Last Names That Start With U: The Complete List You Need

Not many people have a last name that starts with U. That is what makes them special.

You do not hear these names every day. You will not meet ten people with a U surname at the grocery store. That rarity is exactly why so many people search for last names that start with U.

I once met a man named Ueno at a train station in Japan. I asked him what his name meant. He smiled and said “upper field.” His family had farmed that kind of land for generations. One short name held that whole history.

Last Names That Start With U

Let’s start wide. This table mixes names from many cultures. You will see English names. You will see Japanese names. You will see German and Arabic names too.

These are the most searched U last names on the internet today. Many people use this list for family history research.

Last Name	Meaning	Origin
Ubaldi	Descendant of Ubaldo	Italian
Upton	Upper town or settlement	English
Udall	From the yew valley	English
Uehara	Upper plain	Japanese
Ueda	Upper rice field	Japanese
Uchida	Inner rice field	Japanese
Uchimura	Inner village	Japanese
Ueno	Upper field	Japanese
Uesugi	Upper cedar tree	Japanese
Ueyama	Upper mountain	Japanese
Ulrich	Prosperity and power	German
Ullman	Wool trader or man from Ulm	German
Underwood	Person living below a forest	English
Unger	Hungarian person	German
Urban	City dweller	Latin
Uribe	Settlement below a hill	Basque
Urquhart	Woodland slope	Scottish
Usher	Gatekeeper or doorkeeper	English
Usman	Devoted servant of God	Arabic
Uddin	Of the faith or religion	Arabic
Urena	From a place named Ureña	Spanish
Urrutia	Far place or distant home	Basque
Ugalde	Riverside area	Basque
Ubieta	Place with many plants	Basque
Uzoho	The way is clear	Nigerian
Ukpong	Strength and leadership	Nigerian
Umana	Family or clan heritage	Spanish
Umeh	One blessed with fortune	Nigerian
Upadhyay	Teacher or scholar	Indian
Upchurch	Person living near a hilltop church	English
Uzumaki	Whirlpool or spiral	Japanese
Ustinov	Just or fair man	Russian
Uvarov	Old noble family name	Russian
Unwin	Not a friend, or unknown	English
Uwins	Son of an unknown man	English

Hispanic Last Names That Start With U

Hispanic surnames with U are not common. But the ones that exist carry deep meaning. Many trace back to old Basque and Spanish villages.

A coworker of mine has the last name Ugarte. She told me it means “land between waters.” Her family came from a small coastal town. The name fit them perfectly.

Last Name	Meaning	Origin
Ubaldo	Brave ruler	Spanish, Germanic
Ubeda	From the town of Úbeda	Spanish
Ubilla	Small settlement or village	Spanish
Uceta	Little valley	Spanish
Ucha	High place or hill	Spanish
Uclés	From Uclés town in Spain	Spanish
Udave	River crossing	Basque
Ugalde	Near the river	Basque
Ugarriza	Rocky hillside	Basque
Ugarte	Island or land between waters	Basque
Ugarteche	House by the river	Basque
Ugarteburu	Head of the riverside	Basque
Ugartechea	Riverside home	Basque
Ugartezabal	Wide riverside area	Basque
Ugaz	Ancient family name	Peruvian Spanish
Ugena	From Ugena municipality	Spanish
Ulibarri	New town	Basque
Ulloa	Region in Galicia	Spanish
Ullrich	Noble ruler	German-Spanish
Ulzurrun	Place of elms	Basque
Umana	Derived from a place name	Spanish
Umerez	Son of Umero	Spanish
Unamuno	Walnut grove	Basque
Unceta	Place of hills	Basque
Unzueta	Place with ivy	Basque
Unzué	Location covered with ivy	Basque
Urdaneta	Place of pigs	Basque
Uribe	Lower settlement	Basque
Urquiza	Birch grove	Basque
Urrutia	Faraway place	Basque
Urizar	High rocky place	Basque
Uranga	Hazel grove	Basque
Urrestarazu	Hazel tree place	Basque
Ubierna	From Ubierna village	Spanish
Uceta	Small valley plot	Spanish

Japanese Last Names That Start With U

Japanese last names with U often describe nature. Think rice fields. Think mountains. Think rivers and plum trees.

I once read that many Japanese surnames were only made official in the late 1800s. Before that, most farmers had no family name at all. Once given the chance, many picked names tied to their land. That is why so many U names describe fields and hills.

Last Name	Meaning	Origin
Ueda	Upper rice field	Japanese
Ueno	Upper field	Japanese
Uchida	Inner rice field	Japanese
Uchiyama	Inner mountain	Japanese
Uemura	Upper village	Japanese
Uehara	Upper plain	Japanese
Uesugi	Upper cedar tree	Japanese
Uetake	Upper bamboo	Japanese
Ueki	Planted tree	Japanese
Uga	Divine blessing	Japanese
Ugaki	Ridge tree	Japanese
Ujiie	House of Uji	Japanese
Ujimoto	Base of the clan	Japanese
Ukai	Cormorant fishing	Japanese
Ukita	Floating rice field	Japanese
Umemoto	Base of the plum tree	Japanese
Umehara	Plum field	Japanese
Umeki	Plum tree	Japanese
Umino	Sea field	Japanese
Umemura	Plum village	Japanese
Unno	Sea plain	Japanese
Uno	Field plain	Japanese
Urabe	Divination section	Japanese
Urata	Bay rice field	Japanese
Urano	Bay field	Japanese
Urushibara	Lacquer field	Japanese
Ushijima	Ox island	Japanese
Ushiyama	Ox mountain	Japanese
Utsumi	Inner sea	Japanese
Utsunomiya	Shrine palace	Japanese
Uzawa	Inner swamp	Japanese
Utagawa	Poem river	Japanese
Ushida	Ox rice field	Japanese
Umeda	Plum rice field	Japanese
Uehata	Upper field edge	Japanese

Mexican Last Names That Start With U

Mexican surnames that start with U are uncommon. Most trace back to Spain or the old Basque region. Some also carry Indigenous influence mixed in.

Last Name	Meaning	Origin
Ubaldo	Bold mind or brave spirit	Spanish
Ubiera	From a place with cattle pastures	Spanish
Ubilla	Small village or settlement	Spanish
Uceda	From Uceda, a town in Spain	Spanish
Ucelo	Related to a high place or hill	Spanish
Ucha	High or elevated area	Spanish
Uclés	From Uclés municipality in Spain	Spanish
Ugarte	Between waters	Basque
Ugalde	Riverbank or riverside	Basque
Ugarriza	Rocky hillside	Basque
Ugartechea	House between waters	Basque
Ugena	From Ugena town in Spain	Spanish
Ulibarri	New town	Basque
Ulloa	From the Ulloa region	Galician
Ulacia	Associated with a noble lineage	Basque
Ulises	Derived from Odysseus	Greek via Spanish
Ullo	Descendant of a regional family	Spanish
Umana	Noble or respected family	Spanish
Umuña	Family from a specific locality	Spanish
Unamuno	Walnut grove	Basque
Unzueta	Place with ivy plants	Basque
Unzué	Ivy-covered land	Basque
Urdaneta	Place of pigs or swine farm	Basque
Uribe	Lower settlement	Basque
Urquiza	Birch tree area	Basque
Urrea	Golden-colored land	Aragonese
Urrutia	Far away place	Basque
Usabiaga	Wide meadow or pasture	Basque
Uriona	Place by a spring	Basque
Urteaga	Hazel tree place	Basque
Ulacio	From an old noble line	Spanish
Usunariz	High promontory	Basque
Uranga	Hazel grove	Basque
Urizar	Rocky high place	Basque
Ugarte de la Vega	Meadow between waters	Basque-Spanish

Spanish Last Names That Start With U

Spanish last names with U are distinctive and memorable. Many go back to villages and rivers in the Basque Country.

A friend once told me her Spanish teacher had the surname Unda. It means “sandy area.” She said it always made her picture a quiet beach town. That small detail made the name easy to remember.

Last Name	Meaning	Origin
Ubeda	From the town of Úbeda	Spanish
Ubieto	Descendant of Ubi	Spanish
Ubilla	Small settlement or village	Spanish
Uceda	From Uceda municipality	Spanish
Ucha	High place or hill	Galician
Ugalde	By the river	Basque
Ugartemendia	Mountain slope enclosure	Basque
Ugarte	Riverside area	Basque
Ugarteche	House by the river	Basque
Ugarteburu	Head of the riverside	Basque
Ugena	From Ugena town	Spanish
Ulloa	Land of wolves	Galician
Ullate	Place name surname	Basque
Ulibarri	New town	Basque
Ulacia	Ancient Basque family name	Basque
Ulzurrun	Place surrounded by water	Basque
Umbria	Shaded hillside	Spanish
Unamuno	Near the hill	Basque
Unceta	Place name surname	Basque
Unda	Sandy area	Basque
Undiano	From Undiano village	Navarrese
Undurraga	Water meadow	Basque
Unzueta	Place of ivy	Basque
Unzué	From Unzué town	Navarrese
Urdaneta	Place of pigs	Basque
Uribe	Lower settlement	Basque
Urquijo	Birch tree area	Basque
Urquia	Birch grove	Basque
Urresti	Hazel tree place	Basque
Urrutia	Faraway place	Basque
Uranga	Hazel tree grove	Basque
Urizar	High rocky ground	Basque
Urtasun	Good fortune	Basque
Ubieta	Place full of plants	Basque
Uzcanga	From an old village site	Basque

German Last Names That Start With U

German surnames with U often describe a trade, a trait, or a home town. Many are short. Many sound firm and strong.

Last Name	Meaning	Origin
Ulrich	Prosperity and power	German
Ullman	Man from Ulm	German
Unger	Hungarian person	German
Uhl	Owl	German
Uhlig	Little owl	German
Uhlmann	Owl man	German
Ude	Wealthy protector	German
Uebel	Bad or evil, old nickname	German
Ulbrich	Prosperity and power	German
Ulbricht	Noble and bright	German
Umlauf	One who runs around	German
Ungerer	Man from Hungary	German
Unruh	Restless one	German
Urban	City dweller	German
Urich	Prosperous ruler	German
Uter	Old form of Walter	German
Uthmann	Wealthy man	German
Utz	Short form of Ulrich	German
Uecker	Named after the Uecker river	German
Ude	Protector of wealth	German
Uhde	Rich guardian	German
Uhlenbrock	Owl marsh	German
Ulmer	Man from Ulm	German
Ungermann	Man of Hungarian descent	German
Unseld	From an unknown place	German
Untermann	Man from below the hill	German
Urbanek	Little city dweller	German
Urbanski	From the city	German
Usinger	Man from Usingen	German
Uterwedde	From a river ford	German
Utermann	Man of the outer land	German
Uthemann	Man of the old estate	German
Ubel	Old, harsh nickname	German
Uebelein	Small harsh one	German
Ummen	From the town of Umme	German

English Last Names That Start With U

English surnames with U are some of the rarest in the language. Many describe a place. Others describe a job or a family trait.

Last Name	Meaning	Origin
Underwood	Person living below a forest	English
Upton	Upper town or settlement	English
Udall	From the yew valley	English
Usher	Gatekeeper or doorkeeper	English
Upchurch	Person living near a hilltop church	English
Unwin	Not a friend, or unknown	English
Uwins	Son of an unknown man	English
Utley	From the upper meadow	English
Uphill	Person living up a hill	English
Upshaw	From the upper woods	English
Upstone	From the upper stone place	English
Upfield	From the upper field	English
Uden	From the yew valley	English
Udell	From the yew tree valley	English
Unett	Small settlement name	English
Urie	From a river bank place	English
Uren	From a Cornish place name	English
Urquhart	Woodland slope	Scottish
Ustick	Old family name from Cornwall	English
Utteridge	Old form of a place name	English
Uzzell	Small, old English family name	English
Uvedale	From the yew valley estate	English
Uttley	Upper meadow dweller	English
Underhill	Person living below a hill	English
Undery	Below the woods	English
Upcott	From the upper cottage	English
Upshall	From the upper hall	English
Uppington	From an upper town	English
Upward	Person from the higher ward	English
Ussher	Old form of Usher	English
Utton	From an old town name	English
Uzell	Variant of Uzzell	English
Umney	From an old French place name	English
Ufton	From Ufton village	English
Umpleby	From a village in Yorkshire	English

Conclusion

Last names that start with U are rare. That is exactly what makes them stand out. Japanese U names paint pictures of fields and rivers. Basque and Spanish names speak of hills and old towns. German names sound firm and steady. English names are some of the rarest of all.

Every name here carries a family story. Some tell you about land. Some tell you about a job. Some simply tell you someone was blessed with good fortune.

Whether you are building a family tree, naming a character, or just curious about rare surnames, this list gives you a strong place to start.

FAQs

What is the most common last name starting with U?

Underwood and Upton are common in English-speaking countries. Uddin is common in South Asia.

Are last names starting with U rare?

Yes. Very few surnames begin with U in most Western countries.

Where do most U surnames come from?

They come from many places. German, English, Japanese, Arabic, Basque, and African roots are common.

Can I use these names for a fictional character?

Yes. Writers often use rare names like these to make characters feel unique and real.

Do U surnames have specific meanings?

Yes, most do. They can point to a place, a job, a family trait, or an old blessing.

Is it hard to trace a family with a U last name?

Not always. Rare names can actually make it easier to track relatives, since fewer people share them.

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