Surnames starting with Y

A spelling variant of the German occupational surname for a hunter.

A surname usually linked to German and Danish words for a hunter.

A common Japanese surname meaning “mountain rice paddy.”

A common Japanese surname meaning “base of the mountain.”

Yan is usually a Chinese surname, but in older European sources it can also appear as a short form or spelling variant tied to names like John/Jean.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably an English family name that later became well established in the American South.

A surname usually treated as an American spelling of a family name that likely began as a nickname or a regional variant of an older English name.

A Spanish surname that most likely developed from a shortened or regional form related to personal-name endings, though the exact origin is not firmly settled in the excerpted sources.

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Juan (John).”

A major East Asian surname, especially Chinese, with several possible but distinct origins depending on the characters used.

A Chinese surname with several possible character origins, most often associated with an ancient hereditary name and with meanings that can include “distant” or “refined.”

A surname found in Wales and England, sometimes explained as a Welsh patronymic prefix and sometimes as a nickname for a quick or eager person.

A locational surname from a Lincolnshire place-name, probably meaning “earth-fortification” or “yard/settlement by the fort.”

An English surname that likely began as a locational name, referring to someone from Yardley or a similar “yard meadow” place-name.

A surname most likely from a place name, especially the village of Yarnell in England.

A surname from Middle English yate, meaning “gate,” originally for someone who lived or worked by a gate.

A Navajo surname often linked to a word meaning “little” or “small,” especially in the sense of a nickname or descriptive byname.

A Basque surname from a place name, usually understood as meaning “by the farmstead” or “the house by the riverbank.”

A short surname that is most often found in Chinese families, especially as the romanization of several different Chinese names.

An Americanized spelling of German Jäger, originally meaning a hunter.

A surname that most often reflects Chinese naming, especially Cantonese romanization, rather than an English-origin family name.

A Chinese surname, most often a romanization of 葉/叶, meaning “leaf.”

A surname with several possible origins, including English place-name forms and East Asian transliteration.

A Spanish-language surname, most likely a regional or patronymic form tied to a place-name tradition in Spain.

A common Cantonese romanization of several Chinese surnames, especially one written 楊/杨, meaning the ash tree or poplar.

Yi is a short surname with several possible East Asian origins, most commonly associated with Korean and Chinese family names.

A Korean surname, most often written in Hanja as 임/林 and romanized as Yim, Yim, or Im depending on the system.

A Chinese surname most commonly associated with a Chinese family name rather than a European one.

A surname of German origin, likely from a personal name or nickname that later took on an Americanized spelling.

A surname most often associated with Cantonese Chinese names, commonly reflecting a romanized Chinese family name rather than an English occupational or place-name origin.

A surname probably linked to a German or Dutch word for a yoke, suggesting an occupational nickname for someone who handled oxen or a yoke team.

A Swiss and South German surname that likely comes from a shortened form of a personal name, especially one related to Jodocus or similar forms.

A rare surname that is often a spelling variant of Yeo, Yeoe, or Yoo-derived forms from southwestern England.

A Korean surname usually written 윤 in Hangul, commonly romanized as Yoon, meaning “allow” or “permit” in its native Chinese-character form.

A surname usually taken from the English city of York, originally from an ancient Brittonic place-name later reshaped by Latin and Old English.

A common Japanese surname meaning “lucky rice field” or “good field,” depending on how the characters are written.

A surname often derived from the German given name Jost, a short form of Jodocus.

A nickname surname probably referring to a person’s clothing or appearance, with early English and possibly French influence.

A surname most likely arising as a variant spelling of Yeomans, ultimately linked to the word for “young” or “the younger.”

A common surname for someone identified as the younger or as a youth.

An English-language descriptive surname that likely began as a nickname for a youthful or spirited person.

A surname that originally meant “the younger” or “junior,” often used to distinguish a son from an older man of the same name.

A patronymic surname meaning “Young’s son” or simply “the family of Young.”

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely a variant spelling of a German or English name that was later standardized in America.

A family name built from the Arabic form of Joseph, meaning “God increases.”

A surname from the Arabic given name Yūsuf, meaning “Joseph.”

A surname that likely began as a spelling variant of Yule, itself tied to the old midwinter festival name.

A common East Asian surname, especially Chinese, with several possible characters and meanings depending on the family line.

A Chinese surname that originally referred to a historical state and later became a family name tied to that name.

A surname found mainly in Cantonese and other Chinese communities, often representing several different Chinese family names in romanized form.

Yun is a surname found in several cultures, most often treated as an East Asian family name in modern use.

A surname meaning “the young” or “the younger,” usually a short form of Young.

A Muslim given name turned surname, ultimately meaning “Joseph.”