Van ZonDutch Variant of van Son. In some cases, it could denote someone who lived or worked in a building named De Zon "the sun", probably named for a sign depicting the sun.
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.
VauxFrench French, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.
VeermanDutch Means "ferryman, skipper" in Dutch, from veer "ferry". Alternatively, it could be an occupational name for a feather merchant or fletcher, derived from veer "feather, plume", a contracted form of the archaic veder.
VeilleuxFrench variant of veilleur, a night guard of nightwatch.
VerdéFrench Possibly a Gallicized form of the Italian and Spanish surname Verde.
VerdierFrench, Norman, English Occupational name for a forester. Derived from Old French verdier (from Late Latin viridarius, a derivative of viridis "green"). Also an occupational name for someone working in a garden or orchard, or a topographic name for someone living near one... [more]
VerdonFrench Habitational name from a place so named, for example in Dordogne, Gironde, and Marne.
VerhofstadtDutch, Flemish Means "from the farmstead" or "from the homestead" in Dutch. A notable bearer is the Flemish politician Guy Verhofstadt (1953-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.
VerkuilenDutch, Flemish Reduced form of van der Kuylen, a topographic name derived from kuil "pit, quarry, hole in the ground", or a habitational name for someone from Kuil in East Flanders or Kuilen in Limburg.
VerlaineFrench, French (Belgian) Habitational name for someone from Verlaine in the province of Liège, Belgium. Paul Verlaine was a noted bearer.
VermontFrench (Rare) Derived from french, meaning "green mountain" (Vert, "green"; mont, "mountain").
VerneFrench, English As a French surname refers to someone who lived where alder trees grew. While the English version can mean someone who lived where ferns grew, Verne can also mean a seller of ferns which in medieval times were used in bedding, as floor coverings and as animal feed.
VerneyEnglish, French The surname Verney was first found in Buckinghamshire, England, when they arrived from Vernai, a parish in the arrondissement of Bayeux in Normandy.
VernierFrench Surname for a person who lived near an alder tree. Also a variant of Garnier 1 and Varnier and the eastern French form of Warner.
VéronFrench There are three etymologies possible for this surname: which one applies, will vary per Véron family, as the meaning depends on the personal history of the original bearer of their surname.... [more]
VerretFrench From the French word verre, meaning "glass." Possibly denoting someone who worked with glass.
VerrierFrench An occupational French surname indicating a glassmaker or glassblower, from French verre "glass", derived from Middle French voirre "glass".
VialEnglish, French from a personal name derived from Latin Vitalis (see Vitale). The name became common in England after the Norman Conquest both in its learned form Vitalis and in the northern French form Viel.
VianneyFrench The surname in origin is a variant of Viennet, a diminutive of Vien, a short form of Vivien 1. A famous bearer is Jean-Marie Vianney (1786-1859), a French saint.
ViardFrench from the ancient Germanic personal name Withard from the elements widu "wood forest" and hard "hard".
VienneauFrench Denoted a person from Vienne, a commune in the Isère department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France, or perhaps derived from the given name Vivien 1.
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.
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.
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]
VonkDutch Means "spark" in Dutch, a metonymic occupational name for a smith, or possibly a nickname for a lively or fiery person.
VoogdDutch Means "guardian" in Dutch, an occupational name for a bailiff, farm manager, or someone appointed to look after the interests of other people. Ultimately from Latin advocatus "witness, advocate; one called upon to help"... [more]
VoorheesDutch Habitational name from a place in Drenthe called Voorhees.
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]
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]
VriezeDutch From Middle Dutch Vrieze "Frisian", an ethnic name for a someone from Friesland.
VuittonFrench Derived from the Old High German word "witu" and the Old English pre 7th century "widu" or "wudu", meaning a wood, and therefore occupational for one living by such a place.
VuurmanDutch Means "fire man" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who burned patches of forest land, or who worked in a fire brigade.
WachterGerman, Dutch Means "guard, sentinel", an occupational name for a watchman.
WaffelDutch (Anglicized, ?) Possibly an Anglicized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname derived from wafel "waffle, wafer".
WannemacherGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a maker or seller of baskets, particularly winnowing baskets or fans, derived from Middle High German wanne literally meaning "winnowing basket" and macher meaning "maker"... [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.
WassinkDutch Derived from the personal name Wazo and the suffix -ink denoting origin from a family or place.
WatteauFrench Possibly from French gâteau “cake”, denoting a baker.
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".
WestraDutch, West Frisian Means "from the west", derived from Dutch west "west, western, westwards" combined with the Frisian habitational suffix -stra.
WijnaldumFrisian, Dutch, Dutch (Surinamese) From Wijnaldum, the name of a village within the city of Harlingen in northwest Friesland in the Netherlands, derived from the given name Winald combined with Old Frisian hēm meaning "home, settlement"... [more]
WitschgeDutch Dutch cognate of Witzke. Famous bearers of this surname include brothers Rob (1966-) and Richard Witschge (1969-), both of whom are former Dutch soccer players.
WitteGerman, Dutch, English Cognate to and variant of White, a nickname for someone with white or blonde hair or an unusually pale complexion
WitteveenDutch From Dutch witte "white" and veen "peat bog, marsh", derived from any of several place names.
WondergemDutch Habitational name from Wondelgem or Wontergem in East Flanders, Belgium, using the suffix -gem which is related to Old Germanic haimaz meaning "home".
WoodlockIrish, French, English From an Old English personal name, Wudlac, composed of the elements wudu ‘wood’ + lac ‘play’, ‘sport’.
XavierEnglish, French Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries.
ZandvoortDutch Built on ancient words that mean "Sand-Ford, -Crossing" (also the name of a Village, Municipality and Beach Resort in North Holland (Netherlands), a Hamlet in Lingewaard, Gelderland (Netherlands), and a Neighborhood of Baarn, Utrect (Netherlands)).... [more]
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.
ZelleGerman, Dutch Topographic name from Middle High German zelle "(hermit's) cell", or a habitational name from various places called Zelle or Celle.
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.
ZijlstraDutch Habitational surname derived from Dutch zijl "sluice, pump" and the West Frisian suffix -stra.
ZonneveldDutch Means "sun field" in Dutch, a habitation always name.
ZuidemaDutch, West Frisian Either derived from a toponym containing the element zuid "south, southern" (from Middle Dutch suid), or a patronymic form of a name beginning with the element swith "strong".
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]
ZwagermanDutch Possibly a compound of Dutch zwager "brother-in-law" and man "man, person".
ZwartDutch Means "black, dark, swarthy" in Dutch, a nickname for someone with dark hair or skin.
ZwiersDutch Patronymic form of the given name Swier, composed of swind "strong" and heri "army".