RakPolish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Jewish Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian (Rák), and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Slavic rak ‘crab’, ‘lobster’, or ‘crayfish’. This was applied as an occupational name for someone who caught and sold crayfish, crabs, or lobsters, or as a nickname to someone thought to resemble such a creature... [more]
ReyWelsh, Scottish, Irish Either a variant of McRae, or else directly derived from Irish rí, Scottish Rìgh, or Welsh ri, rhi, or rhiau, all meaning "king"... [more]
RueFrench The name Rue dates back to the days of Medieval France, in the region of Normandy. It is derived from their residence in Normandy. However, the name Ruell is derived from the Old French word ruelle, meaning lane or alley, and indicates that the original bearer lived in such a place... [more]
SeeEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who lived by the sea-shore or beside a lake, from Middle English see meaning "sea", "lake" (Old English sǣ), Middle High German sē. Alternatively, the English name may denote someone who lived by a watercourse, from an Old English sēoh meaning "watercourse", "drain".
ShaChinese From Chinese 沙 (shā) referring to the ancient state of Sha, which was part of the state of Song during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hebei province. Alternately it may come from Sha Sui, the name of a fief that was part of Song in what is now Henan province, or from Su Sha, the name of an ancient clan that inhabited parts of present-day Shandong province.
SheChinese From Chinese 佘 (shé), which is of unknown significance.
ShiChinese From Chinese 石 (shí) meaning "stone", also referring to the ancient city of Chach that is now Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
ShiChinese From Chinese 施 (shī) referring to the ancient state of Shi, which existed during the Xia dynasty in present-day Hubei province.
UbaEstonian Uba is an Estonian surname meaning "bean".
UbaJapanese From Japanese 姥 (Uba) meaning "Uba", a division in the division of Akougi in the area of Kasasa in the city of Minamisatsuma in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan.
UhlGerman Uhl begins in the German province of Bavaria. Uhl is a nickname surname, a class of German names derived from eke-names, or added names, that described people by a personal characteristic or other attribute... [more]
UhrGerman, Jewish Derived from the given name Ulrich. In Jewish, it is a metonymic occupational name for a watch or clock maker, derived from German uhr meaning "watch, clock".
UikEstonian Uik is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "luik", meaning "swan"; or "huik", meaning "crake".
UngVietnamese Vietnamese form of Yong, from Sino-Vietnamese 雍 (ung).
UnoJapanese From Japanese 宇 (u) meaning "eaves" and 野 (no) meaning "field".
UntEstonian Unt is an Estonian surname derived from a Finno-Ugric topographic stem word, thought to mean somewhere hydronymically essential. In some cases, it may be a corruption of the Estonian word "hunt", meaning "wolf".
UpsEstonian Ups is an Estonian surname derived from "upsakas" meaning "proud" and "conceited". "Ups" also also means "whoops" in Estonian.
ÜttEstonian Ütt is an Estonian surname (loosely) meaning "vocative"; a "word of address'' or "exclamatory address".
UueEstonian Uue is an Estonian surname meaning "anew".
UukEstonian Uuk is an Estonian surname meaning "bay" and "dormer".
UusEstonian Uus is an Estonian surname meaning "new".
UysAfrikaans Of uncertain origin and meaning. Theories include an Afrikaans variant of Huijs which seems to have developed into Uijs and finally into Uys.
VeaSpanish, Galician Habitational name, principally from Vea in Soria province, but in some cases from any of four places with the same name in Pontevedra province, Galicia.
VeaNorwegian Habitational name from any of four farmsteads so named, from the plural of Old Norse viðr meaning "wood", "tree".
VeeNorwegian Habitational name from farmsteads named Ve, for example in Hordaland and Sogn, from Old Norse vé "sacred place".
WeiChinese From Chinese 韦 (wéi) referring to the ancient state of Wei that existed in the pre-Qin period in what is now Henan province.
WenChinese From Chinese 温 (wēn) meaning "warm", also referring to any of several territories that were called Wen, namely an ancient state that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
WooKorean Woo is a spelling variant of ‘Wu’ referring to an ancient state of ‘Wu’. It is located in the Jiangsu province.
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.
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.
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.
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]
XueChinese From Chinese 薛 (xuē) referring to the ancient state of Xue that existed during the Xia dynasty in what is now Shandong province.