UyKhmer, Lao Khmer and Lao form of Huang (based on the Hokkien romanization of the name).
UyanıkTurkish Means "awake, watchful, vigilant" in Turkish.
UyarTurkish Means "notify, alert, caution" in Turkish.
UygunTurkish Means "available, suitable, fitting" in Turkish.
UysalTurkish Means "docile, easygoing, peaceful" in Turkish.
UzTurkish Means "beautiful, good, skillful" in Turkish.
UzhakhovIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived the name of an Ingush teip (clan). The clan's name is possibly derived from a given name, in turn possibly from an Ingush word meaning "bold, strong".
VaderGerman (Rare) From Middle Low German vader meaning ‘father’, ‘senior’; in the Middle Ages this was used a term of address for someone who was senior in rank or age.
VähiEstonian Vähi is an Estonian surname, derived from "vähim", meaning "smallest" or "lightest".
VaillantFrench From a medieval nickname for a brave person (from Old French vaillant "brave, sturdy").
VasseurFrench From Old French vavasour meaning "subvassal", a historical term used to refer to a tenant of a baron or lord who also had tenants under him.
VatatzisGreek This surname is a diminutive form of the word βάτος, "bramble, briar", perhaps signifying a harsh character. Another possible origin is βατάκι, "ray fish".
VecchioItalian Means "old, aged" in Italian, originally used as a nickname for an older or oldest son or for someone who was prematurely grey or wrinkled.
VeitchScottish Derived from the Latin word vacca which means "cow". This was either an occupational name for a cowherd or a nickname for a gentle person.
VelosoSpanish From the Brazilian Spanish word for fast.
VenierisGreek The Greek version of the Venetian surname Venier attested in Kythera, where the Venier family ruled on behalf of the Republic of Venice. Originally is thought that the surname derives from Venus.
VenkateshIndian, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada Means "lord of Venkata", from Venkata, the name of a hill in southern India (see Venkata), combined with Sanskrit ईश (īśa) meaning "lord, master, husband" (see Isha).
VentrisEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a bold or slightly reckless person (from a reduced form of Middle English aventurous "venturesome"). It was borne by British architect and scholar Michael Ventris (1922-1956), decipherer of the Mycenaean Greek Linear B script.
VerdeItalian, Spanish, Portuguese From Spanish verde "green" (Latin viridis), presumably a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in this color or had green eyes, etc. This is also a common element of place names.
VesperGerman Either a nickname from Latin vesper "6 o’clock in the evening evening time" originally the second to last canonical hour or a habitational name from a place so called on the Ruhr river.
VetterGerman from a nickname from Middle High German veter(e) ‘uncle’, ‘nephew’. The word is from Old High German fetiro (a derivative of fater ‘father’), which was used more generally to denote various male relatives; the meaning of modern German Vetter is ‘cousin’.
VidlerEnglish Either (i) from a medieval nickname based on Anglo-Norman vis de leu, literally "wolf-face"; or (ii) "violinist, fiddle player" (cf. Fiedler).
VierlingGerman Derived from Middle High German vierlinc meaning "one-fourth of a measure", hence a status name or nickname for someone who had an annual tax liability of this amount.
ViệtVietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 越 (việt) meaning "Vietnam, Vietnamese".
VirtueEnglish Used as a name for someone who had played the part of Virtue in a medieval mystery play, or as a nickname for someone noted for their virtuousness or (sarcastically) for someone who parades their supposed moral superiority.
ViscusoItalian From Sicilian viscusu "tough, tenacious, vicious".
VisitorEnglish Likely from someone who was a stranger in a place.
VislaEstonian Visla is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "visa" meaning "tough" and "tenacious".
VõigemastEstonian Võigemast is an Estonian surname meaning "ghastly/horrid structure".
VoisinFrench, English 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]
VolevakhaRussian Derived from dialectal Russian волеваха (volevakha) meaning "wilful, stubborn person".
VosbergDutch, German Topographic name for someone who lived by a hill frequented by foxes, from Middle Low German vos "fox" and berg "hill", "mountain".
VrátilCzech Derived from the past participle of the verb vrátit "to return". The name was perhaps used to denote a person who came back to his home following a long absence.
VtorakUkrainian, Russian Derived either from Russian второй (vtoroy) meaning "second, other" or directly from dialectal Ukrainian вторак (vtorak) meaning "secondborn".
WackerGerman From a nickname for a bold or energetic person, from Middle High German wacker meaning ‘fresh’, ‘lively’, ‘brave’, or ‘valiant’.
WackermanEnglish (American), German From the Americanized spelling of German Wackermann, a variant of Wacker, with the addition of Middle High German man, meaning ‘man’.
WagameseOjibwe Comes from an Ojibway phrase meaning ‘man walking by the crooked water.’
WaghmareIndian, Marathi Means "tiger killer" from Marathi वाघ (vagh) meaning "tiger" and मारणे (marne) meaning "to kill".
WahbaArabic Means "gift" in Arabic, derived from the word وَهَبَ (wahaba) meaning "to grant, to gift".
WahlGerman, Jewish From Middle High German Walhe, Walch "foreigner from a Romance country", hence a nickname for someone from Italy or France, etc. This surname is also established in Sweden.
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]
WaliUrdu, Pashto, Bengali, Arabic Derived from Arabic وَلِيّ (waliyy) meaning "helper, friend, protector", used in Islam to describe a saint.
WallachScottish Variant of Wallace, meaning 'foreigner' that is found chiefly in Dumfries.
WanlessEnglish From a medieval nickname for an ineffectual person (from Middle English wanles "hopeless, luckless").
WannScottish WANN. Surname or Family name. Origin Scottish and English: nickname from Middle English wann ‘wan’, ‘pale’ (the meaning of the word in Old English was, conversely, ‘dark’).
WantonEnglish, Scottish From Middle English wanton, meaning "unruly", "thoughtless" or "promiscuous".
WargSwedish Taken from Swedish varg "wolf", ultimately derived from Old Norse vargr.
WelschGerman From Middle High German welsch, walsch "person from a Romance country (especially Italy), foreigner", hence an ethnic name or in some cases perhaps a nickname for someone who had trading or other connections with the Romance countries.
WendtGerman, Danish Ethnic name for a Wend, Middle High German wind(e). The Wends (also known as Sorbians) once occupied a large area of northeastern Germany (extending as far west as Lüneburg, with an area called Wendland), and many German place names and surnames are of Wendish origin... [more]
WengChinese From Chinese 翁 (wēng) meaning "elderly man".
WenigGerman From the German word “wenig”, meaning little.
WhangKorean Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 황 (see Hwang).
WhippetEnglish Possibly used as a nickname from the early 17th century English word whippet, meaning "to move briskly". A type of sighthound bears this name.
WhitingEnglish Derived from a patronymic surname, created from the Old English personal name Hwit, meaning "the white one."
WhitlamEnglish From a medieval nickname for a mild-mannered person (from Middle English whit "white" + lam "lamb"). This surname is borne by Australian Labour politician Gough Whitlam (1916-), prime minister 1972-75.
WhitlockEnglish Nickname for someone with white or fair hair, from Middle English whit ‘white’ + lock ‘tress’, ‘curl’. Compare Sherlock. ... [more]
WhitmanEnglish From Middle English whit ‘white’ + man ‘man’, either a nickname with the same sense as White, or else an occupational name for a servant of a bearer of the nickname White.... [more]
WickramanayakeSinhalese From Sanskrit विक्रम (vikrama) meaning "stride, pace" or "valour" and नायक (nayaka) meaning "hero, leader".
WickramarachchiSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit विक्रम (vikrama) meaning "stride, pace" or "valour" combined with the Sinhala colonial-era title ආරච්චි (arachchi) denoting a native headman.
WickramaratneSinhalese From Sanskrit विक्रम (vikrama) meaning "stride, pace" or "valour" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
WildfongGerman An Americanized form of German Wildfang. A nickname from Middle High German Wiltvanc "Wildman Stranger", denoting a person who was not a member of the community.
WinchelEnglish from Old English wencel ‘child’, perhaps used to distinguish a son from his father with the same forename or perhaps a nickname for a person with a baby face or childlike manner
WindEnglish, German, Danish Nickname for a swift runner, from Middle English wind "wind", Middle High German wint "wind", also "greyhound".
WiseEnglish Nickname for a wise or learned person, or in some cases a nickname for someone suspected of being acquainted with the occult arts, from Middle English wise "wise" (Old English wis). This name has also absorbed Dutch Wijs, a nickname meaning "wise", and possibly cognates in other languages.
WitteDutch Nickname for someone with white or blonde hair or an unusually pale complexion, from Middle Dutch witte "white".
WittlinJewish Eastern Ashkenazic, from the Yiddish female personal name Vitle, a pet form of Vite combined with the eastern Slavic suffix -in
WitzigGerman German: nickname from Middle High German witzic ‘clever’, ‘prudent’, ‘knowing’.
WohlGerman, Yiddish Meaning "pleasant" in both Middle German and Ashkenazic Yiddish
WolfhardGerman, Jewish This name derives from the Old High German name “Wolfhard”, composed of two elements: the “*-wulfaz” (wolf) plus “*harduz / *hardu-” (hard, strong, brave, valiant, powerful one). In turn the name means “the one who is strong like a wolf”.
WolkGerman, American Surname derived from a northern German short form of the given name Walter.
WongchaiThai From Thai วงศ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty" and ไชย (chai) meaning "victory".
WongkaeoThai From Thai วงศ์ or วงษ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty" and แก้ว (kaeo) meaning "crystal, glass, diamond".
WongkhamThai From Thai วงศ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty" and คำ (kham) meaning "gold".
WongsawatThai From Thai วงศ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty" and สวัสดิ์ (sawat) meaning "happiness".
WongsuwanThai From Thai วงศ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty" and สุวรรณ (suwan) meaning "gold".
WongyaiThai From Thai วงศ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty" and ใหญ่ (yai) meaning "big, large, great".
WoodnutEnglish From a rare Anglo-Saxon personal name meaning "bold as Wade" and meant to honor the legendary Germanic sea-giant named Wade.
WorthEnglish From the Old English WORÞ, meaning "enclosure".
WowereitGerman (East Prussian) East Prussian German (and thus heavily Lithuanian influenced) name meaning "squirrel", from Old Prussian wowere and Lithuanian voveraite (which, apart from "squirrel", also means "chanterelle").... [more]
WunderlichGerman A nickname for an eccentric or moody person, derived from the word wunderlich meaning "whimsical" in German.
WürdemannGerman From the German "Würde"-honour or dignity, and "Mann"-man or person. "Man of Honour" or "Person of Dignity".
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]
XenosAncient Greek From Greek xenos ‘stranger’, ‘newcomer’ (equivalent to English Newman), or short for a composite name such as Xenocostas ‘Costas the newcomer’.
XomperoItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Cimbrian somerousch "pack horse", indicating the bearer's strength or occupation. Alternately, may mean "son of Piero".
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.
YaoChinese From Chinese 姚 (yáo) meaning "handsome, elegant".
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.
YoshinariJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck" and 成 (nari) meaning "become".
YouChinese From Chinese 尤 (yóu) meaning "especially, particularly".
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]