Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ViirelaidEstonian Viirelaid is an Estonian surname meaning "tern islet".
ViirmaaEstonian Viirmaa is an Estonian surname derived from "viir" meaning both "sea swallow" and "varved" (annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock) and "maa" ("land").
VilaamilSpanish Habitational name from Villamil a place in Asturias.
VilallongaCatalan It indicates familial origin within the eponymous Valencian municipality.
VillaquiránSpanish It indicates familial origin within either of 2 municipalities: Villaquirán de los Infantes or Villaquirán de la Puebla.
VillardGalician, Portuguese A Galician and Portuguese surname in the north of Iberian Peninsula. It's a last name belonging to ancient Celtic tribes.
VillardFrench French cognate of Vilar. A topographic name denoting an inhabitant of a hamlet; or a habitational name from (Le) Villard the name of several places in various parts of France... [more]
VillarrealSpanish Habitational name from any of various places called Villarreal (or Villareal), derived from Spanish villa meaning "farm, town, settlement" and real meaning "royal".
VillarrubiaSpanish Spanish: habitational name from Villarrubia (Córdoba) Villarrubia de los Ojos (Ciudad Real) or Villarrubia de Santiago (Toledo) so named from villa '(outlying) farmstead (dependent) settlement' (see Villa ) + rubia 'light red'.
VillarruelSpanish Cognate of Villa with the second element of unexplained etymology. Compare Villarroel.
VillasanteSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Merindad de Montija.
VillaseñorGalician (Hispanicized) Habitational name, apparently a Castilianized spelling of Galician Vilseñor, from any of three places in Lugo province named Vilaseñor.
VillatoroSpanish Presumably a name given to someone from Villatoro, Spain
ViniegraSpanish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Riojan municipalities in the Comarca of Anguiano: Viniegra de Arriba or Viniegra de Abajo.
ViningEnglish (British) Habitational name for someone from a place called Fyning in Rogate in Sussex.
VioletteFrench 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.
ViramontesSpanish Viramontes is composed of the elements "mira" and "montes," two Spanish words with the combined meaning of "place with a view of the mountains."
ViscontiItalian From the Italian noble title visconte "viscount", itself from medieval Latin vice comes, a title of rank meaning "deputy of a count; sheriff". In most cases it was a nickname for a servant or soldier employed by a viscount, or for someone who acted like a viscount, but unusually, in some cases it was used as a literal occupational name for someone with the title of viscount, with at least two Italian noble families bearing the name during the Middle Ages... [more]
ViseEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a boundary, Old French devise.
VišneviškasLithuanian This indicates familial origin within the Belarusian agrotown of Víšneva, which was originally Lithuanian & under the name of ''Višnevas''.
VivancoSpanish This indicates familial origin within the Castilian locality of Vivanco de Mena.
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.
VogelsangGerman Means "bird song" in German. From the German words vogel (bird) and sang (song).
VoisinFrench From Old French voisin "neighbor" (Anglo-Norman French veisin) . The application is uncertain; it may either be a nickname for a "good neighbor", or for someone who used this word as a frequent term of address, or it might be a topographic name for someone who lived on a neighboring property... [more]
VolkonskyRussian This indicates familial origin within the vicinity of the Volkona river south of Moscow. This was the name of a Russian family of nobility.
VolkovskyRussian Habitational name for someone who lives in a multiplicity named Volikovski. Derived from волк (volk) meaning "wolf" in Russian.
VolokhovmRussian From dialectal волох (volokh), an old term for a Romanian person.
VoloshchenkoUkrainian Denoted to a Romanian, from Ukrainian Волощина (Voloshchyna) "Wallachia".
Von AachenGerman Means "from Aachen", a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, ultimately derived from Latin acquae "water, water sources", referring to the sacred springs associated with the Celtic god Grannus.
Von EsmarchGerman Means "from Esmarch" in German, Esmarch being an unknown meaning. Friedrich von Esmarch (1823-1908) was a German surgeon who developed the Esmarch bandage and founded the Deutscher Samariter-Verein, the predecessor of the Deutscher Samariter-Bund.
Von HammersmarkPopular Culture, German (?) Means "from Hammersmark" in German. Bridget von Hammersmark is a fictional character in Quentin Tarantino's film 'Inglourious Basterds' from 2009.
Von LangenbeckGerman Means "from a long stream" in German, from Low German lange "long" and beke "stream". Bernhard Rudolf Konrad von Langenbeck (1810-1887) was a German surgeon known as the developer of Langenbeck's amputation and founder of Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery.
Von SydowSwedish, German von Sydow is a German and Swedish noble family from Pomerania, an area in modern day Poland and Germany. Some members of the family immigrated to Sweden in 1724. The name literary means "from Sydow"... [more]
Von WestphalenGerman Denoted a person from Westphalia, a region of northwestern Germany, borrowed from Medieval Latin Westphalia, derived from Middle Low German Westvâlen "west field".
VooglaidEstonian Vooglaid is an Estonian surname meaning "billowing islet".
VoorheesDutch Habitational name from a place in Drenthe called Voorhees.
VorotyntsevRussian Derived from place names Воротынск (Vorotynsk), Воротынцево (Vorotyntsevo) or Воротынец (Vorotynets).
VorstDutch, Low German topographic name for someone who lived in a vorst "forest" or habitational name for someone from any of numerous places called Vorst or Voorst... [more]
VorwaldGerman Topographic name for someone who lived "in front of (Middle High German vor) a forest (Middle High German wald)".
VosbergGerman Means "foxhole" or "fox hill", from vos "fox" and berg "hill, mountain".
VosnakisGreek From the Greek word "Vosnia" which means Bosnia
VreelandDutch Habitational name for a person from a place bearing the same name in the province of Utrecht, which is itself derived from the Middle Dutch word vrede, meaning "peace; legal protection against armed violence".
VreeswijkDutch Habitational name from a former village and municipality in the province Utrecht, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch Frieso "Frisian" and wic "village, town"... [more]
VrielinkDutch Etymology uncertain. Possibly from the name of a farmstead, itself perhaps derived from a given name such as Frigilo or Friedel... [more]
WachowskimPolish Habitational name for a person from the village of Wachów
WacławskiPolish Name for someone from a place named Wacławice or Wacławów, both derived from the given name Wacław.
WaddellEnglish Habitational name from Wadden Hall in Waltham, Kent, derived from either the Old English given name Wada or from wæden "made of woad, woaden, bluish" combined with halh "nook, recess".
WaddellEnglish Possibly derived from Woodhill in Wiltshire, England, derived from Old English wad "woad" and hyll "hill". Alternatively, could be from the Middle English given name Wadel.
WaddellEnglish Variant of Odell, derived from the toponym’s older spelling Wadehelle.
WaddingtonEnglish Habitational name from any of various places called Waddington. One near Clitheroe in Lancashire and another in Lincolnshire (Wadintune in Domesday Book) were originally named in Old English as the "settlement" (Old English tūn) associated with Wada.
WadiaIndian (Parsi) Parsi surname possibly derived from Wadia, the name of a village in Gujarat.
WadleyEnglish From a place in England named with Old English wad "woad" or the given name Wada combined with Old English leah "woodland clearing".
WadlowEnglish Habitational name from a lost place, Wadlow in Toddington.
WadsworthEnglish Location name from Yorkshire meaning "Wæddi's enclosure or settlement" with Wæddi being an old English personal name of unknown meaning plus the location element -worth. Notable bearer is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) for whom the middle name was his mother's maiden name.
WagaharaJapanese Waga is possibly from waka meaning "young" and hara means "plain, field".
WagleNorwegian A habitational name derived from farmsteads in Rogaland named Vagle, from the Old Norse vagl meaning a '‘perch’' or '‘roost'’, referring to a high ridge between two lakes.
WakatsuchiJapanese From the Japanese 若 (waka) "young" and 土 (tsuchi) "earth," "soil."
WakatsukiJapanese Combination of the kanji 若 (waka) meaning "young" and 槻 (tsuki) meaning "Zelkova tree". A famous bearer of this surname was Japanese Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō (若槻 禮次郎; 1866–1949).
WakehamEnglish, Cornish A locational surname for someone who lived in one of three places called Wakeham in various parts of England, including Cornwall and/or Devon.
WakeleyEnglish Habitational name from Wakeley in Hertfordshire, named from the Old English byname Waca, meaning ‘watchful’ (see Wake) + Old English leah ‘woodland clearing’.
WakiJapanese Wa means "harmony" and ki means "tree, wood".
WakidaJapanese Waki means "side" and da means "rice paddy, field".
WakitaJapanese From Japanese 脇 (waki) meaning "side" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
WalbrzychiakPolish Means a person who is from the city of Walbrzych in Poland.
WalcottEnglish 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".
WaldGerman, English Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a forest (Old High German wald, northern Middle English wald).
WaldmannGerman topographic name for someone who lived in a forest or alternatively an occupational name for a forest warden from Middle High German waltman literally "forest man" derived from the elements wald "forest" and man "man"
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).
WalliserGerman Denoting somebody from Valais (German form Wallis), a canton in Switzerland, or someone who immigrated from Valais, ultimately from Latin vallis "valley, vale".
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".
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.
WanhataloFinnish From the Finnish "vanha talo." With the "vanha" meaning old or aged and "talo" being a place of living mostly a house. The most common translation is "old house".
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 "Japanese bracken fern". There are multiple places in Japan with this name.
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".
WardellEnglish, Irish A habitational name from Wardle in Lancashire and possibly Wardle in Cheshire, both named with Old English elements weard "guard, guardian" hyll "hill" meaning "watch hill"... [more]
WarnsGerman, Dutch Patronymic form of the Germanic given name Warn (see Warin). Alternatively, a habitational name from various Frisian places likely named using the same or similar elements.
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.
WebleyEnglish Habitational name for a person from the civil parish of Weobley in Herefordshire, from the Old English personal name Wiobba and leah "woodland, clearing".
WeddellScottish, English Derived from Wedale, the original name of the parish of Stow in Scotland, possibly composed of Old English weoh "idol, image; temple, sacred place", weod "weed, herb", or wedd "pledge, contract" combined with dæl "dale, valley"... [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.
WeghorstDutch, German Habitational name from a location near Hanover, possibly derived from weg "way, road" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
WehlburgGerman (Rare), Dutch (Rare) Possibly derived from German Wehl "pool of water (esp. behind a dyke)" (cognate to Dutch weil "vortex, maelstrom; dyke breach pool") and burg "fortress, citadel".
WeiChinese From Chinese 韦 (wéi) referring to the ancient state of Wei that existed in the pre-Qin period in what is now Henan province.
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]
WeidlingGerman (Austrian) May refer to the district of Weidling, located in the municipality of Klosterneuburg, which is situated in Lower Austria, near Vienna. A notable person with this surname was Helmuth Weidling, a German general of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
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.
WeintraubGerman, Jewish from Middle High German wintrub "grape" derived from wein "wine" and traub "grape" hence either a metonymic occupational name for a vintner or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by a sign depicting a bunch of grapes.
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"
WelcomeEnglish Derived from several places named Welcombe.
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"