WengerGerman, German (Swiss) The surname Wenger is derived from the Middle High German word "wenger," "meaning "wagoner" or "cartwright."" It was an occupational name given to someone who worked as a wagon maker or driver.Another possible origin is that is derived from the German word, wenge, "meaning field of meadow"
WerbGerman Name for an artisan or craftsman, from Middle High German werc(h), meaning "work, craft".
WetzsteinGerman Either a metonymic occupational name for a knife grinder from Middle High German wetzstein "whetstone", A habitational name from a lost place called Wetzstein near Emmendingen, or a topographic name from a field name for example Wezstein near Esslingen... [more]
WhatelyEnglish Old English location or occupational surname meaning "from the wheat meadow".
WheelwrightEnglish Occupational name for someone who made or fitted wheels and wheeled vehicles, from Old English hwēol and wyrhta. Also compare Wheeler.
WidemannGerman Derived from the given name Widiman, composed of Old High German witu "wood" or wit "wide" and man "man".
WiederspahnGerman Carpenter or roofer who applied wooden shingles from Wied, Wieden, or Wieda. Associated with the German-speaking minority that lived along the Volga River in Russia from 1764 to 1941.
WildschutDutch Occupational name meaning "gamekeeper, game warden" in Dutch. A famous bearer is the Dutch former soccer player Piet Wildschut (1957-).
WilesEnglish Occupational name for a trapper or hunter, from Middle English wile "trap, snare". It could also be a nickname for a devious person.
WilgarIrish An ancient surname of Olde English and Scottish origins. It is usually occupational for a textile fuller, deriving from the pre 7th century word wealcere, meaning to walk or tread.
WillmanEnglish Occupational name for someone who was the servant of a man called Will.
WillowsEnglish (British) This is an English residential or perhaps occupational surname. It may originate from one of the various places in England called 'The Willows', or even a place such as Newton le Willows in Lancashire, or it may describe a supplier of willow.
WimmerGerman Occupational last name, meaning "wine maker," using a derivation of the element Wein (meaning "wine") and likely another derivation from -macher (meaning "maker"). It's possible as well that it is derived from Weimann.
WinGerman One who acted as host in a tavern or inn.
WindusEnglish Variant of Wingers. The name is a metonymic occupational name for a textile worker or weaver, derived from the Middle English wyndhows ("winding house").
WinegarGerman This German surname may belong to one whose ancestors worked in the food industry or in the production of vinegar. In German the letter “W” is pronounced as the letter “V” in English.
WinegardnerEnglish (American) Anglicized form of the German occupational surname Weingartner. A known bearer of this surname is the American writer Mark Winegardner (b. 1961).
WinneFlemish Occupational name for an agricultural worker, from Middle Dutch winne "farmer, peasant, tenant".
WoehrleGothic Origin from Ohio Known for Farmers, less common occupation was Baker Farmer, Gardener and Bag Maker were the top 3 reported jobs.
WójtMedieval Polish Occupational name and title from Medieval Polish meaning Lord Protector or Governor. Derived from Latin advocatus. German variant Vogt, Swedish variant Fogde... [more]
WollmannGerman Occupational name for a wool worker or wool trader Middle High German Middle Low German wollman derived from German wolle "wool" and man "man".
WollschlägerGerman Occupational name for someone who prepared wool for spinning by washing and combing or carding it, from Middle High German wolle(n)slaher, -sleger, Middle Low German wullensleger (literally ‘wool beater’).
WoodmanEnglish Occupational name for a woodcutter or a forester (compare Woodward), or topographic name for someone who lived in the woods. Possibly from the Old English personal name Wudumann.
WorkmanEnglish Ostensibly an occupational name for a laborer, derived from Middle English work and man. According to a gloss, the term was used in the Middle Ages to denote an ambidextrous person, and the surname may also be a nickname in this sense.
YaegerGerman Yaeger is a relatively uncommon American surname, most likely a transcription of the common German surname "Jaeger/Jäger" (hunter). The spelling was changed to become phonetic because standard English does not utilize the umlaut.
YagerGerman Americanized form of JÄGER, meaning "hunter."
YagnikIndian/Gujarati/Sanskrit (Modern) Means "one who performs sacrifices". Derived from the Sanskrit word yajña (pronounced yagna or yagya) meaning "sacrifice" or "sacraficial fire".
YamabushiJapanese Yama means "mountain, hill" and bushi means "warrior, samurai".
YapıcıTurkish Means "builder, maker, constructor" in Turkish.
YariJapanese From the kanji 槍, meaning spear. Other kanji combinations are also possible.
YinChinese From Chinese 尹 (yǐn), a title for a ministerial position in ancient China. It may also refer to the ancient fief of Yin, which existed in what is now either Shanxi or Henan province.
YounghusbandEnglish Combination of Middle English yong ”young” and husbonda ”farmer”.
YueChinese From Chinese 岳 (yuè) referring to the ancient title Tai Yue (太岳), which was used by officials in charge of sacrificial rituals on mountain sites.
YumangTagalog From Tagalog umang meaning "snare, trap".
YumbeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 弓 (yun), a contraction of 弓 (yumi) meaning "bow, archery" and 部 (be) meaning "division", possibly referring to a fighter who specialized in archery.
YushkoUkrainian, Russian From Ukrainian and Russian юшка (yushka), meaning "broth, juice from food". It can also mean "blood".
ZackyGerman Americanized form of German Zacher . German: occupational name for a farmer, from dialect zackern 'to plow', from Middle High German ze acker gān 'to go to the field'.
ZagoItalian Probably from Venetian zago "alter boy", or someone preparing to become a priest. Alternately, may derive from a toponym, such as Massanzago, Lorenzago, Cazzago, Vanzago, or Sozzago.
ZamlochGerman (Austrian) Altered, likely Americanized or Germanized, version of the Czech surname Zemlicka. Zemlicka derives from žemle, meaning "bread roll," and was a name given to bakers.... [more]
ZapataSpanish Occupational surname for a shoemaker, from Spanish zapato meaning "shoe". It can also be considered a habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in Spain called Zapata.
ZaunGerman From a topographical name from Middle High German zun "fence, hedge" the German cognitive to Anglo-Saxon tun.
ŽaŭniarovičBelarusian Derived from Belarusian жаўнер (žaŭnier) meaning "soldier (of the Polish army)", borrowed from Polish żołnierz via German Söldner.
ŽavbiSlovene The surname is mostly tied to prefession but can also be based off of certain personality traits or profession. It comes from the word "žavba", ointment, cream.
ZechmanJewish Occupational name from Yiddish tsekh meaning "guild" or "craft corporation" and man "man".
ZeddaItalian Possibly from Sardinian zedda "cellar" or cedda "herd of animals", indicating someone who was an innkeeper or shepherd.
ZeemanDutch Dutch cognate of Seaman. It was notably borne by the Dutch physicist Pieter Zeeman (1865-1943).
ZehnerGerman (chiefly Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland, and Württemberg): occupational name for an official responsible for collecting, on behalf of the lord of the manor, tithes of agricultural produce owed as rent.... [more]
ZehrenGerman (Swiss) From a prepositional phrase from Middle High German ze hērren, an occupational name for someone was in service of a lord.
ZeilstraDutch, West Frisian Derived from zijl "sluice" and the suffix -stra denoting an inhabitant of a place. The name has also been connected to zeil "sail; to sail", possibly a nickname for someone who made sails or spent a lot of time on a ship.
ZeimetGerman, Luxembourgish Western German and Luxembourgeois: probably a variant spelling of Zeimert, a variant of Zeumer, an occupational name for a harness maker, from an agent derivative of Middle High German zoum ‘bridle’.
ŽeleznikSlovene From the Slavic word "železo/zhelezo", meaning " iron", denoting to a person who worked with iron.
ZellerGerman, Dutch, Jewish Originally denoted someone from Celle, Germany or someone living near a hermit's cell from German zelle "cell". It is also occupational for someone employed at a zelle, for example a small workshop.
ZelnickJewish Occupational name for a tax collecter, comes from Yiddish tselnik which means haberdashery.
ZelníčkováfCzech Feminine form of Zelníček. This is the maiden name of Donald Trump's first wife, Ivana Zelníčková Trump.
ZelnickovaJewish Zelnickova is a Jewish (Eastern Ashkenazic) surname that can be found in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Slovenia. This surname is derived from the Yiddish word tselnick which in English means haberdashery... [more]
ZhytaryukUkrainian Means "child of the grain farmer". Derived from Ukrainian "житар (zhytar)", meaning "grain farmer" and the last name suffix -юк (-yuk).
ZidarićCroatian From zidar meaning ''stonemason, bricklayer''.
ZidaruRomanian From Romanian zidar meaning "bricklayer".
ZilčyanArmenian Means "cymbal-maker" in Armenian, from Ottoman Turkish زلجی (zilci) "cymbal-maker" with a surname forming suffix.
ZildjianArmenian (Anglicized) English form of Armenian Զիլճյան (see Zilčyan). The famous bearer of this name was Avedis Zildjian, founder of the oldest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world, the Avedis Zildjian Company.
ZimbalistJewish Occupational name for a cymbalist or a dulcimer player, particularly the cimbalom, derived from Yiddish tsimbl meaning "dulcimer, cimbalom, cymbal". The American actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (1918-2014) was a famous bearer of this surname.
ZinderGerman A mostly Ashkenazi Jewish surname, while specific documentation linking "Zinder" to the German word "Zünder" (meaning "tinder" or "firestarter") is limited, the surname "Zinder" is believed to have German origins, possibly derived from the word "Zindel," which refers to a "bundle of wood shavings." This term is associated with materials used to start fires, suggesting a potential connection to the "firestarter" occupation... [more]
ZingeserJewish, Yiddish Comes from Yiddish "ציו" meaning "Tin" and "גייסער" meaning "Smith".
ZinnGerman From the German for word for tin "tin." The name indicated someone who worked with the metal. A famous bearer is Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German botanist. Carl Linnaeus named the flower Zinnia in his honor.
ZolotovmRussian From Russian золотой (zolotoy), meaning "gold, golden". Denoted to a goldmaker.
ZongChinese From Chinese 宗 (zōng) meaning "lineage, ancestry". Perhaps it originally denoted a person who was a geneaolgist.
ZorefBiblical Hebrew Zoref, spelled צורף in Hebrew and pronounced Tzo-ref, though the typical American pronunciation is with a Z, means "Goldsmith" in both Biblical and Modern Hebrew, Zoref does not necessarily connote working only with gold; rather, it is a metalsmith that works with any kind of metallic substance.... [more]
ZotovmRussian Variant of Zolotov, from Russian зотой (zotoy), meaning "gold, golden".
ZoubekCzech According to my translator, it means "tooth", so my guess is that it's an occupational surname for someone who's a dentist; the word for dentist is 'zubař.'
ZuberGerman, German (Swiss) German: Metonymic occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker, from Middle High German zuber ‘(two-handled) tub’, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a tub. ... [more]
ZuckermanGerman, Yiddish As a German surname, it is an occupational name for a merchant who sold sugar or nickname for a sweet tooth.... [more]
ZwaanDutch Means "swan" in Dutch. Could be a nickname for a person who resembled a swan in some way, an occupational name for a swan keeper, or a patronymic derived from a given name containing the element swan... [more]