Surnames starting with Z

A Basque surname from a place-name meaning “broad” or “wide place.”

A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a short form or variant of names such as Sabellius or related Germanic and Slavic forms.

A Spanish and Portuguese surname ultimately based on the biblical name Zechariah, meaning “remembered by the Lord.”

A biblical surname from the Hebrew personal name meaning “the Lord has remembered.”

A surname from the biblical given name Zachary, meaning “the Lord has remembered.”

A short surname that usually comes from a pet form of names like Zachary or Zacharias.

A German surname meaning “tooth,” probably first used as a nickname for someone with a noticeable tooth or tooth-related feature.

A Polish surname meaning “hare,” originally a nickname for someone thought to be quick or shy.

A short surname with several possible roots, including a nickname for a small bag or sack and, in some families, a shortened form of a biblical or Slavic given name.

A Polish surname meaning “from beyond the grove” or “from the place behind the woods.”

A Polish surname meaning “from Zalew” or “from the area by a lake or floodwater.”

A surname from a word meaning “time” or “era,” widely used in Muslim naming traditions.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place-name or local landscape feature in the Basque-influenced north of Spain.

A surname of Spanish origin, most often understood as a place-name surname tied to a locality called Zambrano or a similar place-name form.

A surname taken from the Spanish city of Zamora, originally used for someone from that place.

A Spanish surname from a place-name, originally meaning someone from Zamora or its surrounding region.

A Basque habitational surname from the town of Zamudio in Bizkaia, Spain.

Usually a shortened form of Alexander, and in some cases a reduced form of Sander from the same name.

A Spanish surname meaning “boot” or “little boot,” originally likely a nickname or occupational label.

A surname most likely of Spanish or Hispanic origin, probably built from a personal name or place-name source.

A toponymic surname taken from the Spanish city of Zaragoza, especially common where families were identified by their place of origin.

A Basque surname originally referring to a wide, open, or low-lying place.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to place-name origins, especially from the Basque-Navarrese area.

A Spanish-language surname likely tied to a place name in the Basque-speaking world or northern Spain.

A German surname most often linked to a maker or burner of tiles and bricks, with later spelling variation across German-speaking and English-speaking countries.

A Spanish-language surname, probably from a place name in the Basque Country or another Iberian toponymic source.

A German surname most often linked to a place-name like Zell, or sometimes to someone associated with a chapel or cell.

A German surname most likely meaning someone from a place called Zell, or a person associated with a cell or small settlement.

A Czech and other Central European surname most often meaning “peasant” or “farmer,” and sometimes linked to minor gentry status in old usage.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place name in the Iberian world, probably meaning someone from or associated with a locality called Zendejas.

A Chinese surname, most commonly linked to the ancient name Zēng (曾), with deep roots in classical China.

A Spanish surname most often linked to a place-name for a meadow or pasture, especially in the Spanish-speaking world.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place name or regional byname, now especially associated with Hispanic families in Mexico and the U.S.

A major Chinese surname with ancient roots, most often written 张 in simplified Chinese and 張 in traditional Chinese.

A major Chinese surname, best known as one of the oldest and most common family names in China.

A Chinese surname most often written in pinyin as Zhen, representing several different Chinese names and characters.

A common Chinese surname with several possible characters and meanings, including the idea of order, correctness, or an ancient state name.

A Chinese surname usually written with the character Zhong, which can mean "middle" or "loyal/loyalty" depending on the character used historically.

A very common Chinese surname, historically linked to the ancient Zhou state and dynasty.

A common Chinese surname, most often written with the character 朱, meaning “vermilion” or “red.”

A German occupational surname meaning brickmaker or tilemaker.

A Polish surname meaning “from a green place” or “from Zielin/Zielona-type places,” originally used for someone from such a village or area.

A German surname meaning “room” or “chamber,” originally tied to a carpenter or builder.

An occupational surname for a carpenter or builder, from German words for timber and a wooden structure or room.

A German occupational surname meaning “carpenter.”

A German surname probably tied to a nickname or old dialect word, with some evidence pointing to a white spot or blemish as the original sense.

A German surname that likely began as a nickname or altered form related to an older personal name, though the exact origin is not fully certain.

An Italian surname most often linked to a word meaning a young man or unmarried man.

An Americanized German surname, usually explained as a shortened or altered form of Zug.

A German surname from the word for “anger” or “wrath,” originally a nickname for a fierce or hot-tempered person.

A surname of uncertain origin, most often treated as a Chinese family name in modern use.

A surname that most likely began as a nickname or occupational name connected with a tub or vat.

A German surname from the word for sugar, often originally a nickname or occupational name for someone who dealt with sweet goods.

A Jewish surname meaning “sugar man,” originally linked to sugar dealing or a sugar worker.

A surname of Spanish origin, likely linked to a place-name or a descriptive nickname built on a word for a partridge or similar bird.

A Spanish surname taken from a place name, most famously the town of Zárate in northern Spain.

A Spanish habitational surname linked to a place name in Navarre, Spain, especially the town of Zúñiga.