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.
VrielinkDutch Etymology uncertain. Possibly from the name of a farmstead, itself perhaps derived from a given name such as Frigilo or Friedel... [more]
VriezeDutch From Middle Dutch Vrieze "Frisian", an ethnic name for a someone from Friesland.
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’.
WacoIndigenous American, Comanche Is believed to have a Native American origin and may mean "the chosen ones" in the language of a tribe. However, the exact meaning of the name and the tribe's connection to the modern-day surname is not entirely clear.
WaffelDutch (Anglicized, ?) Possibly an Anglicized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname derived from wafel "waffle, wafer".
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.
WaititiMaori Meaning uncertain. It could derive from Maori waitī both meaning "sweet, melodious", denoting a sweet person, or "sap of the cabbage tree", possibly denoting an occupation. Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi (1975-), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian.
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]
WałęsaPolish From old Polish wałęsa, meaning "vagabond"
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.
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".
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".
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 wys "wise, thoughtful, knowledgeable; alert, aware"... [more]
WitteGerman, Dutch, English Cognate to and variant of White, a nickname for someone with white or blonde hair or an unusually pale complexion
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]
WrenEnglish Nickname from the bird, Middle English wrenne, probably in reference to its small size.
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.
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]
WynnEnglish From Old English wine "friend", which could be used as a byname or personal name (see Wine).
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 "fortune, 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]
YounghusbandEnglish Combination of Middle English yong ”young” and husbonda ”farmer”.
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]
YüksekTurkish Means "high, lofty, great, noble" 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".
YusovRussian Derived from Russian юс (yus) meaning "(either little or big) yus".
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.
ZáčekCzech Žáček means "small school boy" in Czech. A famous bearer is Chicagoan writer Dennis Začek.
ZackertEnglish, German An Americanization of the German surnames Zacher and Zachert. It comes from a vernacular form of the personal name Zacharias.
ZadaPashto Derived from Persian زاده (zadeh) meaning "offspring".
ZadehPersian From Persian زاده (-zâde) meaning "offspring (of)", also often used as a suffix for patronymic-based Persian surnames.
ZaghloulArabic (Egyptian) Means "squab, young dove" in Egyptian Arabic. A notable bearer was the Egyptian statesman and revolutionary Saad Zaghloul (1857-1927).
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.
ZakPolish A nickname given to youthful or studious people. Comes from the Polish zak, 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.
ZanussiFriulian, Italian Zanussi is best known as the surname of an influential Italian inventor from Brugnera in Friulia. The name likely comes from zanuso meaning ‘sedge’ in Italian.
ZavosGreek Used for someone who has a weird character or is considered stupid, found as a surname in Greek, probably derives from the word ζαβολιά (zavolia)which means cheating.
ZawadaPolish From zawada literally meaning "obstacle, hindrance", figuratively meaning "swashbuckler, troublemaker".
ZelyonkaRussian Derived from Russian зелёный (zelyonyy), meaning "green".
ZenginTurkish Means "rich, wealthy" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian سنگين (sangin).
ZennerUpper German South German: unflattering nickname for a surly, snarling person, from an agent derivative of Middle High German zannen 'to growl or howl' or 'to bare one's teeth'.