Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
WorsleyEnglish Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname from either of the places called Worsley in Lancashire and in Worcestershire. The place in Lancashire was recorded as "Werkesleia" in 1196, and means Weorchaeth's wood or glade, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Weorchaeth", from weorc, work, fortification, and leah, a wood, or clearing in a wood... [more]
WorthEnglish Habitational name from any of several locations derived from Old English worþ "enclosure, enclosed homestead, settlement".
WorthingtonEnglish Habitational name from places in Lancashire and Leicestershire named Worthington; both may have originally been named in Old English as Wurðingtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Wurð", but it is also possible that the first element was Old English worðign, a derivative of worð ‘enclosure’.
WortonEnglish habitational name from Nether and Over Worton (Oxfordshire), Worton (Wiltshire), Worton in Aysgarth (North Yorkshire), Worton Hall in Isleworth (Middlesex), or Worton in Cassington (Oxfordshire). The placenames derive from Old English wyrt "plant, vegetable" and tun "farmstead, estate" (i.e. a kitchen garden), except for Nether and Over Worton (Oxfordshire), which derives from Old English ōra "edge, ridge" and tun.
WowereitGerman (East Prussian) East Prussian German (and thus heavily Lithuanian influenced) name meaning "squirrel", from Old Prussian wowere and Lithuanian voveraite (which, apart from "squirrel", also means "chanterelle").... [more]
WoytekCzech, Slovak, Polish Eastern European surname of unknown meaning. A variant of Vojtek.
WrangelGermanic The surname Wrangel was first found in Westphalia. The name is derived from the place name Warangale (now Wrangelshof) in Estonia.... [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’.
WrbanekPolish Polish, Czech (Urbánek), and Sorbian: from a pet form of the personal name Urban . The surname is also established in Germany.
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.
WrenEnglish Nickname from the bird, derived from Middle English wrenne, possibly denoting a person of small stature. A famous bearer of the name was English architect Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723).
WretmanSwedish Combination of Swedish vret "remote small field situated some distance away from a bigger field" and man "man".
WriedenJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Fried or a short form of any of the various compound names beginning Frieden of the same derivation.
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.
WrinnIrish (Anglicized) From Irish Gaelic Ó Rinn "descendant of Rinn", a personal name perhaps based on reann "spear".
WriothesleyEnglish (British) Name is of unknown origin, deriving from older Wrotteslega, who were a family that held estates in Staffordshire in the late 1100s. Possibly a combination of wrot "snout" and leah "meadow, cleaning", suggesting it's origin as a pig farm.
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
WrzesieńPolish Derived from Polish wresień "September (month)".
WrzesińskiPolish Name for someone from a place called Września, Wrzesina or Wrzesiny, all derived from Polish wrzos meaning "heather".
WunderlichGerman A nickname for an eccentric or moody person, derived from the word wunderlich meaning "whimsical" in German.
WünscheGerman Probably denoted a person from Wendland, a region in Germany on the borders of the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Wendling, a municipality in the Grieskirchen District, Upper Austria, Austria.
WürdemannGerman From the German "Würde"-honour or dignity, and "Mann"-man or person. "Man of Honour" or "Person of Dignity".
WurdemannGerman (Rare) This is a German surname, also spelled WÜRDEMANN (original) and often rendered as WUERDEMANN in English. It come from the German "würde", "dignity" or "honor" and "mann", meaning "man" or "person".... [more]
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.
WursterGerman Derived from German Wurst (Middle High German wurst) "sausage" and thus either denoted a butcher who specialized in the production of sausages, or was used as a nickname for a plump person or someone who was particularly fond of sausages.
WurðingtunEnglish Habitational name from places in Lancashire and Leicestershire named Worthington; both may have originally been named in Old English as Wurðingtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Wurð", but it is also possible that the first element was Old English worðign, a derivative of worð ‘enclosure’.
WürttembergGerman Württemberg is an historical German territory. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, it now forms the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg.
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
WuttkeGerman Originally denoted a person from Wutike, a district near the town of Neuruppin in Brandenburg, Germany.
WycherleyEnglish Derived from a place name apparently meaning "elm-wood clearing" from Old English wice and leah. A famous bearer was the dramatist William Wycherley (1640-1715).
WyckoffEast Frisian (Rare) Means "settlement on a bay", from Old Frisian wik "bay, inlet" and hof "courtyard, farmstead".
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".
WymoreEnglish From a town called Waymore in England, possibly abandoned. Combining Old English wic meaning "dwelling place," and mor meaning "moor."
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.
WyndScottish, Irish Scotland or Ireland not sure of original origin. There was a childe Wynd some type of royal who slayed a dragon type thing worm or something and a Henery Wynd who was a mercenary in a battle at north inch in Scotland
WysockimPolish, Jewish Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations named Wysocko, Wysoka or Wysokie, all derived from Polish wysoki meaning "tall, high".
WysokińskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Wysokin.
WyspiańskimPolish Derived from the Polish word wyspa meaning "island."