VerhofstadtDutch, Flemish Means "from the farmstead" or "from the homestead" in Dutch. A notable bearer is the Flemish politician Guy Verhofstadt (1953-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.
VillaquiránSpanish It indicates familial origin within either of 2 municipalities: Villaquirán de los Infantes or Villaquirán de la Puebla.
VillarrubiaSpanish Spanish: habitational name from Villarrubia (Córdoba) Villarrubia de los Ojos (Ciudad Real) or Villarrubia de Santiago (Toledo) so named from villa '(outlying) farmstead (dependent) settlement' (see Villa ) + rubia 'light red'.
VišneviškasLithuanian This indicates familial origin within the Belarusian agrotown of Víšneva, which was originally Lithuanian & under the name of ''Višnevas''.
Walking BearIndigenous American A notable bearer is Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail, the first Crow individual to achieve a higher education, and one of the first Native American nurses to ever be accepted.
WannemacherGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a maker or seller of baskets, particularly winnowing baskets or fans, derived from Middle High German wanne literally meaning "winnowing basket" and macher meaning "maker"... [more]
WeinbrennerGerman Occupational name for a distiller of brandy, literally 'wine burner'.
WeingartnerGerman Derived from German weingärtner meaning "wine maker, vintner", which itself is derived from German weingarten meaning "vineyard". The latter is a composite word consisting of German wein "wine" combined with German garten "garden"... [more]
WeißmüllerGerman from Middle High German wiz "white" and mulin "miller" an occupational name for a miller who produced white flour which was produced as early as the 14th century.
WheelwrightEnglish Occupational name for someone who made or fitted wheels and wheeled vehicles, from Old English hwēol and wyrhta. Also compare Wheeler.
WiederspahnGerman Carpenter or roofer who applied wooden shingles from Wied, Wieden, or Wieda. Associated with the German-speaking minority that lived along the Volga River in Russia from 1764 to 1941.
WierzbowskiPolish Taken from the word wierzba meaning "willow", this name may have designated someone who lived near a willow tree.
WilberforceEnglish Means "person from Wilberfoss", Yorkshire ("Wilburh's ditch"). This is borne by Wilberforce University, a university in Xenia, Ohio, USA, founded in 1856 and named in honour of the British philanthropist and anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce (1759-1833)... [more]
WinegardnerEnglish (American) Anglicized form of the German occupational surname Weingartner. A known bearer of this surname is the American writer Mark Winegardner (b. 1961).
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]
WoosencraftWelsh though this surname has an exotic look & attracts legends, it has it's origins in the Lancashire place name Wolstencraft, from elements Wulfstan (personal name) + croft ("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’.
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.
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.
YmffrostgarMedieval Welsh A historic Welsh surname, meaning a brag or boastful person, later shortened to Ffrost and again to Frost.
YotsuyanagiJapanese From Japanese 四柳 (Yotsuyanagi) meaning "Yahaba", a former village in the district of Kashima in the former Japanese province of Noto in parts of present-day Ishikawa in Japan.... [more]
YousefzadehPersian From the given name Yousef and the Persian suffix زاده (zadeh) meaning "offspring".
ŽaŭniarovičBelarusian Derived from Belarusian жаўнер (žaŭnier) meaning "soldier (of the Polish army)", borrowed from Polish żołnierz via German Söldner.
ZiegenhagenGerman Derived from Middle High German zige "goat" and hag "enclosure, hedge, pasture". Could be an occupational name for someone who kept goats, or be derived from any of several places with the name.