ToroSpanish, Italian Either a habitational name from Toro in Zamora province. Compare De Toro . Or a nickname for a lusty person or for someone who owned a bull or a metonymic occupational name for a tender of bulls or possibly for a bull fighter from toro "bull" (from Latin taurus).
TorosGreek From Latin taurus "bull", Greek version of the Italian surname Toro.
TortaItalian Probably from Italian torto "twisted, bent, crooked", or the related French tort "wrong, deviated".
ToupinFrench, Breton, Norman nickname from Old French toupin "spinning-top". in rare instances in the south probably from Old Occitan toupin "small earthenware pot" used as a metonymic occupational name for a potter.
TouzaniArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly derived from Aït Touzine, the name of a Rifian tribe in Morocco.
TrauschGerman, Slavic, Low German, Luxembourgish A nickname either derived from Trauschke, a nickname from Old Slavic drugu "companion", or from Middle Low German druus "sullen", "dour".
TrautGerman From either a nickname or a given name derived from the Middle High German word trut "dear, beloved".
TreacherEnglish From a medieval nickname for a tricky or deceptive person (from Old French tricheor "trickster, cheat").
TreichelGerman (Swiss) Swiss German: from a word meaning ‘cow bell’, presumably a nickname for a cowherd or farmer, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who made cow bells.
TremelGerman A nickname for a disagreeable person, from German tremel, meaning "boor ruffian".
TrivediIndian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati Means "one who knows the three Vedas", derived from Sanskrit त्रि (tri) meaning "three" and वेद (veda) meaning "Veda".
TromansEnglish A nickname surname which was given to a trustworthy man, of medieval English origin.
TroostDutch, Low German Means "comfort, consolation" in Dutch, a nickname for someone who was particularly encouraging or helpful, or perhaps a byname for a child born after the death of an older sibling.
TrothEnglish From a nickname meaning "truth" or "oath, pledge, promise", given to someone known to be truthful or loyal, or perhaps known for swearing oaths.
TrouillefouFrench, Literature From a compound of colloquial French trouille "fear" and fou "mad, crazy". Clopin Trouillefou is a fictional character in the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, depicted as a Romani Frenchman who is the King of Truands (the criminals and outcasts of Paris) disguises himself as a beggar begging the audience for money, disrupting Pierre Gringoire's play.
TroutEnglish Occupational name for a fisherman, or a nickname for someone supposedly resembling the fish.
TroutmanEnglish (American) Americanized form of German "Trautmann". The German adjective "traut" means “dear” or "beloved", and it derives from the same root as "trauen": to trust. Worldwide, there are now more Troutmans than Trautmanns.... [more]
TrovatelliItalian Means "foundling" in Italian, literally trovato "found" and the diminutive suffix -ello.
TrovatoItalian Given to a foundling or abandoned child, literally "found" in Italian.
TrowEnglish Nickname for a trustworthy person, from Middle English trow(e), trew(e) 'faithful', 'steadfast'.
TrusloveEnglish A variant of Truelove. Truelove is common in the North of England whereas Truslove is its southern variant, being found in Warwickshire and Leicestershire. It is unclear if individuals bearing either surname are linked by a common ancestor, or if people bearing the surname Truslove are descended from Trueloves who migrated from further North of England.... [more]
TsakirisGreek Means "crock" in Greek, a nickname for a feeble person. It could also be derived from the Turkish word çakır meaning "gray eyed" or "blue eyed".
TshuvaHebrew Means "answer" or "returning" in Hebrew. The term חוזר בתשובה which means "returning to the faith", reffers to a person who becomes more religious person in Judaism.
TsikalasGreek The Greek version of the Italian surname Cikala.
TsikunibCircassian (Russified) Derived from Adyghe цӏыкӏу (c̣əḳ°) meaning "little" and ныбэ (nəbă) meaning "stomach, belly".
TsinaridzeGeorgian The surname Tsinaridze carries the meanings of 'Light Bringer,' 'Sun Bringer,' or 'Sunshine.'... [more]
TsoKorean (Russified) Russified form of Cho used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
TsosieNavajo From the Navajo suffix -tsʼósí meaning "slender, slim", originally a short form of a longer name such as kiitsʼósí "slender boy", hashkétsʼósí "slender warrior", cháalatsʼósí "slim Charlie", dághaatsʼósí "the one with a slender mustache", dinétsʼósí "slender man", or hastiintsʼósí "slender man".
TsoyKorean (Russified) Russified form of Choi used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
TuđmanCroatian Derived from Croatian tuđin meaning "foreigner, stranger". This was the surname of the first president of Croatia, Franjo Tuđman (1922-1999). He was also the ninth and last president of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which was part of the former state of Yugoslavia.
TugolukovmRussian From the nickname тугой лук (tugoy luk) meaning "tight bow".
TullyIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Taithligh "descendant of Taithleach", a byname meaning "quiet", "peaceable".
TumbrellEnglish (Rare, Archaic) Etymology uncertain. Possibly derived from Old English tumbrel, a kind of small, two-wheeled cart designed to be easily tipped over, or from a variant form of timbrel, a percussion instrument similar to a tambourine.
TumibayTagalog Means "to become strong, to become firm" in Tagalog.
TurbaItalian Possibly from Italian turbare, "to disturb, to trouble", itself from Latin turba, "turmoil, disturbance; mob, crowd". Alternately, it could be from the German surname Turba, of uncertain meaning.
TurbinRussian From the nickname Турба (Turba) which was probably derived from an old dialectal word meaning "face, snout, muzzle (of an animal)", used as a name for a person with an unpleasant or ugly appearance... [more]
TurcoItalian Means "Turkish" in Italian, an ethnic name for someone from Turkey, or a nickname from the same word in the sense of a non-Christian or, following the medieval ethnic stereotype, a cruel, ferocious, or short-tempered person.
TürkmenTurkish, Turkmen Refers to a Turkmen person (someone from the present-day nation of Turkmenistan). The ethnonym itself is believed to be derived from Türk combined with the Sogdian suffix -man (thus meaning "almost Turk") or from Türk combined with Arabic إِيمَان (ʾīmān) meaning "faith, belief, religion".
TurkuAlbanian Derived from Albanian "turk" meaning Turkish.
TutumluTurkish From the Turkish word tutumlu meaning "frugal, thrifty".
TwocockEnglish Twocock literally translates to "twin cocks" and was likely given to someone who was perceived to have a fierce or aggressive personality, like a rooster.
TyagiIndian, Hindi Derived from Sanskrit त्यागिन् (tyagin) meaning "leaving, abandoning, sacrificing", so named because some members of this caste may have chosen to leave their traditional practice of agriculture in favor of learning and teaching-based occupations (or vice versa).
TyskSwedish Means "German" in Swedish. It probably started out as a nickname for someone who had immigrated from Germany or for someone who had German ancestry. It could also be a 'soldier name' and refer to the military unit someone belonged to... [more]
UçanTurkish Means "flying" or "fugitive, volatile" in Turkish.
UhkeEstonian Uhke is an Estonian surname meaning "proud" or "vain".
UhlGerman Uhl begins in the German province of Bavaria. Uhl is a nickname surname, a class of German names derived from eke-names, or added names, that described people by a personal characteristic or other attribute... [more]
ÜitsEstonian Üits is an Estonian surname meaning "nicest".
UkaiJapanese From Japanese 鵜 (u) meaning "cormorant (a type of bird)" and 飼 (kai) meaning "domesticate, raise".
UlehlaCzech, Slovak, Polish Derives from Slovak word uhla meaning "angle, corner". Could also derive from the Polish word ulehla meaning "to be subdued, to be defeated". This is the surname of the famous youtuber Nicholas Ulehla, pseudonymously known as SocksFor1.
UlenspegelLow German, Literature This is the name of Dyl Ulenspegel is a trickster figure originating in Middle Low German folklore, possibly meaning "owl mirror".
ÜlgerTurkish Means "villus, fine hair" in Turkish.
UmKorean Transliteration of the Korean reading of hanja 嚴 from Chinese meaning “stern”
UmKhmer Means "uncle, aunt" (literally "elder sibling of one's parents") in Khmer.
UmanetsRussian From the Russian term уманец (umanets), meaning "smart person".
ÜmarikEstonian Ümarik is an Estonian surname meaning "round", "chubby" and "plump".
UmnovmRussian From Russian умный (umnyy), meaning "smart".
UngarGerman, Jewish ethnic name for a Hungarian or a nickname for someone who had trade relations with Hungary. Cognate of Ungaro and variant of Unger.
UngerGerman German, Jewish (Ashkenazic), and Slovenian: ethnic name for a Hungarian or a nickname for someone who had trade relations with Hungary, from the ethnic term Unger ‘Hungarian’ ... [more]
UpsEstonian Ups is an Estonian surname derived from "upsakas" meaning "proud" and "conceited". "Ups" also also means "whoops" in Estonian.
UrbinoSicilian, Italian Possibly from the name of an Italian town. Could also be from Sicilian urbu or orbu, meaning "blind", in which case it may refer to literal blindness, or a more metaphorical "blind to one's sins", especially in the case of foundlings.
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").
VangHmong From the clan name Vaj or Vaaj associated with the Chinese character 王 (wáng) (see Wang 1).
Van MolDutch, Flemish Derived from Middle Dutch mol, meaning "mole." This surname can either derive from the nickname mol, meaning "mole", perhaps given to someone with dark hair or blindness, or from a house with the sign of a mole.
VannaKhmer Means "golden" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit.
VascoSpanish Originally denoted a Basque person or someone from the Basque Country in Spain, from Latin Vascones of uncertain etymology.
VaseyEnglish Derived from the Norman french word enveisie "playful, merry"
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.
VelichkoRussian Derived from Russian великий (velikiy), meaning "great, large".
VengerovmRussian From Russian венгерский (vengerskiy), meaning "Hungarian".
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).
VentrellaItalian Derived from a diminutive form of ventre "belly, midriff, stomach". Can also be an altered form of Venturella (see Ventura).
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.
VergeCatalan Nickname from Catalan meaning "virgin, maiden".
VernikovmRussian From Russian верник (vernik), meaning "believer", usually in the context of religion due to the term вера (vera) "faith, belief, trust" which is often associated with religion.
VerroneItalian Italian: probably a nickname from an augmentative form of verro ‘boar’.
VerzilloItalian Uncertain etymology. Possibly a variant of Vercillo, a pet form of vercio "cross-eyed, one-eyed" (see Guercio)... [more]
VeselovmRussian Derived from Russian word "весело (veselo)" meaning fun.
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.
VigHungarian Derived from Hungarian víg "happy, cheerful".
VighHungarian Variant of Vig, a surname derived from Hungarian víg "happy, cheerful".
VinkDutch Means "finch, chaffinch" in Dutch, a metonymic occupational name for someone who caught finches and other small birds. It could also be a nickname for someone cheerful, or who was known for whistling.
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.
VirtuosoItalian Means "virtuous, upright" or "skilful" in Italian, as well as "virtuoso, master (of a musical instrument)".
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]
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".
VitryanyukUkrainian Derived from Ukrainian вітряний (vitryanyy), meaning "windy".
VõigemastEstonian Võigemast is an Estonian surname meaning "ghastly/horrid structure".
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]
VolevakhaRussian Derived from dialectal Russian волеваха (volevakha) meaning "wilful, stubborn person".
VolkmannGerman Probably denoted for a speaker or a people's person, derived from German volk "people" and mann "man". Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann (1801-1877) was a German physiologist, anatomist, and philosopher... [more]