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".
WehmannGerman From Middle Low German wede, "wood forest" combined with man, "man"
WeideGerman Either a topographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous willow or by a group of willow trees from Middle High German wide "willow"... [more]
WeidlingGerman (Austrian) May refer to the district of Weidling, located in the municipality of Klosterneuburg, which is situated in Lower Austria, near Vienna. A notable person with this surname was Helmuth Weidling, a German general of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
WeilGerman, Jewish South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places so named in Baden, Bavaria, and Württemberg, from Latin villa ‘country house’, ‘estate’ (later used of a group of houses forming a settlement).
WeimarGerman Habitational name from any of several places called Weimar in Hesse and Thuringia.... [more]
WeinGerman, Yiddish, Hungarian Means "grape, vine, wine" in German and Yiddish (װײַנ). According to Nelly Weiss, Wein-style family names originated from signboards (house sign, house shield) in Jewish communities. Wein may also be related the German verb weinen meaning "to cry"... [more]
WeingartnerGerman Derived from German weingärtner meaning "wine maker, vintner", which itself is derived from German weingarten meaning "vineyard". The latter is a composite word consisting of German wein "wine" combined with German garten "garden"... [more]
WeinheimerGerman German: habitational name for someone from any of the places named Weinheim, for example in Baden and Hessen.
WeiningerGerman (Swiss), Jewish Denoted a person from Weiningen, a municipality in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It is also a Jewish ornamental name derived from German wein meaning "wine" and the suffix -inger.
WeinkaufGerman From "wein kaufen" meaning "buy wine" or "wine-buyer"
WeinlandGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a wine-producing area from Middle High German win "wine" and land "land" or a habitational name from a place so named.
WeinmannGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational name for a viticulturalist or wine merchant, Middle High German winman, German Weinmann.
WeinstockGerman, Jewish English variant of the German surname Wenstock, an occupational name for a producer or seller of wine, from German Weinstock "grapevine" (also compare Wein).... [more]
WeintraubGerman, Jewish from Middle High German wintrub "grape" derived from wein "wine" and traub "grape" hence either a metonymic occupational name for a vintner or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by a sign depicting a bunch of grapes.
WeisfeldGerman, Jewish topographic name from a field name composed of Middle High German wiz "white" and feld "open country". Cognate of Whitfield.
WeishauptGerman Nickname for someone with white hair from Middle High German wiz "white" and houbit "head". German cognate of Whitehead.
WeishuhnGerman Derived from Middle High German wiz meaning "white" and huon meaning "hen, fowl", hence a metonymic occupational name for a poultry farmer or dealer, or perhaps in some instances a nickname.
WeißmüllerGerman from Middle High German wiz "white" and mulin "miller" an occupational name for a miller who produced white flour which was produced as early as the 14th century.
WeixelGerman German: variant spelling of Weichsel, a topographic name for someone who lived near a sour cherry tree (St. Luce cherry), from Middle High German wīhsel (modern German Weichsel(n), pronounced ‘Weiksel’.
WelfingGerman Name given to our family by our relative, a German king.
WelkGerman (East Prussian) Nickname from Middle High German welc, meaning "soft and mild". The name was first recorded in South Holland, however many of the bearers of the name trace its roots back to East Germany. A famous bearer of this name was Lawrence Welk, an American musician and host of the Lawrence Welk Show.
WelleGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a spring or stream, Middle Low German welle.
WellerEnglish, German Either from the Olde English term for a person who extracted salt from seawater, or from the English and German "well(e)," meaning "someone who lived by a spring or stream."... [more]
WellmannGerman Means "man who lived near the well" from welle "spring, well, wave" combined with mann "man".
WelschGerman From Middle High German welsch, walsch "person from a Romance country (especially Italy), foreigner", hence an ethnic name or in some cases perhaps a nickname for someone who had trading or other connections with the Romance countries.
WeltyGerman (Swiss) From a Swiss German diminutive of the German given name Walther. A literary bearer was the American writer Eudora Welty (1909-2001).
WendtGerman, Danish Ethnic name for a Wend, Middle High German wind(e). The Wends (also known as Sorbians) once occupied a large area of northeastern Germany (extending as far west as Lüneburg, with an area called Wendland), and many German place names and surnames are of Wendish origin... [more]
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"
WenigGerman From the German word “wenig”, meaning little.
WentzGerman (Rare) Originally a pet form of the given names Werner and Wenceslaw. Meaning "guard" or "army".
WeselohGerman German habitational name from a place so named near Hannover.
WesnerGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places named Wessen.
WestendorfGerman A habitational surname that means 'West Village' in German.
WesterGerman From Middle High German wëster ‘westerly’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived to the west of a settlement, or a regional name for one who had migrated from further west.
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]