V
Meaning & History
Vang is a Yiddish variant of the surname Wang, which itself derives from Russian Vengriya (Венгрия) meaning "Hungary." The name therefore served as an ethnic identifier for Jewish individuals from Hungary, following a common pattern among Ashkenazi Jews of adopting surnames based on geographic origin.
This variant likely arose through phonetic adaptation within Yiddish-speaking communities, where the initial V of the Russian root was preserved, differentiating it from the more well-known Chinese surname Wang. The name's distribution is limited, with historical records concentrated in Eastern Europe among Jewish populations.
Related Names
The name shares its root with several surnames in other languages, including Italian Ungaro and Ongaro, as well as Romanian Ungureanu and Ungur. All derive from terms for "Hungarian" and would have been used to denote Hungarian ancestry or origin.- Meaning: Hungarian
- Origin: Yiddish (from Russian)
- Type: Ethnic surname
- Usage: Jewish communities, Eastern Europe