Weis
A surname most often linked to the German word for “white,” and sometimes to the idea of someone clever or wise.
The #3,645 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,666 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Weis is generally treated as a German surname related to Middle High German and Modern German weis/weiß, meaning “white.” In surname use, that kind of form often began as a nickname for a fair-haired or pale person, or as a variant spelling tied to the same root as German Weiß and Weiss. Some older sources also connect similar forms with the sense “wise,” but for Weis the “white/fair” explanation is the safer and more common one.
History
The surname appears in German-language naming traditions and is closely related to the widespread surname forms Weiss and Weiß. Because spelling was not standardized, Weis, Weiss, and Weiß could overlap in historical records, especially in German-speaking regions and among emigrant families. The name is also found in Jewish and non-Jewish families, since it could be adopted or recorded in several related ways.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries often grouped Weis with a whole family of color-based surnames, alongside White, Gray, and Brown, because such names were a common way to describe people in medieval Europe.
From the historical record
“Wales, Wailes, Wayles. From Wales; a loc. n., Yorks ( D.B . Walise). Or G. Weis; a p.n. Walesby. A loc. n., Lines, Notts ■‘Waley. See Whalley ■Walford. A loc. n., Staffs I Walkden. A loc. n., Lancs I Walker. N Valka (a foreigner) ;”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)