Fehér

Fehér is a Hungarian word meaning white and is used as both a surname and a given name. The name derives from the common Hungarian adjective fehér and likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone with a pale complexion or who wore white clothing, later becoming hereditary.

As a surname, Fehér is found throughout Hungary and among Hungarian communities abroad. It appears in various contexts, from ordinary personal naming to cultural and professional identifiers. In onomastic usage, the element fehér also occurs in place names, reflecting historical associations with color or descriptive features of locations.

In Hungarian toponymy, the best-known example containing the element is Székesfehérvár, a major city in central Hungary with ancient significance. The name combines fehér with vár (castle or fortress) and alludes to a white fortress associated with ecclesiastical authority in the historical center of the city.

Notable people with the surname include Miklós Fehér (1979–2004), a Hungarian footballer whose career and on-field death during a match drew international attention. Beyond this, Fehér is borne by other individuals in sports, the arts, and science, reflecting its status as a relatively common Hungarian surname.

Variants and transliterations may occur in non-Hungarian contexts; in German-speaking areas, the surname can correspond to Weiss, and in English contexts it may be rendered as White, though diacritics are sometimes preserved in Hungarian usage. Fehér also appears as a lexical element in place names and family names across Hungarian-speaking communities.