Names with "surname" in Description

Piper f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series Charmed, which debuted in 1998.

Porsche f English (Modern)
From the name of the German car company, which was founded by Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951). His surname is derived from the given name Boris.

Porter m English
From an occupational English surname meaning "doorkeeper", ultimately from Old French porte "door", from Latin porta.

Presley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest clearing" (Old English preost and leah). This surname was borne by musician Elvis Presley (1935-1977).

Preston m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest town" (Old English preost and tun).

Price m English
From a Welsh surname that was derived from ap Rhys meaning "son of Rhys".

Purdie m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from the Norman French expression pur die "by God". It was perhaps originally a nickname for a person who used the oath frequently.

Quincy m & f English
From an English surname that was derived (via the place name Cuinchy) from the personal name Quintus. A famous bearer was John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), sixth president of the United States, who was born in the town of Quincy, Massachusetts. Both the town and the president were named after his maternal great-grandfather John Quincy (1689-1767). Another notable bearer is the American musician Quincy Jones (1933-).

Quinlan m & f English (Rare)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Caoindealbháin, itself from the given name Caoindealbhán (Old Irish Caíndelbán).

Quinn m & f English
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series Glee.

Quinton m English
Variant of Quentin, also coinciding with an English surname meaning "queen's town" in Old English.

Quixote m Literature
Created by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes for the hero of his novel Don Quixote (1605). This is the character's surname; see Quixote.

Radcliff m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "red cliff" in Old English.

Radclyffe m English (Rare)
From a surname, a variant of Radcliff.

Raeburn m English (Rare)
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "stream where deer drink" (from Scots rae "roe deer" and burn "stream"). A famous bearer of the surname was Scottish portrait painter Henry Raeburn (1756-1823).

Rafferty m English
From an Irish surname, itself derived from the given name Rabhartach meaning "flood tide".

Raine f & m English (Rare)
From a surname derived from the Old French nickname reine meaning "queen". A famous bearer was the British socialite Raine Spencer (1929-2016), the stepmother of Princess Diana. In modern times it is also considered a variant of Rain 1.

Raleigh m & f English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning either "red clearing" or "roe deer clearing" in Old English. A city in North Carolina bears this name, after the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618).

Ramsay m Scottish
From a surname that was a variant of Ramsey.

Ramsey m English
From an English and Scottish surname that was derived from a place name meaning "garlic island" in Old English.

Randall m English
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Randel.

Read m English (Rare)
From a surname that was a variant of Reed.

Reagan f & m English (Modern)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Riagáin, derived from the given name Riagán. This surname was borne by American actor and president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).... [more]

Rearden m English (Rare)
From an Irish surname, a variant of Riordan.

Reed m English
From an English surname that was derived from Old English read meaning "red", originally a nickname given to a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Unconnected, this is also the English word for tall grass-like plants that grow in marshes.

Régis m French
From a French surname meaning "ruler" in Occitan. This name is often given in honour of Saint Jean-François Régis (1597-1640), a French Jesuit priest.

Reid m English
From a surname, a Scots variant of Reed.

Reilly m & f English (Modern)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Raghailligh, derived from the given name Raghailleach, meaning unknown.

Remington m & f English
From an English surname that was derived from the name of the town of Rimington in Lancashire, itself meaning "settlement on the Riming stream". It may be given in honour of the American manufacturer Eliphalet Remington (1793-1861) or his sons, founders of the firearms company that bears their name.

Rhett m English
From a surname, an Anglicized form of the Dutch de Raedt, derived from raet "advice, counsel". Margaret Mitchell used this name for the character Rhett Butler in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936).

Ridge m English (Modern)
From the English vocabulary word denoting a continuous elevated mountain crest, or from the English surname derived from the word.

Ridley m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was originally derived from various place names meaning either "reed clearing" or "channel clearing" in Old English.

Rigby m English (Rare)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "ridge farm" in Old Norse.

Riley m & f English
From a surname that comes from two distinct sources. As an Irish surname it is a variant of Reilly. As an English surname it is derived from a place name meaning "rye clearing" in Old English.... [more]

Riordan m English (Rare)
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Ríoghbhárdáin), which was derived from the given name Rígbarddán.

Ripley f & m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from the name of various English towns, from Old English rippel "grove, thicket" and leah "clearing". A famous fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley (usually only called by her surname) from the Alien series of movies, beginning 1979.

Rodney m English
From an English surname, originally derived from a place name, which meant "Hroda's island" in Old English (where Hroda is an Old English given name meaning "fame"). It was first used as a given name in honour of the British admiral Lord Rodney (1719-1792).

Romilly m & f English (British, Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from the name of various Norman towns, themselves from the given name Romilius.

Roosevelt m English
From a Dutch surname meaning "rose field". This name is often given in honour of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) or Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).

Roscoe m English
From an English surname, originally derived from a place name, itself derived from Old Norse rá "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".

Ross m Scottish, English
From a Scottish and English surname that originally indicated a person from a place called Ross (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), derived from Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland". A famous bearer of the surname was James Clark Ross (1800-1862), an Antarctic explorer.

Roswell m English
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "horse spring".

Rowan m & f Irish, English (Modern)
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).

Royce m English
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Royse, a variant of Rose.

Roydon m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill", from Old English ryge "rye" and dun "hill".

Royle m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "rye hill" from Old English ryge "rye" and hyll "hill".

Royston m English (British)
From a surname that was originally taken from an Old English place name meaning "town of Royse". The given name Royse was a medieval variant of Rose.

Russell m English
From an English surname, of Norman origin, meaning "little red one" (a diminutive of Old French rous "red"). A notable bearer of the surname was the agnostic British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), who wrote on many subjects including logic, epistemology and mathematics. He was also a political activist for causes such as pacifism and women's rights.... [more]

Ryan m English
From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Riain. This patronymic derives from the given name Rian, which is of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally said to mean "little king", from Irish rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix.... [more]

Ryder m English (Modern)
From an English occupational surname derived from Old English ridere meaning "mounted warrior" or "messenger". It has grown in popularity in the 2000s because it starts with the same sound found in other popular names like Ryan and Riley.

Ryker m English (Modern)
Possibly a variant of the German surname Riker, a derivative of Low German rike "rich". As a modern English name, it has become popular because it shares the same trendy sounds found in other names such as Ryan and Ryder.

Ryland m English (Modern)
From an English surname, which was originally derived from a place name meaning "rye land" in Old English.

Sacheverell m English (Rare)
From a now extinct English surname that was derived from a Norman place name. It was occasionally given in honour of the English preacher Henry Sacheverell (1674-1724), especially by the Sitwell noble family.

Sampson 2 m English
From an English surname that was itself derived from a medieval form of the given name Samson.

Sandford m English (Rare)
From a surname that was a variant of Sanford.

Sanford m English
From an English surname, originally from a place name, which meant "sand ford" in Old English.

Santana f & m Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian), English (Modern)
From a contraction of Santa Ana (referring to Saint Anna) or from a Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from any of the numerous places named for the saint. It can be given in honour of the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-), the founder of the band Santana. The name received a boost in popularity for American girls after the character Santana Andrade began appearing on the soap opera Santa Barbara in 1984.

Satchel m English (Rare)
From an English surname derived from Old English sacc meaning "sack, bag", referring to a person who was a bag maker. A famous bearer was the American baseball player Satchel Paige (1906-1982). In his case it was a childhood nickname acquired because he sold bags.

Sawyer m & f English (Modern)
From an English surname meaning "sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).... [more]

Saxon m English (Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from the name of the Germanic tribe the Saxons, ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *sahsą meaning "knife". This name can also be given in direct reference to the tribe.

Saylor f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was derived from Old French sailleor meaning "acrobat, dancer". As a modern English given name it could also come from the homophone vocabulary word sailor.

Scarlett f English
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelat)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.

Schuyler m & f English
From a Dutch surname meaning "scholar". Dutch settlers brought the surname to America, where it was subsequently adopted as a given name in honour of the American general and senator Philip Schuyler (1733-1804).

Scott m English, Scottish
From an English and Scottish surname that referred to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic. It is derived from Latin Scoti meaning "Gael, Gaelic speaker", with the ultimate origin uncertain.

Sefton m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "town in the rushes" in Old English.

Selby m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was from a place name meaning "willow farm" in Old Norse.

Selwyn m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally derived from an Old English given name, which was formed of the elements sele "manor" and wine "friend".

Seward m English
From an English surname, either Seward 1 or Seward 2.

Seymour m English
From a Norman surname that originally belonged to a person coming from the French town of Saint Maur (which means "Saint Maurus").

Shaw m English (Rare)
From a surname. As an English surname it is derived from Old English sceaga meaning "thicket". As a Scottish surname it is derived from the Gaelic byname Sitheach meaning "wolf".

Sheard m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "gap between hills" in Old English.

Shelby m & f English
From an English surname, which was possibly a variant of Selby. Though previously in use as a rare masculine name, it was popularized as a feminine name by the main character in the movie The Woman in Red (1935). It was later reinforced by the movie Steel Magnolias (1989) in which Julia Roberts played a character by this name.

Sheldon m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "valley with steep sides" in Old English. Sheldon is the name of several locations in England.

Shelley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "clearing on a bank" in Old English. Two famous bearers of the surname were Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), a romantic poet whose works include Adonais and Ozymandias, and Mary Shelley (1797-1851), his wife, the author of the horror story Frankenstein. As a feminine given name, it came into general use after the 1940s.

Shelton m English
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "shelf town" in Old English.

Shepherd m English
From an English occupational surname meaning "sheep herder, shepherd".

Sheridan m & f English
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin), which was derived from the given name Sirideán possibly meaning "searcher".

Sherlock m Literature
Used by Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle for his character Sherlock Holmes, who was a detective in Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887. The character's name was from an English surname meaning "shear lock", originally referring to a person with closely cut hair.

Sherman m English
From an English surname meaning "shear man", originally denoting a person who cut cloth. Famous bearers of the surname include American politician Roger Sherman (1721-1793) and American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891).

Sherry f English
Probably inspired by the French word chérie meaning "darling" or the English word sherry, a type of fortified wine named from the Spanish town of Jerez. This name came into popular use during the 1920s, inspired by other similar-sounding names and by Collette's novels Chéri (1920, English translation 1929) and The Last of Chéri (1926, English translation 1932), in which it is a masculine name.... [more]

Sherwood m English
From an English place name (or from a surname that was derived from it) meaning "bright forest". This was the name of the forest in which the legendary outlaw Robin Hood made his home.

Shirley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "bright clearing" in Old English. This is the name of a main character in Charlotte Brontë's semi-autobiographical novel Shirley (1849). Though the name was already popular in the United States, the child actress Shirley Temple (1928-2014) gave it a further boost. By 1935 it was the second most common name for girls.

Sidney m & f English
From the English surname Sidney. It was first used as a given name in honour of executed politician Algernon Sidney (1622-1683). Another notable bearer of the surname was the poet and statesman Philip Sidney (1554-1586).... [more]

Sigourney f English
From an English surname that was derived from the French town of Sigournais, called Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning. The American actress Sigourney Weaver (1949-), real name Susan, adopted this name in 1963 after the minor character Sigourney Howard in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby (1925).

Sinclair m & f English (Rare)
From a Scottish surname that was derived from a Norman French town called "Saint Clair". A notable bearer was the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951).

Singh m Indian (Sikh)
From Sanskrit सिंह (sinha) meaning "lion". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his male Sikh followers the surname Singh, and it is now a very common surname or a middle name. The female equivalent is Kaur.

Skyler m & f English (Modern)
Variant of Schuyler, based on the pronunciation of the surname but respelled as if it was a blend of the English word sky with names such as Tyler. It was rare before 1980, and first gained popularity as a name for boys. It is now more common for girls, though it is more evenly unisex than the mostly feminine variant Skylar.

Slade m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was derived from Old English slæd meaning "valley".

Sloane f English (Modern)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Sluaghadháin, itself derived from the given name Sluaghadhán.

Smith m English
From an English surname meaning "metal worker, blacksmith", derived from Old English smitan "to smite, to hit". It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world.

Spencer m English
From an English surname that meant "dispenser of provisions", derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry". A famous bearer was American actor Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). It was also the surname of Princess Diana (1961-1997).

Stacy f & m English
As a feminine name it is commonly considered a diminutive of Anastasia, though it was originally used independently of that name, which was rare in America in the 1950s when Stacy began becoming popular. It had earlier been in use as an uncommon masculine name, borrowed from the surname Stacy or Stacey (derived from Stace, a medieval form of Eustace).

Stafford m English
From a surname that was from a place name meaning "landing-place ford" in Old English.

Stanford m English
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "stone ford" in Old English.

Stanley m English
From an English surname meaning "stone clearing" (Old English stan "stone" and leah "woodland, clearing"). A notable bearer of the surname was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the man who found David Livingstone in Africa. As a given name, it was borne by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), as well as the character Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).

Sterling m English
From a Scots surname that was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".

Stetson m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally derived from the name of the village of Stidston in Devon, meaning "Stithweard's town". This is a type of wide-brimmed hat, originally made by the John B. Stetson Company.

Stewart m English, Scottish
From a surname that was a variant Stuart.

Stirling m English (Rare)
From a surname that was a variant Sterling. This is the name of a city in Scotland.

Stuart m English, Scottish
From a Scottish occupational surname originally belonging to a person who was a steward. It is ultimately derived from Old English stig "house" and weard "guard". As a given name, it arose in 19th-century Scotland in honour of the Stuart royal family, which produced several kings and queens of Scotland and Britain between the 14th and 18th centuries.

Sukarno m Javanese
From the Sanskrit prefix सु (su) meaning "good" combined with the name of the mythological hero Karna. Sukarno (1901-1970), who did not have a surname, was the first president of Indonesia.

Sullivan m English, French
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Súileabháin, itself from the given name Súileabhán, which was derived from Irish súil "eye" and dubh "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name has achieved a moderate level of popularity in France since the 1970s. In the United States it was rare before the 1990s, after which it began climbing steadily. A famous fictional bearer of the surname was James P. Sullivan from the animated movie Monsters, Inc. (2001).

Sutton f & m English (Modern)
From a surname, itself derived from the name of numerous English towns, of Old English origin meaning "south town".

Sydney f & m English
From a surname that was a variant of the surname Sidney. This is the name of the largest city in Australia, which was named for Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney in 1788. Formerly used by both genders, since the 1980s this spelling of the name has been mostly feminine.

Talbot m English (Rare)
From an English surname, of Norman origin, possibly derived from an unattested Germanic given name composed of the elements dala "to destroy" and bod "message".

Tanner m English
From an English surname meaning "one who tans hides".

Tate m English
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Tata, of unknown origin.

Tatton m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Tata's town" in Old English.

Tatum f & m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Tata's homestead" in Old English. It was brought to public attention by the child actress Tatum O'Neal (1963-) in the 1970s, though it did not catch on. It attained a modest level of popularity after 1996, when it was borne by a character in the movie Scream.

Tavish m Scottish
Anglicized form of a Thàmhais, vocative case of Tàmhas. Alternatively it could be taken from the Scottish surname McTavish, Anglicized form of Mac Tàmhais, meaning "son of Tàmhas".

Taylor m & f English
From an English surname that originally denoted someone who was a tailor, from Norman French tailleur, ultimately from Latin taliare "to cut".... [more]

Teagan f English (Modern)
Variant of Tegan. It also coincides with a rare Irish surname Teagan. This name rose on the American popularity charts in the 1990s, probably because of its similarity to names like Megan and Reagan.

Telman m Azerbaijani
Soviet-era name derived from the usual Azerbaijani spelling of the surname of the German communist party leader Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944; see Thälmann).

Temple m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who was associated with the Knights Templar, a medieval religious military order.

Tenley f English (Modern)
From an English surname, itself possibly from a place name derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing". This name was popularized in 2010 by a contestant on the reality television series The Bachelor.

Tennyson m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that meant "son of Tenney", Tenney being a medieval form of Denis. A notable bearer of the surname was the British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), commonly called Lord Tennyson after he became a baron in 1884.

Terrell m English, African American
From an English surname that was probably derived from the Norman French nickname tirel "to pull", referring to a stubborn person. It may sometimes be given in honour of civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954). It was common in the African-American community from the 1970s to the 1990s, typically stressed on the second syllable. A famous bearer is American football player Terrell Owens (1973-).

Terry 1 m & f English
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval name Thierry, a Norman French form of Theodoric.

Thatcher m English (Modern)
From an English surname that referred to a person who thatched roofs by attaching straw to them, derived from Old English þæc "thatch". The surname was borne by British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

Thorburn m English (Rare)
From a Scottish and English surname that was derived from the Norse name Þórbjǫrn (see Torbjörn).

Thorley m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.

Thornton m English
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "thorn town" in Old English.

Thurstan m English (Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from the Norse name Þórsteinn (see Torsten).

Tobin m English
From an English surname that was itself derived from the given name Tobias.

Todd m English
From an English surname meaning "fox", derived from Middle English todde. As a given name it was rare before 1930. It peaked in popularity in most parts of the English-speaking world in the 1960s or 70s, but it has since declined.

Tracy f & m English
From an English surname that was taken from a Norman French place name meaning "domain belonging to Thracius". Charles Dickens used it for a male character in his novel The Pickwick Papers (1837). It was later popularized as a feminine name by the main character Tracy Lord in the movie The Philadelphia Story (1940). This name is also sometimes used as a diminutive of Theresa.

Trafford m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "fish-trap ford" in Old English.

Tranter m English (Rare)
From a surname meaning "wagoner" in Old English.

Travers m English (Rare)
From the surname Travers.

Travis m English
From the English surname Travis (a variant of Travers). It was used in America in honour of William Travis (1809-1836), the commander of the Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo.

Trent m English
From an English surname that originally denoted someone who lived by the River Trent. A famous bearer is the American musician Trent Reznor (1965-).... [more]

Trevelyan m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a Cornish place name meaning "homestead on the hill".

Trevor m Welsh, English
From a Welsh surname, originally taken from the name of towns in Wales meaning "big village", derived from Middle Welsh tref "village" and maur "large". As a given name it became popular in the United Kingdom in the middle of the 20th century, then caught on in the United States in the 1960s.

Tripp m English (Modern)
From a surname derived from Middle English trippen "to dance". It could also be inspired by the English word trip "journey, stumble".

Troy m English
Originally from a surname that denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France. It is now more likely used in reference to the ancient city of Troy that was besieged by the Greeks in Homer's Iliad. The city's name, from Greek Τροία (Troia), is said to derive from its mythical founder Τρώς (Tros), but is more likely of Luwian or Hittite origin. This name was popularized in the 1960s by the actor Troy Donahue (1936-2001), who took his stage name from that of the ancient city.

Trueman m English (Rare)
From a surname that was a variant of Truman.

Truman m English
From a surname that meant "trusty man" in Middle English. A famous bearer of the surname was American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972). It was also borne by American writer Truman Capote (1924-1984).

Tucker m English (Modern)
From an occupational surname for a cloth fuller, derived from Old English tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.

Tudor 1 m Welsh
Anglicized form of the medieval Welsh name Tudur, possibly from a hypothetical Celtic name *Toutorīxs meaning "ruler of the people" (cognate with Theodoric). As a surname it was borne by five monarchs of England beginning with Henry VII in the 15th century. These monarchs were descended from Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur, a Welsh nobleman.

Turner m English
From an English surname for one who worked with a lathe, derived from Old English turnian "to turn", of Latin origin.

Tye m English
From a surname meaning "pasture" in Middle English.

Tyler m English
From an English surname meaning "tiler of roofs", derived from Old English tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).

Tyree m African American
From a Scottish surname, a variant of McIntyre. It has been well-used as an African-American name, especially since the 1970s, probably inspired by other similar-sounding names such as Tyrone.

Tyrell m English (Modern), African American (Modern)
From a surname that was a variant of Terrell. Influenced by similar-sounding names such as Tyrone and Darrell it has been used by African-American parents, usually stressed on the second syllable.

Tyrrell m English (Rare)
From a surname that was a variant of Terrell.

Tyson m English
From an English surname, originally a nickname for a quarrelsome person, from Old French tison meaning "firebrand". A famous bearer of the surname is boxer Mike Tyson (1966-). This was a rare given name in America before 1960, but it increased in popularity through the 1960s and 70s, maybe because of its similarities with names such as Tyler and Tyrone.

Upton m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "upper town" in Old English. A famous bearer of this name was the American novelist Upton Sinclair (1878-1968).

Vance m English
From an English surname that was derived from Old English fenn meaning "marsh, fen".

Vanessa f English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch
Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem Cadenus and Vanessa. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.

Vaughan m Welsh, English
From a Welsh surname that was derived from bychan (mutated to fychan) meaning "little".

Vaughn m English
From a Welsh surname, a variant of Vaughan.

Vere m English (Rare)
From a Norman surname, which was from a French place name, which was itself derived from a Gaulish word meaning "alder".

Vernon m English
From a Norman surname, which was from a French place name, ultimately derived from the Gaulish word vern meaning "alder".

Vinal m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "vine hall" in Middle English.

Voltaire m History
Pen name of François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), a French philosopher and writer, the author of Candide. It is not known how Arouet devised his name. He may have reversed the syllables of Airvault, a town where his family owned property; it may have been an anagram of the Latin spelling of his surname Arovet and LI standing for le jeune "the young"; or it may have come from French volontaire "determined".

Wade m English
From an English surname, either Wade 1 or Wade 2.

Waldo 1 m English
From a surname that was derived from the Anglo-Scandinavian given name Waltheof. Its present use in the English-speaking world is usually in honour of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American transcendentalist, poet and author. His name came from a surname from his father's side of the family.

Walker m English
From an English surname that referred to the medieval occupational of a walker, also known as a fuller. Walkers would tread on wet, unprocessed wool in order to clean and thicken it. The word ultimately derives from Old English wealcan "to walk".

Wallace m English, Scottish
From a Scottish and English surname that was derived from Norman French waleis meaning "foreigner, Celt, Welshman" (of Germanic origin). It was first used as a given name in honour of William Wallace, a Scottish hero who led the fight against the English in the 13th century.

Wallis m & f English (Rare)
From a surname that was a variant of Wallace. Wallis Simpson (1895-1986) was the divorced woman whom Edward VIII married, which forced him to abdicate the British throne.

Walton m English
From a surname that was originally taken from various Old English place names meaning "stream town", "wood town", or "wall town".

Ward 1 m English
From an occupational surname for a watchman, derived from Old English weard "guard".

Wardell m English
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "watch hill" in Old English.

Warner m English
From a Norman surname that was derived from the given name Werner.

Warren m English
From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).

Warrick m English (Rare)
From a surname that was a variant of Warwick.

Warwick m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from the name of a town in England, itself from Old English wer "weir, dam" and wic "settlement".

Washington m English
From a surname that was originally derived from the name of an English town, itself meaning "settlement belonging to Wassa's people". The given name is usually given in honour of George Washington (1732-1799), commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States.

Watson m English
From an English surname meaning "son of Wat". A famous fictional bearer of the surname was Dr. Watson, the assistant to Sherlock Holmes in Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887.

Waverly f & m English
From the rare English surname Waverley, derived from the name of a place in Surrey, itself possibly from Old English wæfre "flickering, wavering" and leah "woodland, clearing".... [more]

Wayne m English
From an occupational surname meaning "wagon maker", derived from Old English wægn "wagon". Use of it as a given name can be partly attributed to the popularity of the actor John Wayne (1907-1979). Another famous bearer is Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky (1961-), generally considered the greatest player in the history of the sport.

Webster m English
From an occupational surname meaning "weaver", derived from Old English webba.

Weldon m English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "hill near a spring" in Old English.

Wells m English
From an English surname that originally denoted a person who lived near a well or spring, from Middle English wille.

Wendell m English
From a German and Dutch surname that was derived from the given name Wendel. In America this name has been given in honour of the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809-1894) and his son the Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935). The elder's middle name came from his mother's maiden name (which had been brought to America by a Dutch ancestor in the form Wendel, with the extra l added later).

Wesley m English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning "west meadow" from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.

Westley m English
From a surname that was a variant of Wesley.

Weston m English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English west "west" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Whitaker m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "white field" in Old English.

Whitney f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "white island" in Old English. Its popular use as a feminine name was initiated by actress Whitney Blake (1925-2002) in the 1960s, and further boosted in the 1980s by singer Whitney Houston (1963-2012).

Wilbur m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English. This name was borne by Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), one half of the Wright brothers, who together invented the first successful airplane. Wright was named after the Methodist minister Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839). A famous fictional bearer is the main character (a pig) in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

Wilburn m English
From an English surname that was probably originally derived from an unknown place name. The second element corresponds with Old English burne "stream".

Wilda f English
Meaning uncertain, perhaps from a German surname, or perhaps from the English word wild. It has been in use since the 19th century.

Wilder m English
From an English surname meaning "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", from Old English wilde.

Wiley m English
From a surname that was derived from various English place names: towns named Willey or the River Wylye.

Wilford m English
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "willow ford" in Old English.

Wilkie m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a diminutive of the given name William.

Willard m English
From an English surname that was derived from the Old German given name Willihard (or the Old English cognate Wilheard).

Willis m English
From an English surname that was derived from Will, a diminutive of William.

Willoughby m & f English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "willow town" in Old English.

Wilmer m English, Spanish (Latin American)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Wilmǣr. In some cases it might be regarded as a masculine form of Wilma. This name is popular in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

Wilson m English, Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese
From an English surname meaning "son of William". The surname was borne by Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the American president during World War I.

Wilton m English
From a surname that was derived from the names of several English towns. The town names mean variously "willow town", "well town" or "town on the River Wylye" in Old English. The river name is itself of Celtic origin, possibly meaning "tricky".

Windsor m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was from a place name meaning "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English (a windlass is a lifting apparatus). This has been the surname of the royal family of the United Kingdom since 1917.

Winfield m English
From a surname that originated from various English place names, themselves derived from Old English winn "meadow, pasture" and feld "field".

Winslow m & f English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "hill belonging to Wine". A famous bearer of this name was American painter Winslow Homer (1836-1910).

Winston m English
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Wynnstan. A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II. This name was also borne by the fictional Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel 1984.

Winthrop m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally taken from town names meaning either "Wine's village" or "Wigmund's village" in Old English.

Winton m English
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "enclosure belonging to Wine" in Old English.

Wolfe m English (Rare)
Variant of Wolf, influenced by the spelling of the surname (which is also derived from the animal).

Woodrow m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "row of houses by a wood" in Old English. It was borne by the American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), who was given his mother's maiden name as his middle name (his first name was Thomas). During his candidacy and presidency (1912-1921) the name became popular, reaching the 44th rank in 1913, though it quickly declined after that.

Wright m English
From an occupational surname meaning "craftsman", ultimately from Old English wyrhta. Famous bearers of the surname were the Wright brothers (Wilbur 1867-1912 and Orville 1871-1948), the inventors of the first successful airplane, and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), an American architect.

Wyatt m English
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Wyard or Wyot, from the Old English name Wigheard. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.

Wynne 2 m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Wine.

Xavier m English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. 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. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.

Yale m English (Rare)
From a Welsh surname, which was itself derived from a place name meaning "fertile upland" (from Welsh ial).

Yancy m & f English
From a surname, which was an Americanized form of the Dutch surname Jansen meaning "Jan 1's son".

Yeong f & m Korean
From Sino-Korean 英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero", as well as other hanja characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name. This name was borne by Jang Yeong-sil (where Jang is the surname), a 15th-century Korean scientist and inventor.

York m English
From an English surname that was derived from York, the name of a city in northern England. The city name was originally Eburacon, Latinized as Eboracum, meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to Eoforwic, as if from Old English eofor "boar" and wic "village". This was rendered as Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to York.

Zane 1 m English
From an English surname of unknown meaning. It was introduced as a given name by American author Zane Grey (1872-1939). Zane was in fact his middle name — it had been his mother's maiden name.

Zola 1 f English
Meaning unknown, perhaps an invented name. It has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. It coincides with an Italian surname, a famous bearer being the French-Italian author Émile Zola (1840-1902).