Wanless (surname)

Wanless is a surname of Scottish and Northeast English origin, derived from the Middle English and Older Scots word "wanles" meaning "luckless", "hopeless", "despairing".

Notable people with this surname include:
 * Betty Wanless (1928–1995), American baseball player
 * Derek Wanless (1947–2012), English banker
 * Elizabeth Wanless (born 1981), American shot putter
 * Ian Wanless (born 1969), Australian mathematician
 * Neville Wanless (1931–2020), English broadcaster
 * Paul Wanless (born 1973), English footballer
 * Peter Wanless (born 1964), English civil servant
 * Robert Wanless O'Gowan (1864–1947), British army officer
 * Sarah Wanless, English ornithologist
 * William James Wanless (1865–1933), Canadian medical missionary to India