StriderEnglish Likely an anglicized variation of the Dutch term "Strijder" or German term "Streiter," this surname represents an occupational designation for a soldier or a descriptive term for someone with a combative demeanor.... [more]
StuckeyEnglish Stuckey was first found in Devonshire where they held family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence diminished after the battle of Hastings in 1066. For the next three centuries the Norman ambience prevailed... [more]
StudleyEnglish From any number of places called Studley in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and North Yorkshire. The name comes from Old English stod "stud farm" + leah "pasture".
SwitserEnglish Either (i) from the medieval nickname Swetesire (literally "sweet sir, amiable master"), applied sarcastically either to someone who used the expression liberally as a form of address or to someone with a de-haut-en-bas manner; or (ii) an anglicization of Schweitzer (from Middle High German swīzer "Swiss person").
TalbertEnglish, French From a continental Germanic personal name composed of the elements tal "valley" and berth "bright".
TallantEnglish (British, ?), Norman, Irish English (of Norman origin) occupational name for a tailor or nickname for a good swordsman, from taillant ‘cutting’, present participle of Old French tailler ‘to cut’ (Late Latin taliare, from talea ‘(plant) cutting’)... [more]
TallentEnglish Habitational name from Talland in Cornwall, which is thought to be named as ‘hill-brow church site’, from Cornish tal + lann.
TancockEnglish From a shortened variant of the male personal name Andrew, with the suffix -cock (literally "cockerel", hence "jaunty or bumptious young man"), that was often added to create pet-forms of personal names in the Middle Ages.
TatlockEnglish Probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place in Lancashire or Cheshire, where the surname occurs most frequently.
TauntonEnglish Habitational name from Taunton in Somerset, Taunton Farm in Coulsdon, Surrey, or Tanton in North Yorkshire. The Somerset place name was originally a combination of a Celtic river name (now the Tone, possibly meaning ‘roaring stream’) + Old English tūn ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
TeacherEnglish From an English word for someone who taught schools.
TelfordEnglish From the words taelf meaning "plateau" and ford meaning "river crossing"... [more]
TempestEnglish (British) English (Yorkshire): nickname for someone with a blustery temperament, from Middle English, Old French tempest(e) ‘storm’ (Latin tempestas ‘weather’, ‘season’, a derivative of tempus ‘time’).
TemplerEnglish Templer is an Old English surname denoting either a servant of one of the Knights Templar, or a person living near or serving at a church. The meaning is “church attendant”.
TennantEnglish, Scottish Occupational name for a farmer who holds a feudal tenure in a property, ultimately derived from Latin teneo "to hold, to keep".
ThistleEnglish Derived from Middle English thistel "thistle", this was either a nickname or a topographic name for someone who lived near a place overgrown with thistles.
ThoreauEnglish Last name of famous American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, sage writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau.
ThorsbyEnglish habitational name from North and South Thoresby (Lincolnshire) Thoresby in Carperby (North Yorkshire) or Thoresby in Perlethorpe cum Budby (Nottinghamshire). The Lincolnshire and Yorkshire placenames derive from the Old Norse personal name Thorir (genitive Thoris) + Old Norse býr "farmstead village"... [more]
ThurlesEnglish Today's generation of the Thurles family bears a name that was brought to England by the migration wave that was started by the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Thurles family lived in Suffolk, at Thurlow which was in turn derived from the Old English word tryohlaw, meaning dweller by the hill.
ThursbyEnglish habitational name from a place in Cumbria so named from the Old Norse personal name Thorir a derivative of Thor and Old Norse býr "farmstead settlement"... [more]
TiffanyEnglish From the medieval female personal name Tiffania (Old French Tiphaine, from Greek Theophania, a compound of theos "God" and phainein "to appear"). This name was often given to girls born around the feast of Epiphany.
TilsleyEnglish Derived from the place name Tyldesley, which in turn derives from Old English personal name Tīlweald with the suffix lēah “clearing, meadow”. Notable bearers of this name include Canadian salvationist and writer Bramwell Tillsley, as well as Welsh poet and Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales Gwilym Tilsley known under his bardic name of "Tilsli".... [more]
TisdaleEnglish Variant spelling of Teasdale. Famous bearers or this name include the actress and singer Ashley Tisdale (1985-), basketball player and bass guitarist Wayman Tisdale (1964-2009) and the engraver, miniature painter and cartoonist Elkanah Tisdale (1768-1835), all Americans.
TolfreeEnglish From the Middle English given name Thorferth or Torfrey, the English and Norman forms of Old Norse Þórfreðr meaning "Thor’s peace".
TolivarAsturian (Modern, Rare), English (Rare) Variant of Tolliver. Apparently, this name may have originated in Candamo, Asturias, in the 18th (or earlier) century. The "var" last syllable may be related to "fer," and the meaning may be related to iron, e.g. iron miner, iron refiner, etc... [more]
TownleyEnglish Habitational name for a person from Towneley near Burnley in Lancashire, itself from the Old English elements tun "enclosure, settlement" and leah "wood, clearing"... [more]
TranmerEnglish Habitational name from Tranmere, a district within the borough of Birkenhead, Cheshire, or Tranmires, an area in Hackness, North Yorkshire. Both toponyms derive from Old Norse trani "crane (bird)" and melr "sandbank, dune".
TraynorEnglish Derives from old English word 'trayne' which means to trap or to snare. Also an occupational name given to horse trainers. First found in Yorkshire, England in the 1300s.
TromansEnglish A nickname surname which was given to a trustworthy man, of medieval English origin.
TrotterEnglish, Scottish, German Northern English and Scottish: occupational name for a messenger, from an agent derivative of Middle English trot(en) 'to walk fast' (Old French troter, of Germanic origin). ... [more]
TungateEnglish habitational name from Tungate a minor place near North Walsham named from Old English tun "farmstead estate" and Old Norse gata or Old English gæt "way path road street gate".
TunnardEnglish Means "town herd", from Old English tun "town, enclosure, yard" and heord "a herd", an occupational name for someone who guarded the town’s cattle.
TurnbowEnglish, German (Americanized) Americanized spelling of German Dürnbach, from a habitational name from any of several places so named or from places in Austria and Bavaria named Dürrenbach (meaning "dry stream").
TwiningEnglish From the name of the village of Twyning in Gloucestershire, derived from Old English betweonan meaning "between" and eam meaning "river".
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.
TwyfordEnglish English habitational name from any of the numerous places named Twyford, for example in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Derbyshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, and Norfolk, from Old English twi- ‘double’ + ford ‘ford’.
UmplebyEnglish Originally given to people from the village of Anlaby in East Yorkshire, UK. Written as Umlouebi in the Domesday Book, the place name is from Old Norse given name Óláfr + býr, "farmstead" or "village".
UnthankEnglish From a place name meaning "squatter's holding" from Old English unthanc (literally "without consent").
UseltonEnglish Perhaps a variant of Osselton, a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place, probably in northeastern England, where this name is most common.
VarnellEnglish Variant of Farnell. This form originated in southwestern England, where the change from F to V arose from the voicing of F that was characteristic of this area in Middle English.
VeeversEnglish Means "dealer in foodstuffs" (from Old French vivres "victuals").
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.
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]
VisitorEnglish Likely from someone who was a stranger in a place.
ViveashEnglish English surname of uncertain origin. May be Anglo-Norman from French vivace meaning "lively, vigorous", however its pronunciation has led to its connection to various places in southern England called Five Ash Trees.
WaddellEnglish Habitational name from Wadden Hall in Waltham, Kent, derived from either the Old English given name Wada or from wæden "made of woad, woaden, bluish" combined with halh "nook, recess".
WaddellEnglish Possibly derived from Woodhill in Wiltshire, England, derived from Old English wad "woad" and hyll "hill". Alternatively, could be from the Middle English given name Wadel.
WaddellEnglish Variant of Odell, derived from the toponym’s older spelling Wadehelle.
WaitmanEnglish From Middle English and Older Scots waithman meaning "hunter; outlaw", equivalent to Old English waþ "hunt, chase; wandering" and mann "person, man".
WakehamEnglish, Cornish A locational surname for someone who lived in one of three places called Wakeham in various parts of England, including Cornwall and/or Devon.
WakeleyEnglish Habitational name from Wakeley in Hertfordshire, named from the Old English byname Waca, meaning ‘watchful’ (see Wake) + Old English leah ‘woodland clearing’.
WakelinEnglish From the Anglo-Norman male personal name Walquelin, literally "little Walho", a Germanic nickname meaning literally "foreigner".
WalcottEnglish habitational name from any of several places called Walcott Walcot or Walcote for example in Lincolnshire Leicestershire Norfolk Oxfordshire and Wiltshire all named in Old English wealh "foreigner Briton serf" (genitive plural wala) and cot "cottage hut shelter" (plural cotu) meaning "the cottage where the (Welsh-speaking) Britons lived".
WaldripEnglish, Scottish The name is derived from the Old Norman warderobe, a name given to an official of the wardrobe, and was most likely first borne by someone who held this distinguished
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]
WalpoleEnglish Originally indicated a person from either of two places by this name in Norfolk and Suffolk (see Walpole). Famous bearers of the surname include Robert Walpole (1676-1745), the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, and his youngest son, the writer Horace Walpole (1717-1797)... [more]
WanlessEnglish From a medieval nickname for an ineffectual person (from Middle English wanles "hopeless, luckless").
WannellEnglish English surname which was derived from a medieval nickname, from Middle English wann "wan, pale" (see Wann) and a diminutive suffix.... [more]
WardellEnglish, Irish A habitational name from Wardle in Lancashire and possibly Wardle in Cheshire, both named with Old English elements weard "guard, guardian" hyll "hill" meaning "watch hill"... [more]
WaverlyEnglish Meaning, "from Waverley (Surrey)" or "from the brushwood meadow." From either waever meaning "brushwood" or waefre meaning "flickering, unstable, restless, wandering" combined with leah meaning "meadow, clearing."
WeddellScottish, English Derived from Wedale, the original name of the parish of Stow in Scotland, possibly composed of Old English weoh "idol, image; temple, sacred place", weod "weed, herb", or wedd "pledge, contract" combined with dæl "dale, valley"... [more]
WedmoreEnglish (British) Habitational name from Wedmore in Somerset, recorded in the 9th century as Wethmor, possibly meaning ‘marsh (Old English mor) used for hunting (w?the)’.
WeekleyEnglish Originally meant "person from Weekley", Northamptonshire ("wood or clearing by a Romano-British settlement"). British philologist Ernest Weekley (1865-1954) bore this surname.
WelbornEnglish Habitational name from Welborne in Norfolk, Welbourn in Lincolnshire, or Welburn in North Yorkshire, all named with Old English wella ‘spring’ + burna ‘stream’.
WelburnEnglish English surname meaning "From the Spring brook"
WelcomeEnglish Derived from several places named Welcombe.
WelfordEnglish English surname meaning "Lives by the spring by the ford"
WellandEnglish (British, Rare) From the name of the place, derived from Old English wig - war and landa - territory, land.
WestropEnglish (British) Viking name local to Somerset and several counties in the North East of England. Approximate meaning "place to the west of the village with the church".
WhalleyEnglish Variant form of Whaley. A famous bearer is the English actress Joanne Whalley (1961-).
WhartonEnglish Derived from an Olde English pre 7th Century river name Woefer.
WhatelyEnglish Old English location or occupational surname meaning "from the wheat meadow".
WhatleyEnglish From any of the various places in England named with Old English hwæte "wheat" and leah "woodland clearing".
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.
WhippleEnglish English surname of uncertain meaning. It might be a shortened form of “whippletree”; an early name for the dogwood. It may also be a variation of Whipp – an early surname for someone who carried out judicial punishments.
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.
WhitleyEnglish This surname is derived from a place name composed of Old English elements hwit meaning "white" and leah meaning "clearing, grove."
WhitlowEnglish white hill” place name from east side of country in lower Northumbria perhaps? Or perhaps next lower shire.
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]
WigmoreEnglish habitational name from Wigmore in Herefordshire so named from Old English wicga in the sense "something moving quaking unstable ground" and mor "marsh".
WilburnEnglish A habitation name of uncertain origin found in the East Midlands. Speculation includes the possibility of the meaning "well" and "burn, borne" therefore meaning one who lived near a well or spring by a waterway crossing.
WilfordEnglish habitational name from either of two places called Wilford in Nottinghamshire and Suffolk both probably named with an Old English welig "willow" and Old English ford "ford".
WilletsEnglish Occasionally a Habitational name from Willet in Elworthy. Probably a compound of Old English wiell will 'spring' + an unrecorded gīete 'stream'.(Ancestory.com) Or is a varation of the given name William.
WillockEnglish From 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".
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.
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
WindhamEnglish, 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’... [more]
WinfordEnglish English location name meaning "from a white ford or water crossing" or "from a meadow ford".
WinfreyEnglish From 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.