Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
WaldGerman, English Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a forest (Old High German wald, northern Middle English wald).
WaldorfGerman Habitational name from any of at least three places so called, derived from Old High German wald "forest" and dorf "village, settlement"... [more]
WaldronMedieval German, Old Norman, Scottish Gaelic, English (British) Derived from the German compound wala-hran, literally "wall raven", but originally meaning "strong bird". Also derived from the Gaelic wealdærn, meaning "forest dwelling", thought to be derived from the Sussex village of Waldron... [more]
WaldsteinGerman, Jewish Habitational surname for a person from a place in Bohemia called Waldstein, which is derived from Middle High German walt "forest" + stein "stone".
WalkingtonEnglish Habitational name from a place in East Yorkshire named Walkington, from an unattested Old English personal name Walca + -ing- denoting association with + tūn.
WalkinshawScottish Habitational name from Walkinshaw in Renfrewshire, which was probably named from Old English wealcere meaning "fuller" + sceaga meaning "copse".
WallIrish Anglicized from of de Bhál, a Gaelicized form of de Valle (see Devall).
WallworkEnglish (British) Anglo-Saxon name originating from Lancashire, first recorded in Worsley in 1278. May originate from the Old Warke area in Worsley, shown as "Le Wallwerke" in old documents. The surname Walworth may be related.
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.
WalpoleEnglish Originally indicated a person from either of two places by this name in Norfolk and Suffolk (see Walpole). Famous bearers of the surname include Robert Walpole (1676-1745), the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, and his youngest son, the writer Horace Walpole (1717-1797)... [more]
WalworthEnglish Habitational name from Walworth in Heighington (Durham) and Walworth in Newington (Surrey) both named with Old English wealh "foreigner Briton serf" (genitive plural wala) and worþ "enclosure".
WanChinese From Chinese 万 (wàn) referring to a city that existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shaanxi province.
WangChinese From Chinese 汪 (wāng) referring to the ancient state of Wang Mang (汪芒) or Wang Wang (汪罔) in present-day Zhejiang province.
WapelhorstLow German "Wapel" (pronounced VA-pel) is a river in Northern Germany. "Horst" means 'eagle's nest' in modern German but also means 'man of the forest' in Old German.
WarabiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 蕨 (Warabi) meaning "Warabi", a former village in the former district of Namegata in the former Japanese province of Hitachi in parts of present-day Ibaraki, Japan.
WarabiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 蕨 (Warabi) meaning "Warabi", an area in the city of Yotsukaido in the prefecture of Chiba in Japan.
WarabiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 蕨 (Warabi) meaning "Warabi", a division in the area of Tsunogaraori in the town of Hashikami in the district of Sannohe in the prefecture of Aomori in Japan.
WarabiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 蕨 (Warabi) meaning "Warabi", the former name of the area of Mitani in the city of Wajima in the prefecture of Ishikawa in Japan.
WarburtonEnglish From the village and civil parish of Warburton in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire), England, derived from the Old English feminine given name Werburg (itself derived from wǣr meaning "pledge" and burh "fortress") and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
WarnsDutch, German Dutch habitational name from places so named in Friesland and Overijssel. The one in Friesland was the site of a famous victory of Frisians over the Hollanders in the 14th century. ... [more]
WashburnEnglish Northern English topographic name for someone living on the banks of the Washburn river in West Yorkshire, so named from the Old English personal name Walc + Old English burna ‘stream’... [more]
WatayōJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 濟陽 (Watayō), a variant reading of Japanese 濟陽 (Saiyō), from Chinese 濟陽 (Jìyáng) meaning "Jiyang", a town in the county of Xiayi in the city of Shangqiu in the province of Henan in China.... [more]
WathersIrish The surname originated in Donegal, Ireland. MacConuisce was an Anglicized form of o'hUisce. Uisce translates to water in English. Wathers is a rather uncommon name because it is an untraditional way of spelling Waters... [more]
WatneyEnglish Probably means "person from Watney", an unidentified place in England (the second syllable means "island, area of dry land in a marsh"; cf. Rodney, Whitney)... [more]
WaverlyEnglish 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."
WawrzyszewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Wawrzyszew.
WeddellScottish Derived from Wedale, the original name of the parish of Stow in Scotland. A famous bearer is James Weddell, a Scottish navigator and seal hunter who sailed a record 7.69 degrees south of the Antarctic Circle... [more]
WedderburnScottish From the name of a location in Berwickshire, Scotland, which is derived from wedder “wether” and Old English burn “stream”.
WedmoreEnglish (British) Habitational name from Wedmore in Somerset, recorded in the 9th century as Wethmor, possibly meaning ‘marsh (Old English mor) used for hunting (w?the)’.
WeekleyEnglish Originally meant "person from Weekley", Northamptonshire ("wood or clearing by a Romano-British settlement"). British philologist Ernest Weekley (1865-1954) bore this surname.
WeideGerman Either a topographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous willow or by a group of willow trees from Middle High German wide "willow"... [more]
WeilGerman, Jewish South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places so named in Baden, Bavaria, and Württemberg, from Latin villa ‘country house’, ‘estate’ (later used of a group of houses forming a settlement).
WeilerGerman, Jewish Habitational name from any of several places so named in southern Germany. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Weil.
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.
WeinlandGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a wine-producing area from Middle High German win "wine" and land "land" or a habitational name from a place so named.
WeisenburgerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from any of numerous places named Weissenburg "white fortress".
WeisfeldGerman, Jewish topographic name from a field name composed of Middle High German wiz "white" and feld "open country". Cognate of Whitfield.
WelbornEnglish Habitational name from Welborne in Norfolk, Welbourn in Lincolnshire, or Welburn in North Yorkshire, all named with Old English wella ‘spring’ + burna ‘stream’.
WelburnEnglish English surname meaning "From the Spring brook"
WeldEnglish Meant "one who lives in or near a forest (or in a deforested upland area)", from Middle English wold "forest" or "cleared upland". A famous bearer is American actress Tuesday Weld (1943-).
WeldonEnglish Weldon is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Weldon family lived in Northamptonshire, at Weldon.... [more]
WelfordEnglish English surname meaning "Lives by the spring by the ford"
WellingtonEnglish Habitational name from any of the three places named Wellington, in Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Somerset. All are most probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Weola + -ing- (implying association with) + tun ‘settlement’.
WellmanEnglish From German Welle meaning "wave" and man, meaning "man", referring to someone who lived by a stream.
WeltonEnglish Habitational name from any of various places named Welton, for example in Cumbria, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and East Yorkshire, from Old English well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.
WemyssScottish From the lands of Wemyss in Fife, which is derived from Gaelic uaimheis "cave place".
WenChinese From Chinese 温 (wēn) meaning "warm", also referring to any of several territories that were called Wen, namely an ancient state that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
WensleyEnglish Habitational name from Wensleydale in North Yorkshire.
WentworthEnglish Habitational name from places in Cambridgeshire and South Yorkshire called Wentworth, probably from the Old English byname Wintra meaning ‘winter’ + Old English worð ‘enclosure’... [more]
WerdumGerman Werdum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
WestdykeEnglish Name given to someone who lived on the west side of a dyke.
WestenEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from any of numerous places named Weston, from Old English west 'west' + tun 'enclosure', 'settlement'. English: variant of Whetstone.
WestendorfGerman A habitational surname that means 'West Village' in German.
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.
WestergårdSwedish, Finnish From Swedish väster meaning "west, western" combined with gård meaning "farm, yard, estate".
WestermanEnglish Topographical surname for someone who lived west of a settlement or someone who had moved to the west, from Old English westerne meaning "western" and mann meaning "man, person".
WestermannLow German From Middle Low German wester meaning "westerly" and man meaning "man", making it a topographic surname for someone who lived west of a settlement or a regional surname for someone who had moved to the west... [more]
WestgateEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived near a west gate in a city, or a habitual surname for someone from Westgate. It is derived from Middle English west meaning "west" and gate "gate" (or "street" in northern and eastern areas; from Old Norse gata).
WestropEnglish (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".
WestwoodEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from any of numerous places named Westwood, from Old English west "west" and wudu "wood".
WhaleyEnglish From the name of the village of Whaley and the town of Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire, or the village of Whalley in Lancashire, England. It is derived from Old English wælla meaning "spring, stream" and leah meaning "woodland clearing".
WhalleyEnglish Variant form of Whaley. A famous bearer is the English actress Joanne Whalley (1961-).
WhartonEnglish Derived from an Olde English pre 7th Century river name Woefer.
WhatleyEnglish From any of the various places in England named with Old English hwæte "wheat" and leah "woodland clearing".
WheeldonEnglish Habitational name from a place in Derbyshire named Wheeldon, from Old English hweol ‘wheel’ (referring perhaps to a rounded shape) + dun ‘hill’, or from Whielden in Buckinghamshire, which is named with hweol + denu ‘valley’.
WhentEnglish Topographical for someone who lived by a cross road, or perhaps a very sharp bend in the road. The derivation being from the Olde English pre 7th century word "wendan," meaning to wander.
WhinerayEnglish Means "person from Whinneray", Cumbria, or "person who lives in a nook of land growing with gorse" (in either case from Old Norse hvin "whin, gorse" + vrá "nook of land"). It was borne by New Zealand rugby player Sir Wilson Whineray (1935-2012).
WhitbyEnglish English surname which was from either of two place names, that of a port in North Yorkshire (which comes from the Old Norse elements hvítr "white" (or Hvíti, a byname derived from it) combined with býr "farm") or a place in Cheshire (from Old English hwit "white" (i.e., "stone-built") and burh "fortress").
WhitehornScottish A locational name from Whithorn near Wigtown, from Old English hwit "white" and ærn "house".
WhitehouseEnglish the origin of this surname started in England where people were called Whitehouse when they painted their houses white.
WhitelawScottish Scottish and northern English: habitational name from any of various places in the Scottish Borders called Whitelaw, from Old English hwit ‘white’ + hlaw ‘hill’.
WhitelockEnglish It is believed to be a habitational surname derived from Whitlock in Shropshire, England.
WhitfieldEnglish It is locational from any or all of the places called Whitfield in the counties of Derbyshire, Kent, Northamptonshire and Northumberland, or from the villages called Whitefield in Lancashire, the Isle of Wight and Gloucestershire.
WhitgiftEnglish Means "person from Whitgift", Yorkshire ("Hvítr's dowry"). This surname was borne by Anglican churchman John Whitgift (?1530-1604), archbishop of Canterbury 1583-1604 (in addition, Whitgift School is an independent day school for boys in South Croydon, founded in 1595 by John Whitgift; and Whitgift Centre is a complex of shops and offices in the middle of Croydon, Greater London, on a site previously occupied by Whitgift School).
WhitleyEnglish This surname is derived from a place name composed of Old English elements hwit meaning "white" and leah meaning "clearing, grove."
WhitmarshEnglish English habitational name from Whitemarsh, a place in the parish of Sedgehill, Wiltshire, named from Old English hwit ‘white’ (i.e. ‘phosphorescent’) + mersc ‘marsh’. Compare Whitmore.
WhittleseyEnglish A habitational surname for someone from Whittlesey, an ancient market town in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire in England. The town's name is derived from an unattested Old English personal name Wittel (or Witil), an occupational name given to a moneyer, and the Old English eg, meaning "island", also used to describe a piece of firm land in a fen... [more]
WiKorean (Rare) From Sino-Korean 魏 (Wi) meaning "Wei", a former Chinese state.
WickEnglish, German English: topographic name for someone who lived in an outlying settlement dependent on a larger village, Old English wic (Latin vicus), or a habitational name from a place named with this word, of which there are examples in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Worcestershire... [more]
WickershamEnglish A habitational surname that originates from a lost medieval site or village of Norse origins.... [more]
WiesenthalGerman Habitational name from any of various places called Wiesent(h)al.
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’.
WigleyEnglish Derived from the words wicga "bug" and leah "woodland, clearing"
WigmoreEnglish habitational name from Wigmore in Herefordshire so named from Old English wicga in the sense "something moving quaking unstable ground" and mor "marsh".
WiibaruOkinawan The Okinawan language reading of its kanji, 上原 meaning "upper plain" or 植原 meaning "planted plain".
WijnaldumFrisian, Dutch, Dutch (Surinamese) From Wijnaldum, the name of a village within the city of Harlingen in northwest Friesland in the Netherlands, derived from the given name Winald combined with Old Frisian hēm meaning "home, settlement"... [more]
WilberforceEnglish Means "person from Wilberfoss", Yorkshire ("Wilburh's ditch"). This is borne by Wilberforce University, a university in Xenia, Ohio, USA, founded in 1856 and named in honour of the British philanthropist and anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce (1759-1833)... [more]
WilbrahamEnglish Denoted a person hailing from Wilbraham in Cambridgeshire, England. The place name itself means "Wilburg's homestead or estate" in Old English, Wilburg or Wilburga allegedly referring to a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon princess who was given the lands later called Wilbraham by her father, King Penda of Mercia.
WilburnEnglish A habitation name of uncertain origin found in the East Midlands. Speculation includes the possibility of the meaning "well" and "burn, borne" therefore meaning one who lived near a well or spring by a waterway crossing.
WilkowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Wilkowo or Wilków, derived from Polish wilk meaning "wolf".
WillScottish, English, German Scottish and northern English from the medieval personal name Will, a short form of William, or from some other medieval personal names with this first element, for example Wilbert or Willard... [more]
WillinghamEnglish 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".
WillowEnglish topographic name from Middle English wilwewilghewillowe "willow" (Old English wiligwelig) for a person who lived at or near a willow tree or in an area where willow trees grew... [more]
WimpeyEnglish Perhaps a deliberate alteration of Impey. It is borne by George Wimpey, a British construction company, founded in Hammersmith, London in 1880 by George Wimpey (1855-1913)... [more]
WindhamEnglish, Irish (Anglicized) English habitational name from Wyndham in West Sussex, near West Grinstead, probably named from an unattested Old English personal name Winda + Old English hamm ‘water meadow’; or from Wymondham in Leicestershire and Norfolk, named from the Old English personal name Wigmund (see Wyman) + Old English ham ‘homestead’... [more]
WinfordEnglish English location name meaning "from a white ford or water crossing" or "from a meadow ford".
WinkelGerman, Jewish, Dutch, Belgian German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner of land in the country or a street corner in a town or city, from Middle High German winkel, German Winkel ‘corner’... [more]
WinkelmannGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner or kept a corner shop (see Winkel), with the addition of Middle High German man, German Mann ‘man’... [more]
WinnickEnglish (Rare) Habitational name for someone from a place called Winwick, for example in Northamptonshire or Cambridgeshire, both of which are named from the Old English personal name Wina + wic 'outlying dairy farm or settlement'.
WinningerGerman Probably denoted a person from the municipality of Winningen in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany.
WinsininskiPolish (Anglicized) Winsininski is an anglicized version of the name "Wisniewski", which is from multiple places in Poland called Wisniewo, Wisniew, and Wisniewa. These names all have "wisna" which means cherry, or cherry tree.... [more]
WinsletEnglish A notable bearer is the actress Kate Winslet.
WinstanleyEnglish Means "person from Winstanley", Lancashire ("Wynnstān's glade", Wynnstān being an Old English male personal name, literally "joy-stone"; cf. Winston)... [more]
WinsteadEnglish Perhaps derived from the town of Wanstead in Greater London, England (recorded in the Domesday Book as Wenesteda), named with Old English wænn meaning "wagon" and stede meaning "place, site", but it is more likely derived from the village of Winestead in East Yorkshire, England, named from Old English wefa meaning "wife" and hamstede meaning "homestead"... [more]
WinterbergGerman Habitational name from any of several places named with Middle High German winter "winter" and berg "mountain".
WinterbournEnglish A variant spelling of the surname Winterbourne, means "winter stream", a stream or river that is dry through the summer months.
WinterbourneEnglish (British) Probably meaning "winter stream". A large village in Gloucestershire, From the Thomas Hardy novel "The Woodlanders".
WinterburnEnglish habitational name from any of various places called with Old English winter "winter" and burna "stream" meaning "winter stream" for a stream which only flows or flows at a faster rate during the winter and more or less dries up in summer such as Winterburn in Gargrave (Yorkshire) Winterbourne (Berkshire Gloucestershire) Winterbourne Bassett (Wiltshire) or one of thirteen parishes named Winterborne in Dorset including Winterborne Abbas Winterborne Monkton and Winterborne Zelstone... [more]
WirtaFinnish From virta ‘stream’, used as a topographic name, also as a soldier’s name in the 17th century. Also adopted as an ornamental name, especially in western and southern Finland.
WishEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, Middle English wyshe (Old English wisc). Americanized spelling of Wisch.
WithallEnglish "Withall" comes from the village of "Cornwall" called "Withiel." There is also a connection to an aristocratic level, in the 15th at Henry VII court a noble man and knight went under the family name "Wit-hall"... [more]
WithamEnglish habitational name from any of various places so called particularly those in Essex Lincolnshire and Somerset though most often from Essex. The Essex placename may derive from Old English wiht "curve bend" and ham "village homestead"... [more]
WitlyEnglish Variant of Whitley, a habitational name from any of various places named with Old English hwit ‘white’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
WittenbergLow German Habitational name for someone from a place called Wittenberg, Wittenberge, or Wittenbergen.
WittenbornLow German Habitational name from any of several places so named, for example near Bad Segeberg and near Neubrandenburg.
WittgensteinGerman, Jewish Denoted one who came from the Wittgenstein castle in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, derived from Old High German witt meaning "white" and stein meaning "stone"... [more]
WittmanGerman Wittman was first found in the Palatinate in the Rhineland valley. The surname Wittman was given to someone who lived in the area that was referred to as widem which was originally derived from the German word denoting church property.
WlodawskiJewish Habitual surname from Włodawa, Poland. First seen in a 1806 revision list of the city Kobryn (Grodno Guberniya), now Kobryn Belarus. ... [more]
WłoszczowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Lesser Polish localities: the town of Włoszczowa or the village of Włoszczowice.
WodehouseEnglish The name "de Wodehouse" is attested as early as in the 11th century, of one Bertram, of Wodehouse-tower, Yorkshire, who lived at the time of the Norman conquest.
WodzińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Wodzin in Piotrków voivodeship, named with Polish woda meaning "water".
WójcickiPolish Habitational name for a person originally from a place called Wójcice.
WójcińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of the many places called Wójcin, or from Wójcina in Tarnów voivodeship, named with wójt meaning "village headman".
WolfendenEnglish 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".