WatayōJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 濟陽 (Watayō), a variant reading of Japanese 濟陽 (Saiyō), from Chinese 濟陽 (Jìyáng) meaning "Jiyang", a town in the county of Xiayi in the city of Shangqiu in the province of Henan in China.... [more]
WatneyEnglish Probably means "person from Watney", an unidentified place in England (the second syllable means "island, area of dry land in a marsh"; cf. Rodney, Whitney)... [more]
WaxmanEnglish, German (Americanized), Jewish (Americanized) Occupational name for a seller or gatherer of beeswax from wax "wax" plus Middle English man "man". According to the Oxford English Dictionary wax-man is an obsolete term for an officer of a trade guild who collected contributions from members for wax candles to be used in processions... [more]
WeixelGerman German: variant spelling of Weichsel, a topographic name for someone who lived near a sour cherry tree (St. Luce cherry), from Middle High German wīhsel (modern German Weichsel(n), pronounced ‘Weiksel’.
WeldonEnglish Weldon is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Weldon family lived in Northamptonshire, at Weldon.... [more]
WellerEnglish, German Either from the Olde English term for a person who extracted salt from seawater, or from the English and German "well(e)," meaning "someone who lived by a spring or stream."... [more]
WelschGerman From Middle High German welsch, walsch "person from a Romance country (especially Italy), foreigner", hence an ethnic name or in some cases perhaps a nickname for someone who had trading or other connections with the Romance countries.
WeltonEnglish Habitational name from any of various places named Welton, for example in Cumbria, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and East Yorkshire, from Old English well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.
WemyssScottish From the lands of Wemyss in Fife, which is derived from Gaelic uaimheis "cave place".
WencesSlavic Based on Wenceslaus or Wenceslas, latinized forms of name of Slavic rulers in various forms such as Václav, Wacław, Więcesław, Vyacheslav, Vjenceslav, etc. Derived from the Slavic words veli/vyache/więce/više ("great(er), large(r)"), and slava ("glory, fame")... [more]
WengerGerman, German (Swiss) The surname Wenger is derived from the Middle High German word "wenger," "meaning "wagoner" or "cartwright."" It was an occupational name given to someone who worked as a wagon maker or driver.Another possible origin is that is derived from the German word, wenge, "meaning field of meadow"
WernikPolish (Rare) A diminutive surname created from the initial sound of a personal name, place or thing and diminutive ik suffix added to create a surname. The ik suffix may be commemorative also, meaning a significant event has occured regarding the person or family... [more]
WestenEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from any of numerous places named Weston, from Old English west 'west' + tun 'enclosure', 'settlement'. English: variant of Whetstone.
WesterGerman From Middle High German wëster ‘westerly’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived to the west of a settlement, or a regional name for one who had migrated from further west.
WestraDutch, West Frisian Means "from the west", derived from Dutch west "west, western, westwards" combined with the Frisian habitational suffix -stra.
WhaleyEnglish From the name of the village of Whaley and the town of Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire, or the village of Whalley in Lancashire, England. It is derived from Old English wælla meaning "spring, stream" and leah meaning "woodland clearing".
WhitbyEnglish English surname which was from either of two place names, that of a port in North Yorkshire (which comes from the Old Norse elements hvítr "white" (or Hvíti, a byname derived from it) combined with býr "farm") or a place in Cheshire (from Old English hwit "white" (i.e., "stone-built") and burh "fortress").
WibergSwedish Combination of Old Norse víðr "forest, wood" (probably taken from a place name) and Swedish berg "mountain".
WidgerEnglish From the Old English male personal name Wihtgār, literally "elf-spear".
WidmanSwedish Meaning uncertain. Perhaps a combination of Old Swedish viþr "wood, forest" or vid "wide" and man "man". It is also possible, though less likely, that it is a re-spelling of Vikman, where the first element is Swedish vik "bay".
WigginEnglish Either (i) from the Germanic male personal name Wīgant, literally "warrior", introduced into England by the Normans; or (ii) from the Breton male personal name Wiucon, literally "worthy-noble", introduced into England by the Normans.
WildinEnglish The former placename is composed of the Olde English pre 7th Century words "wilg", willow, and "denu", a valley; while the latter place in Worcestershire is derived from the Olde English personal name "Winela", plus the Olde English "dun", a hill or mountain.
WilgarIrish An ancient surname of Olde English and Scottish origins. It is usually occupational for a textile fuller, deriving from the pre 7th century word wealcere, meaning to walk or tread.
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]
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.
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]
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").
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".
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.
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]
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]
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.
WolkenGerman Surname derived from a diminutive of the given name Wolter, a Low German form of Walter.... [more]
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.
WredenGerman, Jewish Habitational name for any place in Germany or Denmark, of uncertain meaning. Famous bearers include Davey Wreden (1988-) is an American game designer known for his work in The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide as well as his brother, American internet personality, Douglas Scott Wreden (1991-), known by his pseudonym DougDoug.
WriedtGerman, Danish From Old Germanic *wraiþ meaning "twisted, bent, uneven" or "angry, furious; hostile, violent". Could be a habitational name from an area with rough terrain or overgrown roots, or a nickname for someone with a bad temper.
WurnigGerman German origin from the place name am Virgen originally meaning a person from the town of Virgen in Tyrol. Construed as a family name in 1501.
XavierEnglish, French Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries.
XuerebMaltese Possibly means "noble", of Semitic origin transmitted to Central Europe. Alternatively, it may be derived from Arabic شَارِب (šārib) meaning "drinker, drinking" or "moustache", used as a nickname for an alcoholic or someone with distinctive facial hair.
XūwángChinese A Chinese surname taken from combining 須 (xū) meaning "must, necessary" with 王 (wáng) meaning "king, monarch". It is the Chinese reading of the Japanese surname Suō.
YabukiJapanese (Rare) Derived from the Japanese kanji 矢 (ya) meaning "arrow" and 吹 (buki), from 吹き (buki), the joining continuative form of 吹く (fuku) meaning "to blow". It can also derive from 藪 (yabu) meaning "thicket; grove; copse" and 亀 (ki) meaning "tortoise, turtle"... [more]
YabunoJapanese From 薮 (yabu) meaning "thicket, bush, underbrush, grove", combined with 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness"..
YaegerGerman Yaeger is a relatively uncommon American surname, most likely a transcription of the common German surname "Jaeger/Jäger" (hunter). The spelling was changed to become phonetic because standard English does not utilize the umlaut.
YagiraJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yagi) meaning "willow" combined with 楽 (ra) meaning "music, comfort, ease".
YagnikIndian/Gujarati/Sanskrit (Modern) Means "one who performs sacrifices". Derived from the Sanskrit word yajña (pronounced yagna or yagya) meaning "sacrifice" or "sacraficial fire".
YahabaJapanese From Japanese 矢幅 (Yahaba) meaning "Yahaba", a former village in the district of Shiwa in the former Japanese province of Rikuchū in parts of present-day Iwate and Akita in Japan.... [more]
YaicheArabic (Maghrebi) From Arabic يعيش (ya'ish) meaning "he will live", ultimately derived from the word عاش ('asha) meaning "to live".
YajimaJapanese Derived from Japanese 矢 (ya) meaning "arrow" or 谷 (ya) meaning "valley, lowland, plain" combined with 島 or 嶋 (shima) meaning "island".... [more]
YakumoJapanese (Rare) This surname combines 八 (hachi, ya, ya'.tsu, ya.tsu, you) meaning "eight", 耶 (ja, ya, ka) meaning "question mark" or 家 (ka, ke, ie, uchi, ya) meaning "expert, family, home, house, performer, professional" with 雲 (un, kumo, -gumo) meaning "cloud."... [more]
YamabeJapanese From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".
YamabiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 火 (bi), the joining form of 火 (hi) meaning "fire". It is a reference to an event when the leader of the Morioka Domain came to the mountains and the residents warmed him up by starting a fire using flint... [more]
YamahaJapanese (Rare) This Japanese surname is more found in Brazil than Japan, because of Japanese immigrants who immigrated from Japan to Brazil. Notable bearer of this surname: Torakusu Yamaha (Japanese entrepreneur who was the founder of the Yamaha Corporation).
YasukiJapanese Yasu means "Relax, Cheap" and Ki mean "Tree". Yasuki is also a first name.
YasumiJapanese Yasu meaning ‘Restful’ and Mi meaning ‘one’s self/yourself’
YasuraJapanese Yasu means "cheap, relax, peace" and ra means "good".
YasuraJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 安良 (Yasura) meaning "Yasura", a former village in the former district of Izushi in the former Japanese province of Tajima in parts of present-day Hyōgo, Japan.