Submitted Surnames Starting with W

usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Waage Norwegian
Variant of Våge.
Waara Finnish
Ornamental, from (vaara) meaning, “range of hills.”
Waawaashkeshshi Indigenous American
The name Waawaashkeshshi origin is annishinabe given name it means white tailed deer
Wachs German, Jewish
Occupational name for someone who dealt with beeswax from Middle High German wahs German wachs "wax".
Wachsmann German, Jewish
Occupational name for a gatherer or seller of beeswax from Middle Low German was "wax" + man "man".
Wachter German, Dutch
Occupational name for a watchman, from Middle High German wachtære, wehtære, Middle Dutch wacht(e)re. (cf. Waite).
Wachtmann German
Occupational name for a watchman.
Wacker German
From a nickname for a bold or energetic person, from Middle High German wacker meaning ‘fresh’, ‘lively’, ‘brave’, or ‘valiant’.
Wackerman English (American), German
From the Americanized spelling of German Wackermann, a variant of Wacker, with the addition of Middle High German man, meaning ‘man’.
Wacławski Polish
Name for someone from a place named Wacławice or Wacławów, both derived from the given name Wacław.
Waddington English
Habitational name from any of various places called Waddington. One near Clitheroe in Lancashire and another in Lincolnshire (Wadintune in Domesday Book) were originally named in Old English as the "settlement" (Old English tūn) associated with Wada.
Wadhwa Indian (Sikh)
Sikh name based on the name of an Arora clan.
Wadia Indian (Parsi)
Parsi surname possibly derived from Wadia, the name of a village in Gujarat.
Wadley English
From a place in England named with Old English wad "woad" or the given name Wada combined with Old English leah "woodland clearing".
Wadlow English
Habitational name from a lost place, Wadlow in Toddington.
Wadood Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name Wadud.
Wadsworth English
Location name from Yorkshire meaning "Wæddi's enclosure or settlement" with Wæddi being an old English personal name of unknown meaning plus the location element -worth. Notable bearer is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) for whom the middle name was his mother's maiden name.
Wadud Arabic, Bengali
Derived from the given name Wadud.
Wadzanai Shona
Wadzanai means "Have fellowship, visit each other, be on good terms". The name may be given as a call to family to come together in fellowship, visiting and being on good terms
Wael Arabic (Egyptian)
Derived from the given name Wail.
Wagahara Japanese
Waga is possibly from Waka meaning "Young" and Hara meaning "plain, field".
Wagamese Ojibwe
Comes from an Ojibway phrase meaning ‘man walking by the crooked water.’
Wagenmann German
Occupational name from Middle High German wagenman ‘hauler’, ‘wagoner’.
Waggoner German
German name; variant of Wagner
Waghdhare Indian
A Marathi surname meaning "Tiger Catcher"
Wagle Norwegian
A habitational name derived from farmsteads in Rogaland named Vagle, from the Old Norse vagl meaning a '‘perch’' or '‘roost'’, referring to a high ridge between two lakes.
Wagmann German
Possibly derived from Swabian Wegman, meaning "herb".
Wahab Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Urdu
From the given name Wahab.
Waheed Arabic, Urdu, Dhivehi
From the given name Wahid.
Wahid Arabic
From the given name Wahid
Wahl German, Jewish
From Middle High German Walhe, Walch "foreigner from a Romance country", hence a nickname for someone from Italy or France, etc. This surname is also established in Sweden.
Wahlberg German, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare)
Composed of German wal "field, meadow" or Swedish vall "grassy bank" and berg "mountain, hill".
Wainscott English
Meaning unknown. From Middle English Waynescot. The surname presumably arose from a nickname for someone who imported or used oak timber.
Wainwright English
Occupational name for a maker or repairer of wagons.
Wait English
Variant spelling of Waite.
Wäite Luxembourgish (Germanized, Rare)
The name originates from Luxembourg and the surrounding Germanic regions most notably the Rhenish Palatinate from around the 1800s. The word wäite is Luxembourgish for wide and also broad, the word wäit which is an alternative spelling of the Surname Wäite is Luxembourgish for far or distant.... [more]
Waite English
Occupational name for a watchman, Anglo-Norman French waite (cf. Wachter).
Waits English
Patronymic form of Waite.
Waitt English
Variant spelling of Waite.
Wajid Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name Wajid.
Wajima Japanese
A variant of Washima.... [more]
Wajoli African
Swahili Word mjoli. Swahili Plural wajoli. English Word fellow servant.
Wajsbort Jewish
Yiddish meaning "White beard"
Wakabayashi Japanese
From Japanese 若 (waka) meaning "young" and 林 (hayashi) meaning "forest".
Wakaki Japanese
若 (Waka) means "young" and 木 (ki) means "wood, tree".... [more]
Wakamatsu Japanese
From Japanese 若 (waka) meaning "young" and 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree".
Wakamoto Japanese
From Japanese 若 meaning "young" and 本 meaning "base, root, origin".
Wakasa Japanese
Comes from an old province in Japan.
Wakata Japanese
From the Japanese 若 (waka) "young" and 田 (ta or da) "rice paddy" or 多 (ta or da) "many."
Wakatsuchi Japanese
From the Japanese 若 (waka) "young" and 土 (tsuchi) "earth," "soil."
Wakatsuki Japanese
Combination of the kanji 若 (waka, "young") and 槻 (tsuki, "Zelkova tree"). A famous bearer of this surname was Japanese Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō (若槻 禮次郎; 1866–1949).
Wake English, Scottish
From the Old Norse byname Vakr meaning "wakeful", "vigilant" (from vaka meaning "to remain awake"), or perhaps from a cognate Old English Waca (attested in place names such as Wakeford, Wakeham, and Wakeley).
Wakeham English, Cornish
A locational surname for someone who lived in one of three places called Wakeham in various parts of England, including Cornwall and/or Devon.
Wakeley English
Habitational name from Wakeley in Hertfordshire, named from the Old English byname Waca, meaning ‘watchful’ (see Wake) + Old English leah ‘woodland clearing’.
Wakelin English
From the Anglo-Norman male personal name Walquelin, literally "little Walho", a Germanic nickname meaning literally "foreigner".
Wakely English
Damp meadow
Wakim Muslim
Probably a variant of Hakim.
Wakisaka Japanese
Wakisaka/脇阪 = "Ribs Hillside" 脇 = Ribs/Armpits, 阪 = Hillside.
Wakuni Japanese (Rare)
This surname is used as 和国 with 和 (o, ka, wa, nago.mu, nago.yaka, yawa.ragu, yawa.rageru) meaning "harmony, Japan, Japanese style, peace, soften" and 国 (koku, kuni) meaning "country."... [more]
Wakuri Japanese (Rare)
This surname is used as 和久利, 和久理, 和久里 or 和栗 with 和 (o, ka, wa, nago.mu, nago.yaka, yawa.ragu, yawa.rageru) meaning "harmony, Japan, Japanese style, peace, soften", 久 (kyuu, ku, hisa.shii) meaning "long time, old story", 利 (ri, ki.ku) meaning "advantage, benefit, profit", 理 (ri, kotowari) meaning "arrangement, justice, logic, reason, truth", 里 (ri, sato) meaning "league, parent's home, ri (unit of distance - equal to 3.927 km), village" and 栗 (ritsu, ri, kuri, ononoku) meaning "chestnut."... [more]
Walbridge English
English (Dorset): habitational name, probably from Wool Bridge in East Stoke, Dorset.
Walbrzychiak Polish
Means a person who is from the city of Walbrzych in Poland.
Walch Irish
Variant of Walsh.
Walch German
From the personal name Walcho.
Wald German, English
Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a forest (Old High German wald, northern Middle English wald).
Waldrip English, Scottish
The name is derived from the Old Norman warderobe, a name given to an official of the wardrobe, and was most likely first borne by someone who held this distinguished
Waldron Medieval German, Old Norman, Scottish Gaelic, English (British)
Derived from the German compound wala-hran, literally "wall raven", but originally meaning "strong bird". Also derived from the Gaelic wealdærn, meaning "forest dwelling", thought to be derived from the Sussex village of Waldron... [more]
Waldstein German, Jewish
Habitational surname for a person from a place in Bohemia called Waldstein, which is derived from Middle High German walt "forest" + stein "stone".
Waleed Arabic, Dhivehi
From the given name Walid.
Walenta Polish
From a derivative of the personal name Walenty.
Wales English (Modern), Scottish
English and Scottish patronymic from Wale.
Wali Urdu, Pashto, Bengali, Arabic
Derived from Arabic وَلِيّ (waliyy) meaning "helper, friend, protector", used in Islam to describe a saint.
Walia Indian, Punjabi
Punjabi name of unknown meaning.
Walid Arabic
Derived from the given name Walid.
Walin English (American)
Americanized form of the Swedish surname Wallin.
Walking Bear Indigenous 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.
Walkington English
Habitational name from a place in East Yorkshire named Walkington, from an unattested Old English personal name Walca + -ing- denoting association with + tūn.
Walkinshaw Scottish
Habitational name from Walkinshaw in Renfrewshire, which was probably named from Old English wealcere meaning "fuller" + sceaga meaning "copse".
Wall Swedish
Derived from Swedish vall "pasture, field of grass". It may be either ornamental or habitational.
Wall Irish
Anglicized from of de Bhál, a Gaelicized form of de Valle (see Devall).
Wallach Scottish
Variant of Wallace, meaning 'foreigner' that is found chiefly in Dumfries.
Wallas English
A variant of Wallace.
Wallee German
Of French origin, denoting a person who lives in or is from a valley.
Wallgren Swedish
Composed of the Swedish elements vall "grassy bank, pasture" and gren "branch".
Walliams English
Very rare form of Williams.... [more]
Walling Anglo-Norman
From the Anglo-Norman personal name Walweyn, the Old German forename Waldwin, or the Old English personal name Wealdwine, which means "power-friend".
Wallington American
From the surname of two girls from Rebel Starzz.
Wallman Swedish
Combination of Swedish vall "pasture, field of grass" and man "man".
Wallwork English (British)
Anglo-Saxon name originating from Lancashire, first recorded in Worsley in 1278. May originate from the Old Warke area in Worsley, shown as "Le Wallwerke" in old documents. The surname Walworth may be related.
Walmer English
Habitational name from Walmer in Kent, so named from Old English wala (plural of walh "Briton") + mere "pool", or from Walmore Common in Gloucestershire.
Walsch Irish
Variant of Walsh.
Walshe Irish
Variant spelling of Walsh.
Walshingham English
From the Anglo-Saxon words ham, meaning "house".
Waltrip German
Derived from the name of the father of the original bearer, indicating the "son of Waldrap." The Germanic personal name Waldrap, is a short form of Walraven, a name used mostly among nobles, knights, and patricians.
Walwyn English
Either (i) from the Old English personal name Wealdwine, literally "power-friend"; or (ii) perhaps from the medieval personal name Walwain, the Anglo-Norman form of Old French Gauvain (cf... [more]
Wan Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Yin.
Wan Chinese
From Chinese 万 (wàn) referring to a city that existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shaanxi province.
Wan Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Wen.
Wanamaker German (Anglicized), Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Wannemacher. A famous bearer is the British-American actress Zöe Wanamaker (1949-), as well as her father, actor and director Sam Wanamaker (1919-1993).
Wanbli Sioux
Means "eagle" in the Sioux language.
Wanderlust English (American)
Wanderlust derived from Artemis G.J. Wanderlust (birth name: Joseph E Yoder) in the year 2021, as an ornamental surname representing both:... [more]
Wang Chinese
From Chinese 汪 (wāng) referring to the ancient state of Wang Mang (汪芒) or Wang Wang (汪罔) in present-day Zhejiang province.
Wangchuk Tibetan
From the given name Wangchuk
Wangmo Tibetan
From the given name Wangmo.
Wanless English
From a medieval nickname for an ineffectual person (from Middle English wanles "hopeless, luckless").
Wann Scottish
WANN. Surname or Family name. Origin Scottish and English: nickname from Middle English wann ‘wan’, ‘pale’ (the meaning of the word in Old English was, conversely, ‘dark’).
Wannebo Norwegian
An alternative spelling of the Norwegian surname Vannebo.
Wannell English
English surname which was derived from a medieval nickname, from Middle English wann "wan, pale" (see Wann) and a diminutive suffix.... [more]
Wannemacher German, 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]
Wapelhorst Low German
"Wapel" (pronounced VA-pel) is a river in Northern Germany. "Horst" means 'eagle's nest' in modern German but also means 'man of the forest' in Old German.
Wappara Indian, Tamil
Another form of Oppara.
Waqa Fijian
The president of Nauru is called Baron Waqa.
Waqar Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name Waqar.
Wara Finnish (Rare, Expatriate)
Variant of Vaara, mostly used outside of Finland.
Warburton English
From the village and civil parish of Warburton in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire), England, derived from the Old English feminine given name Werburg (itself derived from wǣr meaning "pledge" and burh "fortress") and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
Wardak Pashto
Meaning uncertain. The Wardak are a Pashtun tribe from the Maidan Wardak Province in Afghanistan.
Warden English
Occupational name for a watchman or guard, from Old French wardein meaning "protector, guard". It was also used as a habbitational name for someone from any of the various locations in England named Warden... [more]
Warder English
Weard ora. Place name in Wilshire. Became Wardour ( see castle & village). Became Warder.
Wardrop Scottish
Metonymic occupational name for someone who was in charge of the garments worn by a feudal lord and his household, from Norman French warde(r) meaning "to keep or guard" + robe meaning "garment".
Warg Swedish
Taken from Swedish varg "wolf", ultimately derived from Old Norse vargr.
Waris Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name Waris.
Warmbier German
Metonymic occupational name for a brewer, derived from Middle Low German warm meaning "warm" and ber meaning "beer".
Warming Danish
Probably originating near the town of Ribe in Southeast Denmark. It appears as both Warming and Varming.... [more]
Warnakulasooriya Sinhalese
Alternate transcription of Sinhalese වර්ණකුලසූරිය (see Warnakulasuriya).
Warnakulasuriya Sinhalese
Derived from Sanskrit वर्ण (varna) meaning "color" or "caste", कुल (kula) meaning "family" and सूर्य (surya) meaning "sun".
Warnecke German
North German from a pet form of the personal name Warner, Low German form of Werner.
Warneke German
German variant spelling of Warnecke.
Warnke German
German variant of Warnecke.
Warns Dutch, German
Dutch habitational name from places so named in Friesland and Overijssel. The one in Friesland was the site of a famous victory of Frisians over the Hollanders in the 14th century. ... [more]
Warrior English
From the given name “warrior” from Old Frenchwerreieor, werrieur ‘warrior’.
Warron English
Variant of Warren.
Warszawa Polish
Place name for a person from Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
Warthen German
German: from a short form of the personal name Wartold, from Old High German wart ‘guardian’.
Warton English
"From the poplar-tree farm"
Wäscher German
Occupational surname for a washer, from Middle High German waschen, weschen "to wash".
Waseem Arabic, Urdu, Dhivehi
From the given name Wasim.
Washburn English
Northern English topographic name for someone living on the banks of the Washburn river in West Yorkshire, so named from the Old English personal name Walc + Old English burna ‘stream’... [more]
Washi Japanese
Occupational name for a paper worker. From 和 (wa) meaning "sum" and 紙 (shi) meaning "paper".
Wasikowska Polish
It is the surname of Australian actress Mia Wasikowska.
Wasim Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name Wasim.
Wason Scottish
Variant of Watson.
Wasser German, Jewish
Topographic name from Middle High German wazzer "water".
Wastie English
Derived from “gehaeg” meaning “hedge” in Old English which was later changed to Weysthagh then Wastie
Watabe Japanese
From Japanese 渡 (wata) meaning "cross, ferry" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".
Watanuki Japanese
This surname is used as 渡抜, 渡樌, 渡貫, 綿抜, 綿貫, 四月一日 or 四月朔日 with 渡 (to, wata.su, wata.ru) meaning "cross, deliver, diameter, ferry, ford, import, migrate, transit," 綿 (men, wata) meaning "cotton," 抜 (hai, hatsu, batsu, nu.kasu, nu.karu, nu.ki, nu.ku, -nu.ku, nu.keru) meaning "extract, omit, pilfer, pull out, quote, remove, slip out," 樌 (kan, nuki), an outdated kanji meaning "grove," 貫 (kan, tsuranu.ku, nuki, nu.ku) meaning "brace, penetrate, pierce, kan (obsolete unit of measuring weight - equal to 3.75 kg./8.33 lbs... [more]
Watari Japanese (Rare)
Watari means "ferry, import, deliver". Watari is also a first name and a place name.... [more]
Waterfield English
Derived from a town named Vatierville.
Waterford English (Rare)
From a place name derived from the Old Norse words veðra, 'ram' (Swedish vädur, 'ram', See Wetherby) and fjord, 'fjord'.
Waterhouse German
Old German and Dutch locational name meaning “a house by water.”
Waterson English
It is a patronymic of the male given name Water or Walter.
Wathers Irish
The surname originated in Donegal, Ireland. MacConuisce was an Anglicized form of o'hUisce. Uisce translates to water in English. Wathers is a rather uncommon name because it is an untraditional way of spelling Waters... [more]
Watney English
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]
Watterson Scottish, Northern Irish
From an altered form of the given name Walter.
Waud English
From Old English weald meaning "forest".
Waverly English
Meaning, "from Waverley (Surrey)" or "from the brushwood meadow." From either waever meaning "brushwood" or waefre meaning "flickering, unstable, restless, wandering" combined with leah meaning "meadow, clearing."
Wawrzyniak Polish
from the personal name Wawrzyniec