YeatonEnglish Habitational name from Yeaton in Shropshire named with Old English ēa "river" + tūn "farmstead estate". This surname is now rare in Britain.
YeatsEnglish Scottish and northern English variant spelling of Yates.
YellowEnglish Nickname for someone who has yellow hair; wore yellow clothing or has a yellow complexion
YellowhairNavajo, Cheyenne (?) Translation into English of a personal name such as Navajo Bitsiiʼ Łitsoii (literally meaning "His Yellow Hair"), which is derived from bitsiiʼ meaning "his hair" and łitso meaning "yellow", or Cheyenne Heóva'éhe, derived from the prefix heóv- meaning "yellow" and the suffix -a'e meaning "hair".
YellowmanIndigenous American Translation into English of a personal name such as Navajo Hastiin Łitso, based on hastiin ‘man’ and łitso ‘yellow’, referring to the color of the complexion or the hair (Juxtapose Yellowhair).
YeomanEnglish, Scottish Occupational name for an official providing duties in a royal household, ranking between a Sergeant and a Groom or between Squire and a Page, or for a freeholder, derived from Middle English yoman, of uncertain origin.
YeongKorean Korean form of Yang, from Sino-Korean 楊 (yeong) meaning "willow".
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".
YongKorean Korean form of Long from Sino-Korean 龍 (yong).
YongChinese From Chinese 雍 (yōng) either referring the ancient state of Yong, located in what is now Henan province, or the ancient fief of Yong, which existed during the Shang dynasty in what is now Shaanxi province.
YoshimiJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "fortune, good luck" and 見 (mi) meaning "look, appearance, view".
YoshimoriJapanese From 吉 (yoshi) meaning "fortune, good luck" and 森 (mori) meaning "forest".
YoshimotoJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
YoshimuraJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "lucky, good" or 佳 (yoshi) meaning "beautiful, good, excellent" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
YoshinaJapanese Yo means "night" and shina means "family, department, section".
YoshitakeJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "fortune, good luck" and 武 (take) meaning "military, martial".
YoshiyamaJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "fortune, good luck" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
YoshizakiJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck, fortune" and 崎 (saki) meaning "promontory, cape, peninsula".
YoshizawaJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "fortune, good luck" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "swamp, wetland, marsh".
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]
YoungkinScottish (?), Irish (?) Possibly derived from Younkin; A Strathclyde-Briton family from the Scottish/English Borderlands was the first to use the surname Younkin. It is a name for a person who was very young, from the Old English word yong and yung... [more]
YueChinese From Chinese 岳 (yuè) referring to the ancient title Tai Yue (太岳), which was used by officials in charge of sacrificial rituals on mountain sites.
YuehTaiwanese Alternate romanization of Yue chiefly used in Taiwan.
YuiJapanese From 由 (yu) meaning "purpose, reason, cause" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mineshaft, pit" or 比 (i) meaning "compare". Lastly, it could be spelled with 油 (yu) meaning "oil" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mineshaft, pit".... [more]
YukKorean From Sino-Korean 陸 (yuk/ryuk) meaning "dry land; land".
YukawaJapanese From Japanese 湯 (yu) meaning "hot spring" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
YükselTurkish Means "increase, rise, ascend" in Turkish.
YuleMedieval English Nickname for someone who was born on Christmas Day or had some other connection with this time of year, from Middle English yule ‘Christmastide’ (Old English geol, reinforced by the cognate Old Norse term jól).
YusonFilipino From Hokkien 楊孫 (iûⁿ-sun), derived from 楊 (iûⁿ) meaning "willow, poplar, aspen" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild". It could also be from 余孫 (û-sun), derived from 余 (û) meaning "surplus" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild".
ZabelGerman The surname has multiple meanings. It may come from a Slavic given name, or the High German word zabel, meaning "board game" - given, perhaps, as a nickname to those who played many board games.
ŽabkaCzech, Slovak From Polish zaba meaning "frog", of Slavic origin.
ZabkaGerman From Polish zaba meaning "frog", of Slavic origin.
ZaborowskimPolish Habitational name for a person from a town named Zaborowo or Zaborów named with Polish za "beyond" and bór "forest".
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.
ZacharyEnglish A reference to Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."
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."
ZachowGerman Meaning unknown. A notable bearer of this name is Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, a organist, musician, and composer who lived from 1663 to 1712. Zachow, Wisconsin is an unincorporated community named after a local landowner, William Zachow.
ZachryEnglish A reference to Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."
ZagerGerman habitational name from ZAGER, a place near Wollin
ZaghloulArabic (Egyptian) Means "squab, young dove" in Egyptian Arabic. A notable bearer was the Egyptian statesman and revolutionary Saad Zaghloul (1857-1927).
ZagoItalian Probably from Venetian zago "alter boy", or someone preparing to become a priest. Alternately, may derive from a toponym, such as Massanzago, Lorenzago, Cazzago, Vanzago, or Sozzago.
ZagurskiPolish Derived from the Polish places Zagórz and Zagórze. Also given to those who lived on the side of a hill opposite a main settlement - za means "beyond" and góra means "hill".
ZahmMedieval German Zahm is a nickname from Middle High German Zam meaning "tame".
ZahnGerman Zahn was a nickname given to a person with a peculiar tooth or a strange or defective set of teeth. It comes from the Middle High German Zan(t), which means "tooth".
ZähneGerman The German surname Zähne is derived from the Middle High German word "zan," which means "tooth." It is believed that the surname takes its origin from a nickname, most likely bestowed on the original bearer due to either a prominent tooth or a missing tooth.
ZahnerGerman Name given to people who lived in Zahna, near Wittenberg.
ZaimTurkish 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".
ZajączkowskiPolish A habitational name that was given to someone from any of the various places named Zajączki, Zajączkowo, or Zajączków (which were named for 'zajączek', a diminutive of the Polish word 'zając', meaning ‘hare’.)
ŻakPolish A nickname given to youthful or studious people. Comes from the Polish żak, 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.
ZakowskiPolish a Polish surname which is most frequent in the cities of Warszawa, Płońsk and Bydgoszcz in central Poland and is also to be found as Zakowski among the Polish diaspora.