WarnsGerman, Dutch Patronymic form of the Germanic given name Warn (see Warin). Alternatively, a habitational name from various Frisian places likely named using the same or similar elements.
WassermannGerman German cognate of Waterman 2. occupational name for a water-carrier or a topographic name from Middle High German wazzar "water" and man "man"... [more]
WeareEnglish (British) Derived from the Old English wer, meaning a "weir, dam, fishing-trap". This was used as an occupational surname for fishermen. Originated in Devon, England.... [more]
WeerakkodySinhalese From Sanskrit वीर (vīra) meaning "hero, man, brave" combined with Sinhala කොඩිය (koḍiya) meaning "flag, banner" (of Tamil origin)... [more]
WeideGerman Either a topographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous willow or by a group of willow trees from Middle High German wide "willow"... [more]
WelleGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a spring or stream, Middle Low German welle.
WellingtonEnglish Habitational name from any of the three places named Wellington, in Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Somerset. All are most probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Weola + -ing- (implying association with) + tun ‘settlement’.
WeltyGerman (Swiss) From a Swiss German diminutive of the German given name Walther. A literary bearer was the American writer Eudora Welty (1909-2001).
WendtGerman, Danish Ethnic name for a Wend, Middle High German wind(e). The Wends (also known as Sorbians) once occupied a large area of northeastern Germany (extending as far west as Lüneburg, with an area called Wendland), and many German place names and surnames are of Wendish origin... [more]
WenigGerman From the German word “wenig”, meaning little.
WestendorfGerman A habitational surname that means 'West Village' in German.
WestergårdSwedish, Finnish From Swedish väster meaning "west, western" combined with gård meaning "farm, yard, estate".
WestergrenSwedish Combination of Swedish väster "western" and gren "branch".
WestermannLow German From Middle Low German wester meaning "westerly" and man meaning "man", making it a topographic surname for someone who lived west of a settlement or a regional surname for someone who had moved to the west... [more]
WhentEnglish Topographical for someone who lived by a cross road, or perhaps a very sharp bend in the road. The derivation being from the Olde English pre 7th century word "wendan," meaning to wander.
WhitehouseEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived in a white house or a habitational name for places in England so-called, all derived from Old English hwit "white" and hus "house".
WhittleseyEnglish A habitational surname for someone from Whittlesey, an ancient market town in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire in England. The town's name is derived from an unattested Old English personal name Wittel (or Witil), an occupational name given to a moneyer, and the Old English eg, meaning "island", also used to describe a piece of firm land in a fen... [more]
WickershamEnglish A habitational surname that originates from a lost medieval site or village of Norse origins.... [more]
WickramarachchiSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit विक्रम (vikrama) meaning "stride, pace" or "valour" combined with the Sinhala colonial-era title ආරච්චි (arachchi) denoting a native headman.
WiggsEnglish (British) The surname Wiggs was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, at Lennerlyde. This interesting name has two possible origins. The first being a metonymic occupational name for a maker of wedge-shaped bread, from the Medieval English "Wigge" meaning "wedge-shaped"... [more]
WijesingheSinhalese From Sanskrit विजय (vijaya) meaning "victory" and सिंह (sinha) meaning "lion".
WijesiriwardanaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit विजय (vijaya) meaning "victory" combined with श्री (shri) meaning "diffusing light, radiance, splendour, beauty" and वर्धन (vardhana) meaning "increasing, strengthening, growing".
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".
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]
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]
WinterbergGerman Habitational name from any of several places named with Middle High German winter "winter" and berg "mountain".
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]
WirtaFinnish From virta ‘stream’, used as a topographic name, also as a soldier’s name in the 17th century. Also adopted as an ornamental name, especially in western and southern Finland.
WirtzGerman One who acted as host in a tavern or inn.
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]
WoganIrish From the Old Welsh personal name Gwgan or Gwgon, originally probably a nickname meaning literally "little scowler". (Cf. the second element in Cadogan.) This surname is borne by Irish radio and television presenter Terry Wogan (1938-).
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]
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’.
WrinnIrish (Anglicized) From Irish Gaelic Ó Rinn "descendant of Rinn", a personal name perhaps based on reann "spear".
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
WrzesińskiPolish Name for someone from a place called Września, Wrzesina or Wrzesiny, all derived from Polish wrzos meaning "heather".
WujekPolish It literally means "uncle" in Polish but it could possibly refer to the Polesian village of the same name.
WurtzGerman A metonymic occupational name for a greengrocer or grower or seller of herbs, from Middle High German würz, meaning ‘herb’.
WurzburgerJewish "The Wurzburger surname is derived from the German city of Wurzburg, Bavaria, where Jews first settled in the 11th century. The German and Yiddish ending -er means 'of', 'from'." - from https://forebears.io/surnames/wurzburger
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.
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".
WysokińskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Wysokin.
WyspiańskimPolish Derived from the Polish word wyspa meaning "island."
XenosAncient Greek From Greek xenos ‘stranger’, ‘newcomer’ (equivalent to English Newman), or short for a composite name such as Xenocostas ‘Costas the newcomer’.
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.
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.
YabenBasque Means "under the rushes, reed bed, bracken".