnglish Originated in old England and likely linked to the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk, East Anglia, United Kingdom. Well known Woodbridge's include the Australian Tennis player Todd Woodbridge. There was a famous lineage of six English John Woodbridge's in the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries, all Church ministers... [more]
WoodfallEnglish English surname used as a first name. The name means "dweller by a fold in the woods" - in this case, "fold" means "sheep-pen".... [more]
WoodhouseEnglish, Irish habitational name from any of various places (in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, and elsewhere) called Woodhouse, or a topographic name for someone who lived at a "house in the wood" (Middle English wode hous, Old English wuduhus).
WoodmanEnglish Occupational name for a woodcutter or a forester (compare Woodward), or topographic name for someone who lived in the woods. Possibly from the Old English personal name Wudumann.
WoodnutEnglish From a rare Anglo-Saxon personal name meaning "bold as Wade" and meant to honor the legendary Germanic sea-giant named Wade.
WoodruffEnglish, Caribbean Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of land where woodruff grew, Anglo-Saxon wudurofe composed of wudu "wood" with a second element of unknown origin.
WoodsonEnglish From a location in Yorkshire, England earlier spelled Woodsome and meaning "from the houses in the wood" or possibly a patronymic meaning "descendant of a wood cutter or forester."
WoolgarEnglish From the medieval male personal name Wolgar (from Old English Wulfgār, literally "wolf-spear").
WoolleyEnglish A habitational name from any of various places so-called. Most, including those in Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, and West Yorkshire in England, are derived from the Old English wulf, meaning "wolf", and leah, meaning "wood" or "clearing"... [more]
WoolnoughEnglish From the medieval male personal name Wolnoth or Wolnaugh (from Old English Wulfnōth, literally "wolf-daring").
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 Habitational name from any of several locations derived from Old English worþ "enclosure, enclosed homestead, settlement".
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’.
WortonEnglish habitational name from Nether and Over Worton (Oxfordshire), Worton (Wiltshire), Worton in Aysgarth (North Yorkshire), Worton Hall in Isleworth (Middlesex), or Worton in Cassington (Oxfordshire). The placenames derive from Old English wyrt "plant, vegetable" and tun "farmstead, estate" (i.e. a kitchen garden), except for Nether and Over Worton (Oxfordshire), which derives from Old English ōra "edge, ridge" and tun.
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]