YanagawaJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yana) meaning "willow" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
YanagidaJapanese Yanagi (柳) means "willow", ta/da (田) means "ricefield", ta changes to da because of rendaku. Mikio Yanagida (柳田幹雄) from Btooom! is a notable character bearing this surname.
YanagidaJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yanagi) meaning "willow" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
YanagimiJapanese Yanagi means "willow" and mi means "viewpoint, outlook".
YasuhikoJapanese Yasu means "peace, even, level, cheap, inexpensive, relax" and hiko means "prince".
YasuhiroJapanese From Japanese 安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" combined with 央 (hiro) meaning "centre, middle". Other Kanji combinations are possible.... [more]
YokohamaJapanese Yoko means "beside" and hama means "beach, seashore".
YokohiraJapanese Yoko means "beside, next to" and hira means "peace, level, even".
YokohoriJapanese Yoko means "beside, next to" and hori means "moat, canal".
YokokawaJapanese From Japanese 横 (yoko) meaning "beside, next to" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
YokomizoJapanese 横 (Yoko) means "beside" and 溝 (mizo) means "groove, trench, gutter, gully, drain, ditch, gap". A notable bearer is Seishi Yokomizo, a Japanese novelist in the Showa Period.
YokomoriJapanese Yoko means "beside, next to" and mori means "forest".
YokomuraJapanese 横 (Yoko) means "Beside" and 村 (Mura) means "Village, Hamlet". Check the source if needed.
YomohiroJapanese (Rare) This is a very rare surname with the kanji of all four directions: (東西北南) "east, west, north, south", in that order. Yomo literally means "four directions" and hiro means "extension".
YonamineJapanese From the Japanese 與 or 与(yo) "together with," 那 (na) "what" and 嶺 (mine) "peak," "summit."
YoungkinScottish (?), Irish (?) Possibly derived from Younkin; A Strathclyde-Briton family from the Scottish/English Borderlands was the first to use the surname Younkin. It is a name for a person who was very young, from the Old English word yong and yung... [more]
YoungmanEnglish From Middle English yunge man "young servant", ultimately from Old English geong mann "young man".
ZabaletaBasque This indicates familial origin within either of 2 eponymous localities: the vicinity of the tower house in the Navarrese municipality of Lesaka or the neighborhood of the municipality of Nabarniz.
ZadzisaiShona Zadzisai means "you must fulfil - a pledge or promise". The name is given as a reminder to fulfil a pledge or promise.
ZaghloulArabic (Egyptian) Means "squab, young dove" in Egyptian Arabic. A notable bearer was the Egyptian statesman and revolutionary Saad Zaghloul (1857-1927).
ZagurskiPolish Derived from the Polish places Zagórz and Zagórze. Also given to those who lived on the side of a hill opposite a main settlement - za means "beyond" and góra means "hill".
ZakowskiPolish a Polish surname which is most frequent in the cities of Warszawa, Płońsk and Bydgoszcz in central Poland and is also to be found as Zakowski among the Polish diaspora.
ZalbideaBasque This indicates familial origin within either of 2 eponymous localities: the commune in the French canton of Bidaxunerria, Amikuze eta Oztibarre or the neighborhood of the municipality of Urduliz in the Spanish comarca of Uribe Kosta.
ZaldibarBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Biscay, Basque Country, derived from Basque zaldi "horse" and ibar "valley". Alternatively, the first element could instead be zaldu "wood, copse, forest".
ZatarainBasque From any of several place names in Basque Country, Spain, probably derived from the toponymic suffix -ain and an uncertain first element possibly meaning "thicket, underbrush". Alternatively, could derive from an altered form of Basque talaia "watchtower, lookout, vantage point", which is ultimately from Arabic طليعة (ṭalīʕa) "forefront, vanguard".
ZeilstraDutch, West Frisian Derived from zijl "sluice" and the suffix -stra denoting an inhabitant of a place. The name has also been connected to zeil "sail; to sail", possibly a nickname for someone who made sails or spent a lot of time on a ship.
ZelieskaPolish Polish Ashkenazic surname, possibly derived from surname Zieliński what is a habitational name for someone from Zielona or Zielonka (places in Poland), deriving from the root word meaning "green".
ŽemaitisLithuanian Derives from the Lithuanian ethnonym žemaitis "Samogitian", denoting someone who came from the Lithuanian region of Samogitia (Žemaitija). A notable bearer of this last name is Jonas Žemaitis, one of the leaders of the Lithuanian Partisans.... [more]
ZijlstraDutch Habitational surname derived from Dutch zijl "sluice, pump" and the West Frisian suffix -stra.
ZildjianArmenian (Anglicized) English form of Armenian Զիլճյան (see Zilčyan). The famous bearer of this name was Avedis Zildjian, founder of the oldest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world, the Avedis Zildjian Company.
ZubeldiaBasque Derived from Basque zumel "holm oak" and the locative suffix -di.
ZucchinoItalian Derived from zucchino meaning "zucchini, courgette" (Cucurbita pepo). It is also related to those surnames derived from zucca meaning "pumpkin" and to those derived from zuccone meaning "dumb, stubborn".
ZvaitikaShona Zvaitika means "It has happened". This name may be given as a celebration that something that was desired or awaited has finally happened.
ZwillingGerman, Jewish Means "a twin", as in a twin brother or twin sister. Often given to those who were twins.
ZyuganovmRussian Gennadiy Zyuganov is the leader of the Russian communist party.
ŻywieckiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish town of Żywiec.