Darnell 2 EnglishFrom the name of a town near Sheffield, derived from Old English
derne "hidden" and
halh "nook".
Darrell EnglishOriginally denoted one who came from the town of Airel in Normandy, derived from Late Latin
arealis meaning "open space".
Darrow ScottishHabitational name from Darroch near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, said to be named from Gaelic
darach meaning "oak tree".
Darwin EnglishFrom the given name
Deorwine. A famous bearer was the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882).
Daubney EnglishFrom any of the various towns in France called Aubigny, derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name
Albinus.
Da Vinci Italian (Rare)Means
"from Vinci", a town near Florence. A famous bearer was the Italian artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
Davis English, ScottishMeans
"son of David". This was the surname of the revolutionary jazz trumpet player Miles Davis (1926-1991).
Dean 2 EnglishOccupational surname meaning
"dean", referring to a person who either was a dean or worked for one. It is from Middle English
deen (ultimately from Latin
decanus meaning "chief of ten").
Debenham EnglishOriginally denoted a person from the town of Debenham in Suffolk, derived from the name of the River Deben (meaning "deep" in Old English) combined with
ham meaning "home, settlement".
De Campo ItalianLocative surname derived from place names called Campo (meaning "field").
Deering EnglishFrom the Old English given name
Deora meaning "dear, beloved".
Deighton EnglishFrom English towns by this name, from Old English
dic "ditch" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
De Jong DutchMeans
"young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch
jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.
Delacroix FrenchMeans
"of the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads. A notable bearer was the French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).
Delaney 1 EnglishDerived from Norman French
de l'aunaie meaning
"from the alder grove".
Delgado Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"thin" in Spanish and Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
delicatus meaning "delicate, tender, charming".
Demir TurkishMeans
"iron" in Turkish, originally referring to an ironworker.
Dempsey IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Díomasaigh meaning
"descendant of Díomasach", a given name meaning "proud".
Deng ChineseFrom Chinese
邓 (dèng) referring to the ancient state of Deng, which existed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties in what is now either Henan or Hubei province. A famous bearer was the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997).
Denman EnglishFrom Middle English
dene "valley" combined with
man.
Denzil EnglishFrom the place name
Denzell, a manor in Cornwall, which is of unknown meaning.
Derrick EnglishDerived from the given name
Derrick (see
Derek). A famous bearer of this surname is the character Stephan Derrick from the German television series
Derrick (1974-1998).
Desmond IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Deasmhumhnaigh meaning "descendant of the man from South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from the region of South Munster (Desmond) in Ireland.
Desrosiers FrenchMeans
"from the rose bushes", from French
rosier "rose bush". It probably referred to a person who lived close to, or cared for a rose garden.
Devereux EnglishIndicated a person from Evreux in France, itself named after the Gaulish tribe of the Eburovices, which was probably derived from a Celtic word meaning "yew".
Devin 2 French, EnglishNickname for a person who acted divinely or prophetically, from Old French
devin meaning
"divine" or
"seer, fortune teller", ultimately from Latin
divinus.
Devlin IrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Doibhilin meaning
"descendant of Doibhilin", a given name that may be derived from the Gaelic term
dobhail meaning "unlucky".
De Vries DutchMeans
"the Frisian" in Dutch, referring to a person from Friesland.
De Witte DutchMeans
"the white" in Dutch, a nickname for a person with white hair.
Dexter EnglishOccupational name meaning
"dyer" in Old English (originally this was a feminine word, but it was later applied to men as well).
Dibra AlbanianFrom the Albanian name for the city of Debar in Macedonia, originally given to someone who came from there.
Di Caprio ItalianFrom the name of the island of Capri near Naples, itself possibly derived from Latin
capra meaning "goat" or Greek
κάπρος (kapros) meaning "wild boar".
Dickens EnglishFrom the medieval given name
Dicun, a medieval diminutive of
Dick 1. A famous bearer of this surname was the British author Charles Dickens (1812-1870).
Dickinson EnglishMeans
"son of Dicun",
Dicun being a medieval diminutive of
Dick 1. American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a famous bearer.
Dickman EnglishFrom Old English
dic "ditch" combined with
man "person, man". It was originally a name for a ditch digger or someone who lived near a ditch.
Dior FrenchPossibly from French
doré meaning
"golden". A famous bearer was the French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).
Disney EnglishMeans
"from Isigny", referring to the town of Isigny in Normandy. This surname was borne by the American animator and filmmaker Walt Disney (1901-1966).
Dobos HungarianDerived from Hungarian
dob meaning
"drum". Originally the name was given to someone who played drums or made them.
Doctor EnglishOriginally denoted someone who was a doctor, ultimately from Latin
doctor meaning "teacher".
Doherty IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Dochartaigh meaning
"descendant of Dochartach". The byname
Dochartach means "obstructive".
Doležal m CzechNickname for a lazy person, derived from the past participle of the Czech verb
doležat "to lie down".
Donaldson EnglishMeans
"son of Donald". A notable bearer is the online personality Jimmy Donaldson (1998-), who goes by the alias MrBeast.
Donne Scottish, IrishFrom Gaelic
donn meaning
"brown", a nickname for a person with brown hair.
Donnelly IrishFrom Irish
Ó Donnghaile meaning
"descendant of Donnghal". The given name
Donnghal means "brown valour", from
donn "brown" and
gal "valour". This surname is associated with the descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Doran IrishFrom Irish
Ó Deoradháin meaning
"descendant of Deoradhán", where
Deoradhán is a given name meaning "exile, wanderer".
Dorsey EnglishMeans
"from Orsay", referring to the town of Orsay near Paris, its name deriving from the Latin personal name
Orcius.
Doubek m CzechMeans
"small oak" in Czech, derived from
dub "oak".
Douglas ScottishFrom the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water, derived from Gaelic
dubh "dark" and
glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to
glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period.
Downer EnglishName for someone who lived on or near a down, which is an English word meaning
"hill".
Doyle IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Dubhghaill, which means
"descendant of Dubhghall". A famous bearer was Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.
Drake EnglishDerived from the Old Norse byname
Draki or the Old English byname
Draca both meaning
"dragon", both via Latin from Greek
δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent".
Draper EnglishOccupational name for a maker or seller of woollen cloth, from Anglo-Norman French
draper (Old French
drapier, an agent derivative of
drap "cloth").
Dreher GermanMeans
"turner" from Middle High German
drehen "to turn". A turner was a person who used a lathe to create small objects from wood or bone.
Dreschner GermanDerived from Middle High German
dreschen "to thresh". A thresher was a person who separated the grains from a cereal plant by beating it.
Dresdner GermanOriginally indicated a person who came from the city of Dresden in German.
Dressler GermanMeans
"turner" from Middle High German
dreseler, an agent derivative of
drehen "to turn". A turner was a person who used a lathe to create small objects from wood or bone.
Driscoll IrishFrom Irish
Ó hEidirsceóil meaning
"descendant of the messenger".
Droit FrenchMeans
"right, straight" in French, a nickname for an upright person.
Drummond ScottishFrom various Scottish place names that are derived from Gaelic
drumainn, a derivative of
druim meaning
"ridge".
Du ChineseFrom Chinese
杜 (dù) meaning
"stop, prevent" or
"birchleaf pear tree".
Dubanowski m PolishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Dubinowo (now Dubino in Belarus).
Dubicki m PolishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Dubica in Poland.
Dubois FrenchMeans
"from the forest", from French
bois "forest".
Dudley EnglishFrom a place name meaning "
Dudda's clearing" in Old English. The surname was borne by a British noble family.
Duffy 1 IrishDerived from Irish
Ó Dubhthaigh meaning
"descendant of Dubthach". Their original homeland was Monaghan where the surname is still the most common; they are also from Donegal and Roscommon.
Dufort FrenchMeans
"from the fort", from French
fort "stronghold".
Dufour FrenchOccupational name for a baker, from French
four "oven".
Duke EnglishFrom the noble title, which was originally from Latin
dux "leader". It was a nickname for a person who behaved like a duke, or who worked in a duke's household.
Dumas FrenchMeans
"from the farm", from Occitan
mas "farmhouse", from Latin
mansus "dwelling". A famous bearer was the French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870).
Dumbledore LiteratureFrom the dialectal English word
dumbledore meaning
"bumblebee". It was used by J. K. Rowling for the headmaster of Hogwarts in her
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Dumont FrenchMeans
"from the mountain", from French
mont "mountain".
Dunajski m PolishDerived from
Dunaj, the Polish name for the river Danube.
Dunbar ScottishFrom the name of a town in East Lothian, Scotland, derived from Gaelic
dùn meaning "fort" and
barr meaning "summit", so called from its situation on a rock that projects into the sea.
Dunn English, Scottish, IrishDerived from Old English
dunn "dark" or Gaelic
donn "brown", referring to hair colour or complexion.
Dunst GermanDerived from Middle High German
dunst "haze".
Dupont FrenchMeans
"from the bridge", from French
pont "bridge".