Browse Submitted Surnames

Van Der Graaf Dutch
Means "from the canal", derived from Dutch graaf "canal, excavated watercourse", itself related to graven "to dig".

Van Der Gracht Dutch
Means "from the canal" in Dutch, from Dutch gracht "canal".

Van Der Hoeden Dutch
Means "from the hatmaker" in Dutch, from Dutch hoede "hat".

Van Der Hoeven Dutch
Means "from the farmstead" in Dutch.

Van der Kerk Dutch
Means "from the church" in Dutch.

Van Der Kleij Dutch
Means "from Klei" (literally "from the clay"), the toponym of a settlement in the Netherlands built on clay ground.

Van Der Klok Dutch
Means "from the bell", from Middle Dutch clocke "bell; bell-shaped", a habitational name for someone who lived near a bell tower, or perhaps a sign depicting a bell.

Van Der Kolk Dutch
Means "of the kolk", a variant of Kolk.

Van Der Kooi Dutch
Means "from the pen", derived from Dutch kooi "cage", given to someone who owned a duck decoy field for hunting, or who came from a place named after one.

Van Der Laan Dutch
Means "from the lane" in Dutch.

Van Der Leij Dutch
Derived from Dutch lei meaning "slate" (effectively meaning "from the slate"), indicating that the original bearer of this name may have come from a place where slate was produced.

Van Der Merwe Dutch, South African
Means "from the Merwe", Merwe being an older form of Merwede, the name of a river in the Netherlands. It derives from meri "lake, sea" and widu "wood"... [more]

Vanderpan Dutch
From Dutch van der Pan meaning "from the pan", possibly referring to a location that resembled the shape of a pan.

Van der Plas Dutch
Means "from the pool" in Dutch, derived from plas "pool, puddle, pond; body of stagnant water".

Van der Ploeg Dutch
Means "of the plough" in Dutch, an occupational name for a farmer or a bookbinder (a ploeg also being a tool used in binding books), or a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a plough.

Van Der Poel Dutch
Means "from the pool".

Van Der Sloot Dutch
Means "from the ditch" in Dutch, from Dutch sloot "ditch, trench".

Van Der Sluijs Dutch
Means "from the sluice", from Dutch sluis "sluice, lock", a habitational name for someone who lived by a sluice gate.

Van Der Steen Dutch, Flemish
Means "from the stone", a habitational name for someone from any of various minor places called Steen or Ten Stene, for example in the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and Brabant.

Van Der Valk Dutch
Means "of the falcon" or "from De Valk" in Dutch. Compare Valk.

Van Der Velde Dutch
Means "of the field, from the field", from Dutch veld "field".

Van Der Vest Dutch (Archaic)
Means "from the city wall, of the fort", derived from Middle Dutch veste "fortification, stronghold, castle; reliability".

Van Der Walle Dutch, Flemish
Means "from the rampart" or "from the defensive wall" in Dutch.

Van der Weide Dutch
Means "from the pasture" in Dutch, either a topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow, or a metonymic occupational name for a butcher.

Van der Werf Dutch
Means "from the wharf" or "from the shipyard" in Dutch, derived from werf meaning "quay, wharf, shipyard", or from the older form werve "dyke, quay, bank". Can be a topographic name for someone who lived near such a place, or an occupational name for someone who worked at a shipyard, such as a carpenter.

Vander Woude Dutch, Frisian, West Frisian
Means "from the woods" or "from the forest".

Van Der Zanden Dutch
Means "from the sand", most likely given to someone who lived near sandy grounds. It originated in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.

Van de Velde Dutch, Flemish
Means "from the field" in Dutch.

Van De Wetering Dutch
Means "from the drainage channel", from Dutch wetering "canal, waterway, drainage channel" or the name of a town using it as an element.

Van De Zandschulp Dutch
Means "from the sandy seashell" in Dutch. A famous bearer is the Dutch tennis player Botic van de Zandschulp (1995-).

Van Doorn Dutch
Means "of the thorns", a topographic name for someone who lived near thorn bushes, or in a settlement named after them.

Van Duijn Dutch
Means "from the dune" in Dutch.

Van Es Dutch
Means "from the ash tree", denoting someone who lived by an ash tree or who came from a place named for them, such as Esch.

Van Eyck Dutch
It means "of the oak", Eyck is a different, more archaic spelling of the word "eik" which means oak.

Vangarde French
"(A soldier) in the leading edge of an army formation"

Van Geelkerken Dutch, Flemish
Means "from the yellow churches", derived from Dutch geel meaning "yellow" and kerken, the plural of kerk meaning "church". A notable bearer was the infamous fascist political leader Cornelis van Geelkerken (1901-1976), who founded the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) during World War II, alongside Anton Mussert.

Van Holt Dutch
Means "from the forest", a variant of Holt.

van Niekerk Afrikaans
Topographic name for any of the various locations named Nieuwerkerk in The Netherlands or Nieuwerkerken in Belgium. The name itself means "of the new church" from Dutch van meaning "of" combined with nieuw meaning "new" and kerk meaning "church".

Van Noort Dutch
Means "from the north", derived from Middle Dutch nort "north, northwards". Alternatively, can be an altered form of Van Oort.

Van Ooijen Dutch
Means "from Ooijen" in Dutch, the name of a hamlet in Limburg, Netherlands, as well as several other settlements derived from Middle Dutch ooy "floodplain, wetland, meadow in the bend of a river".

Van Oort Dutch
Means "from the edge (of town)", derived from Middle Dutch ort "edge, corner, outermost point of a region". Sometimes altered to or from the surname Van Noort.

Van Reenen Dutch, South African
Means "from Rhenen", the name of a city in Utrecht, Netherlands. Possibly derived from Proto-Germanic *hraini "clean, pure", or from Rijn "the Rhine (river)" combined with Old Dutch hem "home, settlement".

Van Staalduinen Dutch
Means "from the steel dunes", a toponym.

Van 't Boveneind Dutch
Means "from Boveneind", the name of various places in the Netherlands, itself meaning "from the top end" in Dutch. It is derived from boven meaning "upper, upstream" and eind meaning "edge, end".

Van Tol Dutch
Means "of (the) toll" or "from Tol" in Dutch, derived from tol "toll (fee); toll booth, toll house", a habitational name for someone who lived near or in a toll house or a place named for one, or a metonymic occupational name for a toll collector... [more]

Van 't Schip Dutch
Means "from the ship", derived from Middle Dutch schip literally meaning "ship". It is borne by the Dutch-Canadian former soccer player John van 't Schip (1963-).

Van Zon Dutch
Variant of van Son. In some cases, it could denote someone who lived or worked in a building named De Zon "the sun", probably named for a sign depicting the sun.

Vəzirov Azerbaijani
Means "son of the vizier", from the Arabic title وَزِير (wazīr) denoting a minister or high-ranking official in an Islamic government.

Verbruggen Dutch, Flemish
Contracted form of Van Der Bruggen, meaning "from the bridge".

Verdonk Dutch
Contraction of van der Donk meaning "from the donk", a donk being a kind of sandy hill found in a swamp.

Verhofstadt Dutch, Flemish
Means "from the farmstead" or "from the homestead" in Dutch. A notable bearer is the Flemish politician Guy Verhofstadt (1953-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.

Verhulst Dutch, Flemish
Shortened form of van der Hulst "from the holly".

Verkerk Dutch
Contracted form of Van der Kerk "from the church".

Verkuilen Dutch, Flemish
Reduced form of van der Kuylen, a topographic name derived from kuil "pit, quarry, hole in the ground", or a habitational name for someone from Kuil in East Flanders or Kuilen in Limburg.

Verschoor Dutch
Contracted form of Van der Schoor, roughly meaning "from the shore".

Verschuren Dutch
Contracted form of Van der Schuren meaning "from the barns".

Verstappen Dutch
Contracted form of Van der Stappen "from the steps". Coincides with a Dutch word meaning "to misstep".

Versteeg Dutch
Contracted form of Van der Steeg "from the lane".

Verwey Dutch, Afrikaans, South African
Contracted form of van der Weij meaning "from the meadow".

Vesper German
Either a nickname from Latin vesper "6 o’clock in the evening evening time" originally the second to last canonical hour or a habitational name from a place so called on the Ruhr river.

Vice English
May come from "devise", an Old French word that means "dweller at the boundary". It may also derive a number of place names in England, or be a variant of Vise.

Vickers English
Means "son of the vicar". It could also be the name of someone working as a servant of a vicar.

Viht Estonian
Viht is an Estonian surname and word meaning "the branches used to beat oneself in sauna".

Viimne Estonian
Viimne is an Estonian surname meaning "the very last" and "the last of".

Villasurda German
Villasurda is a Germanic name dating back to the time of the Vikings. It, roughly translated from a Norse word, means, "the one who is fat."

Villein French
"Used in medieval England and France. Villein is another term used for the serfs in the lowest classes of the feudal system."

Violette French
Perhaps a topographic name from a diminutive of viol "path", itself a derivative of vie "way". It is more likely, however, that this name is from the secondary surname Laviolette "the violet (flower)", which was common among soldiers in French Canada.

Viramontes Spanish
Viramontes is composed of the elements "mira" and "montes," two Spanish words with the combined meaning of "place with a view of the mountains."

Von Der Lehr German
"from the Lehr" Meadow or Clearing

Vongkhamchanh Lao
From Lao ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family", ຄຳ (kham) meaning "gold" and ຈັນ (chanh) meaning "moon".

Vongphachanh Lao
From Lao ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family" and ພະຈັນ (phachanh) meaning "moon".

Voyennykh Russian
Means "military" or "relating to the military" in Russian.

Vreeke Dutch
Either a variant form of the given name Freek, a diminutive of Frederik, or a contraction of Van Der Eijk "from the oak".

Vrielink Dutch
Etymology uncertain. Possibly from the name of a farmstead, itself perhaps derived from a given name such as Frigilo or Friedel... [more]

Waco Indigenous American, Comanche
Is believed to have a Native American origin and may mean "the chosen ones" in the language of a tribe. However, the exact meaning of the name and the tribe's connection to the modern-day surname is not entirely clear.

Waititi Maori
Meaning uncertain. It could derive from Maori waitī both meaning "sweet, melodious", denoting a sweet person, or "sap of the cabbage tree", possibly denoting an occupation. Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi (1975-), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian.

Wakiyama Japanese
From Japanese 脇 (waki) meaning "armpit, the other way" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Walcott English
habitational name from any of several places called Walcott Walcot or Walcote for example in Lincolnshire Leicestershire Norfolk Oxfordshire and Wiltshire all named in Old English wealh "foreigner Briton serf" (genitive plural wala) and cot "cottage hut shelter" (plural cotu) meaning "the cottage where the (Welsh-speaking) Britons lived".

Walz German
The surname **Walz** has German origins and is derived from the personal name Walther, which means "ruler of the army"³. It is also thought to have originated from the Middle High German word "walz," meaning "to wander" or "to roam," likely describing someone who traveled frequently or was a wandering tradesman or merchant⁵.... [more]

Warton English
"From the poplar-tree farm"

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]

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."

Weir Irish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Mhaoir "son of the steward or keeper".

Welburn English
English surname meaning "From the Spring brook"

Welford English
English surname meaning "Lives by the spring by the ford"

Westra Dutch, West Frisian
Means "from the west", derived from Dutch west "west, western, westwards" combined with the Frisian habitational suffix -stra.

Westrop English (British)
Viking name local to Somerset and several counties in the North East of England. Approximate meaning "place to the west of the village with the church".

Whately English
Old English location or occupational surname meaning "from the wheat meadow".

Whiting English
Derived from a patronymic surname, created from the Old English personal name Hwit, meaning "the white one."

Wicksey English
Two separate surnames, joined together to form Wicksey, when the Vikings invaded England. The name means "Dairy Farmer on the Marsh".

Willingham English
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".

Winterbourne English (British)
Probably meaning "winter stream". A large village in Gloucestershire, From the Thomas Hardy novel "The Woodlanders".

Wisneski Polish
A derivate of Wiśniewski, which is said to mean "The Little Cherry Tree"

Wolfenden English
derived from the place called Wolfenden in the parish of Newchurch-in-Rossendale, Lancashire. The placename means "Wulfhelm's valley", or "the valley of Wulfhelm" derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name Wulfhelm, composed of the elements wulf "wolf" and helm "helmet, protection" and denu "valley".

Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff German (Rare)
The truncated form of the surname Wolfeschlegel­steinhausen­bergerdorff­welche­vor­altern­waren­gewissenhaft­schafers­wessen­schafe­waren­wohl­gepflege­und­sorgfaltigkeit­beschutzen­vor­angreifen­durch­ihr­raubgierig­feinde­welche­vor­altern­zwolfhundert­tausend­jahres­voran­die­erscheinen­von­der­erste­erdemensch­der­raumschiff­genacht­mit­tungstein­und­sieben­iridium­elektrisch­motors­gebrauch­licht­als­sein­ursprung­von­kraft­gestart­sein­lange­fahrt­hinzwischen­sternartig­raum­auf­der­suchen­nachbarschaft­der­stern­welche­gehabt­bewohnbar­planeten­kreise­drehen­sich­und­wohin­der­neue­rasse­von­verstandig­menschlichkeit­konnte­fortpflanzen­und­sich­erfreuen­an­lebenslanglich­freude­und­ruhe­mit­nicht­ein­furcht­vor­angreifen­vor­anderer­intelligent­geschopfs­von­hinzwischen­sternartig­raum... [more]

Wolfhard German, Jewish
This name derives from the Old High German name “Wolfhard”, composed of two elements: the “*-wulfaz” (wolf) plus “*harduz / *hardu-” (hard, strong, brave, valiant, powerful one). In turn the name means “the one who is strong like a wolf”.

Wolford German
Means where the wolves cross the river/stream. Wolf meaning the animal and Ford meaning crossing a body of shallow water.... [more]

Wolowitz Jewish
This is the surname of the character Howard in the American television show "The Big Bang Theory".

Woodfall English
English surname used as a first name. The name means "dweller by a fold in the woods" - in this case, "fold" means "sheep-pen".... [more]

Woodfork English
"fork in the road in woodland"

Woodley English (American)
"From the wooded meadow". The actress Shailene Woodley's last surname

Woodson English
From a location in Yorkshire, England earlier spelled Woodsome and meaning "from the houses in the wood" or possibly a patronymic meaning "descendant of a wood cutter or forester."

Wurzburger Jewish
"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

Xavier English, 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.

Yaben Basque
Means "under the rushes, reed bed, bracken".

Yarchi Hebrew
From Hebrew יָרֵחַ (yareach), meaning "moon".

Yaylacıoğlu Turkish
Means "descendant of the nomad" from Turkish yaylacı meaning "nomad, highlander, transhumant".

Yoichien Japanese (Rare)
与 (Yo) meaning "give, award, participate", 市 (ichi) means "in the city, market" or "town" and 園 (en) means "garden".

Yorkshire English
From Yorkshire "the county of York". The place-name is recorded as Eoforwicscire in 1065 and derives from the city name York and Old English scir "district region".

Yuzurihara Japanese
Means "the field of the gentle Village". From the Japanese words Yasuri (gentle village) and Hara (plain, field).

Zachary English
A reference to Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."

Zacher English
A reference to Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."

Zachry English
A reference to Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."

Zahornacky South Slavic (Americanized, Modern, Rare)
Zahornacky is the americanized version of name Zahornitski, meaning “The people from over the mountain”. The name has roots in Czechoslovakian and Polish decent.

Zaim Turkish
Zaim may be a representation of the male Arabic given name Za'im / Zaeim (Arabic: ضعیم / زاعِم/ زاعيم‎), meaning leader, chief. Correspondingly al-Za'im (Arabic: الزعيم‎) means "the leader".

Zak Polish
A nickname given to youthful or studious people. Comes from the Polish zak, meaning "student" or "schoolboy". It originally meant "novice" or "candidate for the priesthood", and so in some cases it is perhaps a nickname for someone who had been destined for holy orders.

Zale English, Polish (Anglicized)
Possibly from a Polish surname, the meaning of which is uncertain (it may have been a variant of the surname Zalas which originally indicated one who lived "on the other side of the wood", from za "beyond" and las "forest").

Zanni Italian
From the first name Gianni, which derives from Giovanni, which is the Italian version of John, which means "the grace/mercy of the Lord." ... [more]

Zárate Spanish
Habitational surname meaning "entrance to the grove coppice".

Zatz Jewish
Abbreviation of the Hebrew phrase Zera TSadikim "seed of the righteous", assumed in a spirit of pious respect for one’s ancestors.

Žaŭniarovič Belarusian
Derived from Belarusian жаўнер (žaŭnier) meaning "soldier (of the Polish army)", borrowed from Polish żołnierz via German Söldner.

Zbornak American
Zbornak is a surname. A famous bearer is Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) from “The Golden Girls”.

Zhamkochyan Armenian
Means "son of the bell ringer" from Armenian ժամկոչ (zhamkoch) meaning "beadle, sexton, bell ringer".

Zhytaryuk Ukrainian
Means "child of the grain farmer". Derived from Ukrainian "житар (zhytar)", meaning "grain farmer" and the last name suffix -юк (-yuk).

Zolotarev Russian
Means "son of the goldsmith" derived from Russian золотарь (zolotar) meaning "goldsmith".

Zubiaga Basque
Means "place of the bridge", from Basque zubi "bridge" and the locative suffix -aga.

Zugrăvescu Romanian
Patronymic surname of uncertain origin. It may be derived from the verb a zugrăvi meaning "to paint, to describe figuratively" and therefore mean "The descendant of he who describes/paints".