Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
WILES EnglishOccupational name for a trapper or hunter, from Middle English
wile "trap, snare". It could also be a nickname for a devious person.
WILK Polish, Scottish, EnglishPolish: from Polish
wilk ‘wolf’, probably from an Old Slavic personal name containing this element, but perhaps also applied as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a wolf or connected with wolves.... [
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WILLINGHAM EnglishHabitational name from a place named Willingham, notably one in Cambridgeshire and one in Suffolk. The first is recorded in Domesday Book as
Wivelingham "homestead (Old English
hām) of the people of a man called
Wifel".
WILLOCK EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Willoc, a pet-form based on the first syllable of any of a range of Old English compound names beginning with
willa "will, desire".
WILLOWS English (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.
WIMP EnglishThe surname has at least two origins. The first is occupational and describes a maker of 'wimplels', an Old English veil later much associated with nuns. Second, it may also be locational from the village of Whimple in Devonshire, or Wimpole in Cambridge.
WIMPEY EnglishPerhaps a deliberate alteration of
IMPEY. It is borne by George Wimpey, a British construction company, founded in Hammersmith, London in 1880 by George Wimpey (1855-1913)... [
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WINCHEL Englishfrom 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
WIND English, German, DanishNickname for a swift runner, from Middle English
wind "wind", Middle High German
wint "wind", also "greyhound".
WIND EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived near a pathway, alleyway, or road, Old English
(ge)wind (from
windan "to go").
WINDHAM English, Irish (Anglicized)English habitational name from Wyndham in West Sussex, near West Grinstead, probably named from an unattested Old English personal name
WINDA + Old English
hamm ‘water meadow’; or from Wymondham in Leicestershire and Norfolk, named from the Old English personal name
WIGMUND (see
WYMAN) + Old English
ham ‘homestead’... [
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WINFORD EnglishEnglish location name meaning "from a white ford or water crossing" or "from a meadow ford".
WINFREY EnglishFrom the Old English personal name
WINFRITH, literally "friend-peace". A famous bearer of this surname is Oprah Winfrey (1954-), a US television talk-show presenter.
WINKLE Englishit's said to originate from the village of Wincle, near the town of Macclesfield in the county of Cheshire.
WINNE Dutch, EnglishDutch: occupational name for an agricultural worker, Middle Low German winne ‘peasant’. ... [
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WINNEY EnglishDerived from an unattested Old English given name, *
Wyngeofu, composed of the elements
wyn "joy" and
geofu "battle".... [
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WINNICK English (Rare)Habitational name for someone from a place called Winwick, for example in Northamptonshire or Cambridgeshire, both of which are named from the Old English personal name Wina + wic 'outlying dairy farm or settlement'.
WINSTANLEY EnglishMeans "person from Winstanley", Lancashire ("Wynnstān's glade",
Wynnstān being an Old English male personal name, literally "joy-stone"; cf.
WINSTON)... [
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WINTERBOURNE English (British)Probably meaning "winter stream". A large village in Gloucestershire, From the Thomas Hardy novel "The Woodlanders".
WISE EnglishNickname 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.
WISH EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, Middle English wyshe (Old English wisc). Americanized spelling of Wisch.
WITHALL English"Withall" comes from the village of "Cornwall" called "Withiel." There is also a connection to an aristocratic level, in the 15th at Henry VII court a noble man and knight went under the family name "Wit-hall"... [
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WOLFHARD English (Rare)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”.
WOLFIT EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Wolfet or
Wolfat (from Old English
Wulfgēat, literally "wolf-Geat" (the name of a Germanic people)). This surname was borne by Sir Donald Wolfit (1902-1968), a British actor and manager.
WOLSEY EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Wulsi (from Old English
Wulfsige, literally "wolf-victory"). A famous bearer of the surname was English churchman and statesman Thomas Wolsey (Cardinal Wolsey), ?1475-1530.
WOLSTON EnglishFrom the Middle English personal name
WOLFSTAN or
WOLSTAN, Old English
WULFSTAN, composed of the elements
wulf ‘wolf’ +
stan stone or a habitational name from any of a large number of places called Woolston(e) or Wollston, all of which are named with Old English personal names containing the first element
Wulf (Wulfheah, Wulfhelm, Wulfric, Wulfsige, and Wulfweard) + Old English
tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.
WOODBINE English (Rare)From the English word "woodbine" that means "honeysuckle(plant)"in English.It seems uncommon in the English-speak culture for a surname.Also some American place names,too.
WOODBRIDGE EnglishOriginated in old England and likely linked to the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk, East Anglia, United Kingdom. Well known Woodbridge's include the Australian Tennis player Todd Woodbridge. There was a famous lineage of six English John Woodbridge's in the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries, all Church ministers... [
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WOODFALL EnglishEnglish surname used as a first name. The name means "dweller by a fold in the woods" - in this case, "fold" means "sheep-pen".... [
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WOODMAN EnglishOccupational name for a woodcutter or a forester (compare
WOODWARD), or topographic name for someone who lived in the woods. ... [
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WOODNUT EnglishFrom a rare Anglo-Saxon personal name meaning "bold as Wade" and meant to honor the legendary Germanic sea-giant named
WADE.
WOODRUFF EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived on a patch of land where woodruff grew, Anglo-Saxon
wudurofe composed of
wudu "wood" with a second element of unknown origin.
WOODSON EnglishFrom a location in Yorkshire, England earlier spelled
Woodsome and meaning "from the houses in the wood" or possibly a patronymic meaning "descendant of a wood cutter or forester."
WOOLGAR EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Wolgar (from Old English
Wulfgār, literally "wolf-spear").
WOOLLEY EnglishA habitational name from any of various places so-called. Most, including those in Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, and West Yorkshire in England, are derived from the Old English
wulf, meaning "wolf", and
leah, meaning "wood" or "clearing"... [
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WOOLNOUGH EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Wolnoth or
Wolnaugh (from Old English
Wulfnōth, literally "wolf-daring").
WOOTEN EnglishHabitational name from any of the extremely numerous places named with Old English
wudu "wood" +
tun "enclosure", "settlement",
WORKMAN EnglishOstensibly 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.
WORLEY Englishmostly found in Lancashire and Sussex. very old english surname. something to do with a hill near a stream.
WORSLEY EnglishAnglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname from either of the places called Worsley in Lancashire and in Worcestershire. The place in Lancashire was recorded as "Werkesleia" in 1196, and means
Weorchaeth's wood or glade, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Weorchaeth", from
weorc, work, fortification, and
leah, a wood, or clearing in a wood... [
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WORTH EnglishFrom the Old English
WORÞ, meaning "enclosure".
WORTHINGTON EnglishHabitational name from places in Lancashire and Leicestershire named Worthington; both may have originally been named in Old English as
WURÐINGTUN "settlement (Old English tun) associated with
Wurð", but it is also possible that the first element was Old English
worðign, a derivative of worð ‘enclosure’.
WREN EnglishNickname from the bird, Middle English
wrenne, probably in reference to its small size.
WURÐINGTUN EnglishHabitational name from places in Lancashire and Leicestershire named Worthington; both may have originally been named in Old English as Wurðingtun "settlement (Old English
tun) associated with Wurð", but it is also possible that the first element was Old English
worðign, a derivative of
worð ‘enclosure’.
WYCHERLEY EnglishDerived from a place name apparently meaning "elm-wood clearing" from Old English
wice and
leah. A famous bearer was the dramatist William Wycherley (1640-1715).
WYLDE English (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."... [
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WYMER EnglishEither (i) from the medieval male personal name
Wymer (from Old English
Wīgmǣr, literally "war-famous"); or (ii) from the Old Breton male personal name
Wiumarch, literally "worthy-horse".
WYNN Welsh, EnglishThe surname Wynn ,(also spelled Winn, and Gwynn), is derived from the Welsh element,
Gwynn, which can loosely be translated as "white" or "fair". It features in the name of the North Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd, (meaning "white head" or "white land")... [
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XAVIER English, FrenchDerived 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.
YABSLEY EnglishIt is believed to be a derived spelling of Abboldesi, a place now more commonly known as Abbotsley or Abbotsleigh. However, the original surname had nothing to do with "Abbots" in any spelling, and derives from to the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Eadbeald" meaning "Prosperity-bold".
YARDLEY EnglishHabitational name for someone from any of the various locations in England named Yardley, derived from Old English
gierd meaning "branch, twig, pole, stick" and
leah meaning "wood, clearing".
YARDY EnglishThe most likely origin of this surname is that it was used to denote someone who held a piece of land known as a "yarde", from the Middle English word "yerd".
YAW Irish, English, ChineseIrish: reduced and altered Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Eochadha Chinese : Cantonese variant of
Qiu.
YAXLEY EnglishMeant "person from Yaxley", Cambridgeshire and Suffolk ("glade where cuckoos are heard").
YELLEY English (British)The surname Yelley was first found in Oxfordshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed... [
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YELLMAN EnglishYellman comes from the English words yell and man creating Yellman. The last name Yellman was also given to a person who consistently yelled a lot.
YELLOW EnglishNickname for someone who has yellow hair; wore yellow clothing or has a yellow complexion
YEWDALE EnglishDerived from
Yewdale, which is the name of a village near the town of Skelmersdale in Lancashire. Its name means "valley of yew trees", as it is derived from Middle English
ew meaning "yew tree" combined with Middle English
dale meaning "dale, valley".... [
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YONOVER English (British)The surname Yonover was first found in Somerset where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor.
YOUNGER English, AmericanEnglish (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)... [
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ZACHARY EnglishA reference to
Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."
ZACHER EnglishA reference to
Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."
ZACHRY EnglishA reference to
Sacheverell, a location in Normandy. May also refer to the given name
Zacharias, meaning "to remember God," or "the Lord recalled."
ZACKERT English, GermanAn Americanization of the German surnames Zacher and Zachert. It comes from a vernacular form of the personal name Zacharias.
ZANE EnglishMeaning unknown. It could be a Americanization of the German surname
ZAHN.
Zane is also used as a given name.
ZECHES EnglishThe surname Zeches was first found in Silesia, where the name was closely identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society which would become prominent throughout European history. The name would later be associated with noble family with great influence, having many distinguished branches, and become noted for its involvement in social, economic and political affairs.
ZELLER German, Dutch, English, JewishOriginally 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.
ZESCOI Englishderived from the word zesty when used to describe someone
ZUILL English, ScottishFrom the town of Zuill, Scotland. The "Z" pronounced as "Y" comes from ancient yogh representing a variety of sounds. The name itself is of unknown origin.
ZYLSTRA Dutch, Frisian, EnglishDerived from Dutch
zijl "canal" or "sluice". Originally indicated someone who lives near a canal or sluice.