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.
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.
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.
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.
WykesAnglo-Saxon From the Old English wic, roughly meaning "farm." The plural form is a patronymic of which is "son of Wic."... [more]
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".
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
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.
XenosAncient Greek From Greek xenos ‘stranger’, ‘newcomer’ (equivalent to English Newman), or short for a composite name such as Xenocostas ‘Costas the newcomer’.
XiChinese From Chinese 习 (xí) referring to an ancient territory named Xi, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in the Qin state in what is now Shangxian County, Shaanxi province. A notable berarer is Xi Jinping (1953-), the current president of China.
XiaChinese From Chinese 夏 (xià) referring to the Xia dynasty, the first dynasty in Chinese history that is believed to have existed from 2070 to 1600 BC. According to legend, this name was adopted by the descendants of Yu the Great (who was also known as Xia Yu), a legendary king who supposedly founded the Xia dynasty.
XiangChinese From Chinese 向 (xiàng) referring to the ancient state of Xiang, which existed during the Spring and Autumn period in what is now the Shandong province.
XiangChinese From Chinese 项 (xiàng) referring to the ancient state of Xiang, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
XinChinese From the name of a state of Xin that existed during the Xia dynasty. King Qi (2197–2188 bc) granted this state to one of his sons, whose descendants adopted a modified form of the character for Xin as their surname.
XingChinese From the name of an area called Xing, which existed during in the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Descendants of the ruling family of this area adopted Xing as their surname. Another account of the origin derives it from an area named Pingxing.
XueChinese From Chinese 薛 (xuē) referring to the ancient state of Xue that existed during the Xia dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
XuerebMaltese Possibly means "noble", of Semitic origin transmitted to Central Europe. Alternatively, it may be derived from Arabic شَارِب (šārib) meaning "drinker, drinking" or "moustache", used as a nickname for an alcoholic or someone with distinctive facial hair.
YaJapanese From Japanese ya meaning "night". Note that other kanji interpretations and meanings could be possible.
YabukiJapanese (Rare) Derived from the Japanese kanji 矢 (ya) meaning "arrow" and 吹 (buki), from 吹き (buki), the joining continuative form of 吹く (fuku) meaning "to blow". It can also derive from 藪 (yabu) meaning "thicket; grove; copse" and 亀 (ki) meaning "tortoise, turtle"... [more]
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.
YagiJapanese From Japanese 八 (ya) meaning "eight" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
YagnikIndian/Gujarati/Sanskrit (Modern) Means "one who performs sacrifices". Derived from the Sanskrit word yajña (pronounced yagna or yagya) meaning "sacrifice" or "sacraficial fire".
YagoJapanese Possibly from 谷 (ya, tani) meaning "valley" and 戸 (go, to) meaning "door".
YajimaJapanese Derived from Japanese 矢 (ya) meaning "arrow" or 谷 (ya) meaning "valley, lowland, plain" combined with 島 or 嶋 (shima) meaning "island".... [more]
YambaoFilipino Possibly from Vietnamese iàm-báu meaning "treasure."
YanChinese (Russified) Russified form of Yang used by ethnic Chinese living in parts of the former Soviet Union.
YanChinese From Chinese 严 (yán) referring to the ancient fief of Yan Jun (嚴君) that existed in what is now Sichuan province.
YanChinese From Chinese 阎 (yán) meaning "gate", also referring to a fief that existed in the ancient state of Jin in what is now Shanxi province.
YanChinese From Chinese 颜 (yán) meaning "face, countenance", also referring to the ancient fief of Yan that existed during the Western Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
YanagawaJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yana) meaning "willow" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
YanagiJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yanagi) meaning "willow".
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".
YanagiharaJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yanagi) meaning "willow" and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
YanagisawaJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yanagi) meaning "willow" and 沢 (sawa) meaning "marsh".
YanaiJapanese From the Japanese 矢 (ya) "arrow" and 内 (nai or uchi) "inside."
YanaseJapanese From Japanese 柳 (yana) meaning "willow" and 瀬 (se) meaning "rapids, current".
YanaseJapanese From Japanese 簗 (yana) meaning "fish trap" and 瀬 (se) meaning "rapids, current".
YappEnglish (British) Derives from Old English ġēap meaning "crooked, bent" and could either refer to a cunning person or someone with crooked features (e.g. curved nose). Famous bearers of this name include English botanist Richard Henry Yapp and Sir Stanley Graham Yapp, Labour politician and first leader of West Midlands County Council.
YarbroughAnglo-Saxon The ancient roots of the Yarbrough family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Yarbrough comes from when the family lived in either the parish or the hamlet called Yarborough in the county of Lincolnshire... [more]
YardleyEnglish Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations in England named Yardley, derived from Old English gierd meaning "branch, twig, pole, stick" and leah meaning "wood, clearing".
YardyEnglish The most likely origin of this surname is that it was used to denote someone who held a piece of land known as a "yarde", from the Middle English word "yerd".
YaredArabic, Ethiopian Gabriel Yared is a Lebanese-French composer, best known for his work in French and American cinema. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Yared scored the French films Betty Blue and Camille Claudel... [more]
YarwoodEnglish habitational name from Yarwood Heath in Rostherne Cheshire earlier Yarwode. The placename derives from Old English earn "eagle" or gear "yair enclosure for catching fish" and wudu "wood".
YimKhmer Meaning uncertain, probably of Chinese origin.
YinChinese From Chinese 殷 (yīn) referring to the ancient city of Yin, which existed in what is now Henan province and served as the capital of the Shang dynasty (which reigned from 1600 to 1045 BC and was also called Yin).
YinChinese From Chinese 尹 (yǐn), a title for a ministerial position in ancient China. It may also refer to the ancient fief of Yin, which existed in what is now either Shanxi or Henan province.
YinChinese From Chinese 印 (yìn) meaning "stamp, seal".
YíngChinese (Rare) From the name of the royal house of the Qin Dynasty from the ancient Chinese state also known as Qin.
YingChinese From Chinese 应 (yīng) referring to the ancient state of Ying, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
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).
YoheMedieval English The Yohe surname comes from the Old English word "ea," or "yo," in Somerset and Devon dialects, which meant "river" or "stream." It was likely originally a topographic name for someone who lived near a stream.
YokoiJapanese From Japanese 横 (yoko) meaning "side, beside, next to" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
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.
YokotakeJapanese From Japanese 横 (yoko) meaning "side, beside, next to" and 竹 (take) meaning "bamboo".
YokoyamaJapanese From Japanese 横 (yoko) meaning "side, beside, next to" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".