West

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 10 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

West is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Portuguese surname114K records spelled West30 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Timor-Leste, Panama, France, Spain

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, French

  Also written Ouest, Oüest, Oùest, Wëst, Wëšt

• Polish surname10K records spelled West37 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Kingdom, Poland, Montenegro, United States

  Languages: Polish, Serbian, Russian

  Also written Vest, Уэст, Vuyst, Вест, Węst

• Swedish surname7.6K records spelled West13 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark

  Languages: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish

  Also written Väster, Wèst, Vaster, Wéśť

• Lao surname2.1K records spelled West22 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Thailand, United States, Nigeria

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written เวส, Vest, เวสต์, เวสท์, Vasty

• a separate name812 records spelled West7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Nigeria, Timor-Leste

  Also written Wêšt, Wëst, Wêst, Wḝşt, Wést

58 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

West is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In German, Toponymic surname from west 'west' or a western place/dwelling name; bearer counts: West 519, Weste(n) 222+159, T(h)orwesten 59+186.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 4: Familiennamen nach Herkunft und Wohnstätte

• In English, ‘man from the west’ or ‘dweller to the west’ of a certain place; first attested Maurice de West 1152–70 Colch (Ess)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In German, Toponymic surname from a place/dwelling designation meaning 'west'; bearer count 1145.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 4: Familiennamen nach Herkunft und Wohnstätte

• In German, from the west; also in many compounds and place names

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In English, kpundo; kpundo- ht, the west, the lower place

  as a word·Vocabulary of the Mende Language

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Mae Westb. 1893USAmerican actress, singer, screenwriter, and writer (1893–1980)
• Red Westb. 1936USAmerican actor, film stuntman and songwriter (1936-2017)
• Jerry Westb. 1938USAmerican basketball player and executive (1938-2024)
• Billy Westb. 1952USAmerican voice actor
• Samuel Westb. 1966GBBritish actor and director
• Dominic Westb. 1969GBBritish actor
• Ye Westb. 1977USAmerican rapper and record producer
• Shane Westb. 1978USAmerican actor, musician and songwriter
• Kim Kardashianb. 1980USnot in their usual nameAmerican media personality, businesswoman, model and actress (born 1980)
• Madeleine Westb. 1980AUAustralian actress, author and director

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 291 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name West?

We estimate roughly 200 thousand people bear West (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does West have the most bearers?

West is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled west.

What does the name West mean?

Recorded meaning: one who lives in the western part of a settlement, or came from a more westerly place