VillaseñorGalician (Hispanicized) Habitational name, apparently a Castilianized spelling of Galician Vilseñor, from any of three places in Lugo province named Vilaseñor.
VisitorEnglish Likely from someone who was a stranger in a place.
VivarSpanish, History From the village of Vivar, later renamed Vivar del Cid, nowadays part of Quintanilla Vivar located near Burgos, Castile and León, Spain.... [more]
VivierFrench Derived from Latin vivarium, ultimately from Latin vivus "alive". This name is locational relating to living near a fish pond.
VöllerGerman German cognate of Fuller and a variant of Voll 2. A notable bearer is the retired German soccer player Rudi Völler (1960-).
VollmarGerman, Germanic, Low German This name is a variant form of Volkmar and the Low German form of Waldemar. It is of Germanic and Slavic origin and comes from the following roots: (VOLKMAR) and (VOLODIMĚRŬ).
Walking BearIndigenous 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.
WalliserGerman Denoting somebody from Valais (German form Wallis), a canton in Switzerland, or someone who immigrated from Valais, ultimately from Latin vallis "valley, vale".
WalmerEnglish Habitational name from Walmer in Kent, so named from Old English wala (plural of walh "Briton") + mere "pool", or from Walmore Common in Gloucestershire.
WannemacherGerman, 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]
WeinbrennerGerman Occupational name for a distiller of brandy, literally 'wine burner'.
WeingartnerGerman Derived from German weingärtner meaning "wine maker, vintner", which itself is derived from German weingarten meaning "vineyard". The latter is a composite word consisting of German wein "wine" combined with German garten "garden"... [more]
WeinheimerGerman German: habitational name for someone from any of the places named Weinheim, for example in Baden and Hessen.
WeiningerGerman (Swiss), Jewish Denoted a person from Weiningen, a municipality in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It is also a Jewish ornamental name derived from German wein meaning "wine" and the suffix -inger.
WeirScottish, English Topographic name for someone who lived by a dam or weir on a river.
WeirIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Mhaoir "son of the steward or keeper".
WeirIrish Anglicized form, based on an erroneous translation (as if from Gaelic cora "weir", "stepping stones"), of various Gaelic names such as Ó Corra (see Corr) and Ó Comhraidhe (see Curry).
WeisenburgerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from any of numerous places named Weissenburg "white fortress".
WeißmüllerGerman from Middle High German wiz "white" and mulin "miller" an occupational name for a miller who produced white flour which was produced as early as the 14th century.
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]
WendoverEnglish From a town in England, from Brittonic “winn”, meaning ‘white’, and “dwfr”, meaning ‘gate’.
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"
WesnerGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places named Wessen.
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.
WieslanderSwedish Combination of an unexplained first element and the common surname suffix -lander.
WiesnerGerman German: habitational name for someone from a place called Wiesen, or topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow, a derivative of Middle High German wise ‘meadow’.
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.
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.
WinegarGerman This German surname may belong to one whose ancestors worked in the food industry or in the production of vinegar. In German the letter “W” is pronounced as the letter “V” in English.
WinegardnerEnglish (American) Anglicized form of the German occupational surname Weingartner. A known bearer of this surname is the American writer Mark Winegardner (b. 1961).
WolfensbergerGerman (Swiss) Habitational name derived from the name of the now ruined castle of Wolfsberg near Bauma in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
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]
WolfmeyerGerman From German wolf "wolf" and meyer "tenant farmer".
WollschlägerGerman Occupational name for someone who prepared wool for spinning by washing and combing or carding it, from Middle High German wolle(n)slaher, -sleger, Middle Low German wullensleger (literally ‘wool beater’).
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.
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
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".
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.
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.
YagerGerman Americanized form of JÄGER, meaning "hunter."
YanarTurkish Means "burns, lights, combusts" in Turkish.
YararTurkish Means "benefit, profit, gain" in Turkish.
YellowhairNavajo, Cheyenne Native American (mainly Navajo; also Yellow Hair): translation into English of a personal name such as Navajo BitsiiʼŁitsoii (literally ‘His Yellow Hair’), which is derived from bitsiiʼ ‘his hair’ and łitso ‘yellow’, or Cheyenne Heova'ehe, derived from the prefix heov- ‘yellow’ and the suffix -a'e ‘hair’.
YeterTurkish Means "enough, sufficient" in Turkish.
YlvisåkerNorwegian (Rare) Meaning unknown. Famous bearers of this name are the Norwegian comedy duo "Ylvis" consisting of brothers Vegard (b. 1979) and Bård Ylvisåker (b. 1982).
YmffrostgarMedieval Welsh A historic Welsh surname, meaning a brag or boastful person, later shortened to Ffrost and again to Frost.
YoungerEnglish, American English (mainly Borders) from Middle English yonger ‘younger’, hence a distinguishing name for, for example, the younger of two bearers of the same personal name. In one case, at least, however, the name is known to have been borne by an immigrant Fleming, and was probably an Americanized form of Middle Dutch jongheer ‘young nobleman’ (see Jonker)... [more]
ZacharJewish, Hungarian, Russian, Slovak, Belarusian Derived from the Hebrew word זָכַר (zakhar) meaning "to remember". As a surname it can also derive from the given name Zakhar (Zechariah) that shares this etymology.
ZacherEnglish A reference to Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."
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".
ZehnerGerman (chiefly Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland, and Württemberg): occupational name for an official responsible for collecting, on behalf of the lord of the manor, tithes of agricultural produce owed as rent.... [more]
ZellerGerman, Dutch, Jewish Originally denoted someone from Celle, Germany or someone living near a hermit's cell from German zelle "cell". It is also occupational for someone employed at a zelle, for example a small workshop.
ZennerUpper German South German: unflattering nickname for a surly, snarling person, from an agent derivative of Middle High German zannen 'to growl or howl' or 'to bare one's teeth'.
ZinderGerman A mostly Ashkenazi Jewish surname, while specific documentation linking "Zinder" to the German word "Zünder" (meaning "tinder" or "firestarter") is limited, the surname "Zinder" is believed to have German origins, possibly derived from the word "Zindel," which refers to a "bundle of wood shavings." This term is associated with materials used to start fires, suggesting a potential connection to the "firestarter" occupation... [more]
ZingerGerman The surname Zinger was first found in Saxony, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. ... In Old German the name meant "lively" and "spritely," or more literally, "a biting, sharp taste."
ZingeserJewish, Yiddish Comes from Yiddish "ציו" meaning "Tin" and "גייסער" meaning "Smith".
ZuberGerman, German (Swiss) German: Metonymic occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker, from Middle High German zuber ‘(two-handled) tub’, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a tub. ... [more]
ZuckerJewish Occupational name for a confectioner or a nickname for someone with a sweet tooth, from German zucker or Yiddish צוקער (tsuker) both meaning "sugar". It is also used as an ornamental name.