Swiss
names are used in the country of Switzerland in central Europe.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Valette FrenchTopographic name for someone who lived in a small valley, from a diminutive of Old French
valee meaning "valley".
Vali Spanish, Italian (Swiss), ArabicThis Spanish and Italian surname of VALI was a locational name for someone OR A family who lived in a valley. In valle quiescit ( In the valley of our home, we find peace.)... [
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Valle Spanish, Filipino, ItalianHabitational name from any of the many places named with
valle "valley", or topographic name for someone who lived in a valley (Latin
vallis).
Vallée Frenchtopographic name for someone who lived in a valley from Old French
valee "valley" (from Latin
vallis) or a habitational name from (La) Vallée the name of several places in various parts of France... [
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Vallera FrenchFrench: habitational name from Vallery in Yonne, once a Romano-Gallic estate, recorded in 1218 as Valerianus. The surname is also found in the British Isles and may be of Norman origin, from the same place.
Vallet French, EnglishFrench topographic name from a diminutive of Old French
val "valley" (see
Val ) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France and French and English occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English
vallet "manservant groom".
Vallie GermanProbably an altered spelling of German
Valee, a fairly common surname of French origin denoting someone who lived in a valley. The name in Germany is also spelled
Wallee.
Valois Frenchtopographic name for someone who lived in a valley, or a habitational name from any of the various places called Vallois, or regional name from the district in northern France so called, which was once an independent duchy... [
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Valsecchi ItalianDenoting someone from the former municipality of Valsecca in Lombardy.
Van Blankenberg German, Belgian, DutchMeans "from Blankenberg", a toponym from any of various places so called, in particular in Hennef and Gelderland, or from Blankenberge in West Flanders, Belgium. Probably derived from
blanken "white, pale, bright" or "bare, blank" and
berg "mountain, hill".
Vargiu ItalianFrom the name of a former settlement. Possibly from Latin
varius, "many colours, variegated".
Varner GermanHabitational name for someone from Farn near Oberkirch, or Fahrnau near Schopfheim.
Varon FrenchFrom the old high german name
Waro short form of given names with the element
war "aware,cautious".
Vasseur FrenchFrom 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.
Vasta ItalianVasta is derived from the Italian word Vast. Vasta means wide in Italian. It is a common name in Italy preferably in Milan, Italy.
Vaux FrenchFrench, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of
val ‘valley’.
Veca ItalianSouthern Italian: possibly from vece ‘change’, ‘mutation’, ‘alternation’ (from Latin vix, vicis, plural vices), or from a pet form of a personal name formed with this element.
Vecchio ItalianMeans "old, aged" in Italian, originally used as a nickname for an older or oldest son or for someone who was prematurely grey or wrinkled.
Venini ItalianPossibly a patronymic from the medieval name Bene, meaning "good".
Venn GermanDerived from Middle High German
venne "mire, bog, fen".
Ventrelli ItalianMeaning 'small belly' from the Italian ventre (belly) and the diminutive suffix elli, meaning small or little.
Veraguth RomanshDerived from Latin
ferrum acutum "cutting sword", this name was given to a blacksmith.
Vercetti ItalianIs a Italian surname that is derived from the Italian surname "Verratti".
Verde Italian, Spanish, PortugueseFrom Spanish
verde "green" (Latin
viridis), presumably a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in this color or had green eyes, etc. This is also a common element of place names.
Verdé FrenchPossibly a Gallicized form of the Italian and Spanish surname
Verde.
Verdier French, Norman, EnglishOccupational 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... [
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Verdon FrenchHabitational name from a place so named, for example in Dordogne, Gironde, and Marne.
Vermont French (Rare)Derived from french, meaning "green mountain" (Vert, "green"; mont, "mountain").
Verne French, EnglishAs 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.
Véron FrenchThere 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.... [
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Verret FrenchFrom the French word verre, meaning "glass." Possibly denoting someone who worked with glass.
Verrier FrenchAn occupational French surname indicating a glassmaker or glassblower, from French
verre "glass", derived from Middle French
voirre "glass".
Verrone ItalianItalian: probably a nickname from an augmentative form of verro ‘boar’.
Verville Frenchvariant of Vervelle, which Morlet derives from a word denoting the metal keeper or ring through which a bolt is secured.
Vesper GermanEither a nickname from Latin
vesper "6 o’clock in the evening evening time" originally the second to last canonical hour or a habitational name from a place so called on the Ruhr river.
Vetrano ItalianThe name originates from Italy, mainly Sicily. It means "old man veteran", other times it means "faithful, loyal".
Vetter Germanfrom a nickname from Middle High German veter(e) ‘uncle’, ‘nephew’. The word is from Old High German fetiro (a derivative of fater ‘father’), which was used more generally to denote various male relatives; the meaning of modern German Vetter is ‘cousin’.
Vial English, Frenchfrom 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.
Vianney FrenchThe 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.
Viceconte ItalianMeans viscount in Italian, Originally for served as or worked for a viscount.
Vienneau FrenchDenoted 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.
Vierling GermanDerived from Middle High German
vierlinc meaning "one-fourth of a measure", hence a status name or nickname for someone who had an annual tax liability of this amount.
Vietmeyer GermanGerman: distinguishing name for a tenant farmer who was a tenant of or owed some obligation to an estate or monastery named for Saint Veith.
Vieu FrenchFrom a place called Vieu in Ain from Latin
vicus "village". French cognitive of
Vico.
Vigna ItalianMeaning "vineyard", referring to someone who lived near one.
Vignau FrenchVignau may derive from the French words "vigne" or "vignal", meaning "vineyard", and refers to the owner. ... [
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Vignola Italianhabitational name from any of various minor places so named from vignola "small vineyard".
Villani ItalianDerives from Latin
villa "village, farm, settlement", related to Italian
villano "peasant" or "rude, bad-mannered".
Villard FrenchFrench cognate of
Vilar. A topographic name denoting an inhabitant of a hamlet; or a habitational name from (Le) Villard the name of several places in various parts of France... [
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Villard GermanAltered form of German
Hilgard, from the female personal name
Hildegard, composed of the Germanic elements
hild "strife, battle" and
gard "fortress, stronghold".
Villasurda GermanVillasurda is a Germanic name dating back to the time of the Vikings. It, roughly translated from a Norse word, means, "the one who is fat."
Villein French"Used in medieval England and France. Villein is another term used for the serfs in the lowest classes of the feudal system."
Violette FrenchPerhaps 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.
Viotto ItalianThe name is derived from the Latin word "vita", meaning "life"
Virile ItalianIt comes fron the Italian adjective
virile that means 'manly, masculine' ultimately from Latin
vir Virtuoso English (American), Spanish, ItalianThis Italian surname could possibly be connected to those whose ancestors were involved in playing a musical instrument or somehow connected to the musical instrument industry.
Visconti ItalianDerived from
visconte, itself from the Medieval
vice comes, a title of rank meaning "deputy of a count". The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist... [
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Vista ItalianProbably from a short form of a medieval personal name such as Bellavista, an omen or well-wishing name literally meaning ‘fine view’.
Vittone ItalianProbably an augmentative form of the given name
Vitto, which can be a variant of
Vito 1 (from Latin
vita "life"), derive from the Germanic name
Wido, or be a shortened form of names ending with
-vitto, such as
Salvitto or
Iacovitto.
Vivier FrenchDerived from Latin
vivarium, ultimately from Latin
vivus "alive". This name is locational relating to living near a fish pond.
Vogelmann Germanoccupational name for a birdcatcher from Middle High German Middle Low German
fogal "bird" and
mann "man".
Vogelsang GermanMeans "bird song" in German. From the German words vogel (bird) and sang (song).
Voisin FrenchFrom 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... [
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Volkmann GermanProbably denoted for a speaker or a people's person, derived from German
volk "people" and
mann "man". Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann (1801-1877) was a German physiologist, anatomist, and philosopher... [
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Vollbrecht GermanFrom a German personal name composed of the elements folk ‘people’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. In the U.S. this name is often Americanized as Fulbright and Fullbright.
Völler GermanGerman cognate of
Fuller and a variant of
Voll 2. A notable bearer is the retired German soccer player Rudi Völler (1960-).
Vollmar German, Germanic, Low GermanThis name is a variant form of Volkmar and the Low German form of Waldemar. It is of Germanic and Slavic origin and comes from the following roots: (VOLKMAR) and (VOLODIMĚRŬ).
Von Aachen GermanMeans "from Aachen", a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, ultimately derived from Latin
acquae "water, water sources", referring to the sacred springs associated with the Celtic god
Grannus.
Von Esmarch GermanMeans "from Esmarch" in German, Esmarch being an unknown meaning. Friedrich von Esmarch (1823-1908) was a German surgeon who developed the Esmarch bandage and founded the Deutscher Samariter-Verein, the predecessor of the Deutscher Samariter-Bund.
Von Langenbeck GermanMeans "from a long stream" in German, from Low German
lange "long" and
beke "stream". Bernhard Rudolf Konrad von Langenbeck (1810-1887) was a German surgeon known as the developer of Langenbeck's amputation and founder of Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery.
Vonmoos RomanshDerived from German
von "of" and
Moos "moss". The name itself is a calque of Romansh
da Palü which was Germanized after the Reformation.
Von Sydow Swedish, Germanvon Sydow is a German and Swedish noble family from Pomerania, an area in modern day Poland and Germany. Some members of the family immigrated to Sweden in 1724. The name literary means "from
Sydow"... [
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Von Westphalen GermanDenoted a person from Westphalia, a region of northwestern Germany, borrowed from Medieval Latin
Westphalia, derived from Middle Low German
Westvâlen "west field".
Vorwald GermanTopographic name for someone who lived "in front of (Middle High German
vor) a forest (Middle High German
wald)".
Vosberg GermanMeans "foxhole" or "fox hill", from
vos "fox" and
berg "hill, mountain".
Vought GermanThe surname Vought originates in the
Latin form "vocatus" or "advocatus," and referred to someone who appeared in court on another's behalf. As a surname, Vought is an
occupational hereditary surname for a "bailiff" or "overseer of a nobleman's estate".
Vuitton FrenchDerived 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.
Vuolo ItalianSouthern variant of
Volo, likely after the place name Bolo from Sicily.
Wachs German, JewishOccupational name for someone who dealt with beeswax from Middle High German
wahs German
wachs "wax".
Wacker GermanFrom a nickname for a bold or energetic person, from Middle High German
wacker meaning ‘fresh’, ‘lively’, ‘brave’, or ‘valiant’.
Wagenmann GermanOccupational name from Middle High German wagenman ‘hauler’, ‘wagoner’.
Wager GermanAn occupational name for an official in charge of the city scales.
Wagmann GermanPossibly derived from Swabian
Wegman, meaning "herb".
Wahl German, JewishFrom Middle High German
Walhe,
Walch "foreigner from a Romance country", hence a nickname for someone from Italy or France, etc. This surname is also established in Sweden.