100 Last Names That Start With Y With Meanings And History

Sometimes characters and their names just pop in the writer's head, but sometimes that's not the case.

The burden of jotting down that perfect last name for your character's persona often paralyzes storytellers. While you can settle with the norm and go for an ordinary choice, successfully finding a unique last name that will help your creative process is always considered a bonus.

As names form an essential part of any story, the perfect pairing with a good surname is the first step towards creating that ideal person of interest for your fiction piece. Using the right last names for your characters will go a long way in retaining your audience's attention to keep the readers hooked. Here, we have compiled a comprehensive list of last names starting with Y, which will help you in your search.

For more inspiration, check out Cool Last Names and Hungarian Last Names.

With a mix of uniqueness and popularity, you're sure to create the perfect last name for your character in your upcoming book. Therefore, this compilation lists all the last names that start with the letter Y to ease your search.

1.Yaara- The meaning of this is 'Light of dawn.'

2.Yadav- Having Indian origin, this family name means 'Lord Krishna.'

3.Yadavendra- Possessing Indian Sanskrit ancestry, this means 'lord Krishna.'

4.Yadira-Derived from Arabic, it means 'worthy.'

5.Yahya - Belonging to Hebrew origin, it means 'God is gracious.'

6.Yalden- One of those surnames starting with Y derived from the geographical locality of 'Yalding,' a parish in Kent

7.Yale-Having English origins, this means 'from the fertile upland.'

8.Yameen-Originating from Arabic, the meaning of this last name starting with the letter Y is 'oath.'

9.Yankee- Quite popular in surnames starting with Y, this has interrelated meaning, signifying 'people of the united states'

10.Yanis- One of those special Greek last names that start with Y means 'God is gracious.'

11.Yard- This is extremely common among surnames starting with Y. it means ' a person who lived next to an enclosure.'

12.Yassine- With Arabic origin, this is one of the surnames taken from a chapter in the Holy Qu'ran, Ya sin.

13.Yasmin- Belonging to Persian ancestry, this means ' jasmine flower.'

14.Yateesh-Quite popular among Indian last names that begin with Y, it means 'lord of devotees'

15.Yoffe-The meaning of this Hebrew origin, the last name is 'beautiful.'

16.York- This is one of the few last names that start with Y, which was given to residents of York in northern England

17.Yousef- One of those famous last names starting with Y with Persian origin, means 'God increases.'

18.Young-Probably, the most popular in a search shown among last names that start with Y, is used to differentiate the younger people in the family with the same names.

19.Yoxon- This interesting English surname is another common locational name derived from a 'lost village.'

20.Yunus - With ancestry in Persia, this surname starting with the letter Y means 'dove.'

A strong name drives a strong personality; hence we have listed some of the most influential personalities whose last names begin with the letter Y.

21.Yacob (President of Singapore )-One of the last names that start with Y which has Hebrew roots, means 'to follow.'

22.Yajima(Footballer)- This meaning of this is 'Valley.'

23.Yamazaki(Philosopher)-The meaning of this name is 'mountain promontory.'

24.Yardley (Scientist)-This English origin name means 'from the wood where spars were got.'

25.Yankovic (American musician )-An anglicized Croatian name, which means the son of 'Janko.'

26.Yarrow (Folk singer)- A topographic name that refers to someone who lived in overgrown yarrow, an old English greave

27.Yazdani (Islamic scholar and author)- Persian word which translates to 'deity.'

28.Yazid(Algerian activist)- Having Arabic origins, it means 'Increase.'

29.Yeager (Baseball player)-A search on the transcription of the German name 'jager' shows it means hunter.

30.Yeats(Poet)-The meaning of this is 'gate.'

31.Yearwood (Musician)-Having locational ancestry, it is a variation of Yarwood's name associated with a site in Cheshire.

32.Yelverton (Basketball player)-It is related to the residents from Devon's place in the United Kingdom.

33.Yerbury (Biologist)- This means 'the earthwork.'

34.Yesenia(American actress), The meaning of this one derived from Spanish, is 'Palm tree.'

35.Yesudas(Pop singer)-A search on the roots of this one showed Sanskrit origins, meaning 'servant of Jesus'

36.Yoba (Actor)-With Sanskrit and African ancestry, it invokes 'respectfulness.'

37.Yourcenar (French novelist)- Anagram of the novelist's original name Crayencour.

38.Yuro (Pop singer)-This Japanese surname's meaning is 'dark.'

39.Yulee (United States Politician)- Possibly a topographical one, derived from a town in Florida

40.Yukawa(Physicist)- Belonging to Japanese origin, this means 'potential.'

41.Yzaguirre( Activist)-Basque origin name with Spanish roots, and it means anger.

The biggest advantage of having a short surname is that no one will abbreviate or change your beautiful name. Short last names are also easy to remember; your readers will easily keep the character's name in mind. Check out these short last names that start with Y.

42.Ya- One of those last names popular in China, it means 'Graceful.'

43.Yabe- A popular one amongst Japanese surnames starting with Y, this one means 'dart.'

44.Yadu-This means 'an ancient king.'

45.Yago- It is one among the few concise. Spanish last names with Y that means 'may God protect '

46.Yagi- This one is beginning with Y means 'willow.'

47.Yaaj- One of the top Hindu choices in last names that start with Y, it is another name for Lord Shiva

48.Yanni- Starting with the letter Y, this one means 'God is gracious.'

49.Yano- Among the Japanese last names that start with Y, 'eight fields' where eight is the sacred number of completion.'

50.Yao- This simple-sounding name beginning with the letter Y has Chinese origins. It means 'brilliant.'

51.Yap- This surname is derived from Middle English, and it means 'devious.'

52.Yari- This is one of those simple last names starting with Y from Spanish ancestry, which means 'gold.'

53.Yaw-This one is a Cantonese variation of the name 'qui.'

54.Yee-Usually chosen as surnames for girls, this means 'countryside.'

55.Yen- This is one of the amazing names which has strong Chinese roots. It means 'calm' or serene.'

56.Yi- One of the shortest surnames out there with the strongest meanings translates to 'happy.'

57.Yeo- This British surname means 'river.'

58.Yu- Another top one in the short last names starting with Y list, this name means 'jade.'

59.Yuan- A common choice for boy surnames, this one means 'origin.'

60.Yun- This one has Chinese origins and means 'oversee.''

61.Yza - Having part Philipino and Spanish ancestry, this name translates to 'a strong woman.'

If you are searching particularly for East Asian last names that start with Y, our list will give you ideas for the perfect one.

62.Yama- This Japanese one beginning with the letter Y means mountain.

63.Yamashita-This common one means 'below the mountain.'

64.Yan- One of those Chinese ancestry surnames, which means 'pretty colors or 'swallow bird.'

65.Yamamura - One of the most common Japanese surnames that start with Y, means 'mountain village.'

66.Yaochuan- The meaning of this one is 'honoring the river.'

67.Yasahiro-This popular Japanese one means 'tranquil.'

68.Yayoi-This Japanese one means 'born in spring.'

69.Yingtai- Having Chinese roots, it means 'flower terrace.'

70.Yogi- An Indian origin name, it means someone who practices yoga

71.Yokohama-This Japanese surnames beginning with Y is one of the top-used surnames in Japan, it means 'beside the beach.'

72.Yona-This Korean one means 'lotus blossom.

73.Yong-This Chinese surname beginning with the letter Y refers to the poplar tree.

74.Yongnain- This Chinese one means 'Eternal years'

75.Yoon -An extremely common last name among Koreans, this family name means 'governor.'

76.Yoshida- Holding a top rank in the list of most popular Japanese last names, this means 'lucky rice field.'

77.Yoshiaki- One of the Japanese origin surnames it means 'righteous glory.'

78.Yuet- Having a Chinese ancestry, this means 'moon.'

79.Yujin-A popular choice for Korean families, this one means 'power of the galaxy.'

80.Yukki- Derived from Japanese, this one is beginning with the letter Y means 'fun.'

81.Yusheng- This means 'jade birth.'

Having over 100 last names starting with Y, the US population seems to have many surnames starting with this letter. The list below shares the most used ones according to the 2000 census

82.Yager- One of the numerous German last names that start with Y it means 'to hunt.'

83.Yancey-This surname, which is part of the United States census, means 'Englishman.'

84.Yamada-Holding one of the top ranks in the united states census that accounts for the last names that start with Y. It means 'mountain field.'

85.Yamaguchi- A search showed this is one of the most common Japanese last names; it means 'mountain entrance.'

86.Yamamoto- Said to be the 9th most common Japanese last name with the letter Y, it has many occurrences in the United States census. It means 'base of the mountain.'

87.Yandell-This comes from a place and exactly translates to 'the dale where yew trees grow.'

88.Yanez- Arguably, one of the most common Hebrew surnames starting with Y it means 'he who Jehovah has favored.'

89.Yang- This one holds a high rank according to the census of the united states. It means 'the male principle of the universe.'

90.Yarborough-This topographic name is also on the top of the united states census list. It was given when a family resided in Yarborough in Lincolnshire.

91.Yazbeck- A Lebanese one, this also occurs in the census list. It was a designation given to exclusive and rich families.

92.Yeoman- End your search for common last names that start with y as thus holds a high rank in the United States census, it means 'young man.'

93.Yepez-This surname's ancestry comes from actually a place which was given by the Jewish people. It means' height and beauty.'

94.Yingling- Derived from German, this refers to a young member in the family.

95.Yoder-This is an Americanized spelling of a Swiss name; it belonged to a patron saint from western Switzerland.

96.Yokel-Quite, a rare one in the United States census, a search on this one showed it means 'green woodpecker.'

97.Yoichimae-The meaning of this is 'provide.'

98.Yost- With top occurrence in the census list of United States, this Americanized spelling having German ancestry means 'battle.'

99.Yuhas-Having occurrences in the United States census in the list of Y last names mean 'Shepherd.'

100.Yuksel- The meaning of this Turkish origin name beginning with Y is 'rise.'

102.Yunker- Derived from German, it means 'young nobleman.'

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. Why not take a look at Royal Last Names, or for something different take a look at Cambodian Names.