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.
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".
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".
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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").
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".
Drummond ScottishFrom various Scottish place names that are derived from Gaelic
drumainn, a derivative of
druim meaning
"ridge".
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.
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.
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.
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.
Durnin IrishFrom Irish
Ó Doirnáin meaning
"descendant of Doirnín", a given name meaning "little fist".
Easton EnglishFrom the name of various places meaning "east town" in Old English.
Eaton EnglishFrom any of the various English towns with this name, derived from Old English
ea "river" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Ebner 1 GermanOriginally indicated a dweller on a flat piece of land, derived from Middle High German
ebene "plateau".
Eccleston EnglishDenoted a person from any of the various places named Eccleston in England, derived from Latin
ecclesia "church" (via Briton) and Old English
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Edison EnglishMeans
"son of Eda 2" or
"son of Adam". The surname was borne by American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
Ellington EnglishFrom the name of multiple towns in England. The town's name is derived from the masculine given name
Ella (a short form of Old English names beginning with the elements
ælf meaning "elf" or
eald meaning "old") combined with
tun meaning "enclosure, town".
Ellison EnglishPatronymic form of the English name
Ellis, from the medieval given name
Elis, a vernacular form of
Elijah.
Ellsworth EnglishHabitational name for a person from the town of Elsworth in Cambridgeshire. The town's name is derived from the masculine given name
Ella (a short form of Old English names beginning with the elements
ælf meaning "elf" or
eald meaning "old") combined with
worþ meaning "enclosure".
Ely EnglishFrom the name of a town in eastern England meaning "eel district".
Elzinga DutchProbably from a place name that was a derivative of Dutch
els meaning "alder tree".
Emerson EnglishMeans
"son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.
Emmet EnglishVariant of
Emmett. This name was borne by the Irish nationalist Robert Emmet (1778-1803).
English EnglishDenoted a person who was of English heritage. It was used to distinguish people who lived in border areas (for example, near Wales or Scotland). It was also used to distinguish an Anglo-Saxon from a Norman.
Escamilla SpanishDerived from the name of the town of Escamilla in Gualadajara, Spain.
Escobar SpanishDerived from Spanish
escoba meaning
"broom plant", from Latin
scopa. It originally indicated a person who lived near a prominent patch of broom.
Esparza SpanishDerived from the Basque place name
Espartza, a town in the province of Navarre.
Espinosa SpanishFrom Spanish
espinoso meaning
"thorny", ultimately from Latin
spinosus, a derivative of
spina meaning "thorn, spine". This was the real surname of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who was of Portuguese Jewish origin.
Everest EnglishOriginally denoted a person from Évreux in Normandy, itself named after the Gaulish tribe of the Eburovices. Mount Everest in the Himalayas was named for the British surveyor George Everest (1790-1866).
Ewart 2 EnglishFrom the name of an English town, derived from Old English
ea "river" and
worþ "enclosure".
Fallon IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Fallamháin meaning
"descendant of Fallamhán", a given name meaning "leader".
Falstaff LiteratureThe name of a buffoonish character, John Falstaff, appearing in four of William Shakespeare's plays. He is the central character in
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602). Shakespeare probably adapted it from the surname of John Fastolf, a 15th-century knight. The medieval surname Fastolf, no longer in use, was derived from the Norse given name
Fastúlfr.
Farnham EnglishIndicated a person from any of the various towns named Farnham in England, notably in Surrey. Their names are from Old English
fearn "fern" and
ham "home, settlement" or
ham "water meadow, enclosure".
Farro ItalianDerived from the name of a place on Sicily, Italy, derived from Latin
far meaning "wheat, spelt".
Fashingbauer GermanFrom
Fasching, a German carnival (
Fastnacht meaning "eve of the beginning of the fast", or the time before Lent) celebrated in Austria and Bavaria, and
bauer meaning "farmer".
Faulkner English, ScottishOccupational name meaning
"keeper of falcons", from Middle English and Scots
faulcon, from Late Latin
falco, of Germanic origin.
Fava ItalianFrom Italian
fava referring to a type of broad bean.
Favager FrenchPossibly indicated a person from the town of Faverges in eastern France, derived from Old French
faverge meaning "forge".
Feld German, JewishMeans
"field" in German. The name was originally given to someone who lived on land cleared of forest.
Fermi ItalianOriginally indicated a person from the town of Fermo in the Marche region of Italy, originally called
Firmum in Latin meaning "strong, steady, firm".
Ferrari ItalianOccupational name for a metalworker or smith, derived from Latin
ferrarius, a derivative of
ferrum meaning "iron".
Filipowski m PolishEither a patronymic from the given name
Filip, or a habitational name denoting a person from the Polish town of Filipów (also derived from the given name).
Finch English, LiteratureFrom the name of the bird, from Old English
finc. It was used by Harper Lee for the surname of lawyer Atticus Finch and his children in her novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).
Finnegan IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Fionnagáin meaning
"descendant of Fionnagán". The given name
Fionnagán is a diminutive of
Fionn.
Fitzgerald IrishMeans
"son of Gerald" in Anglo-Norman French. It was brought to Ireland with William the Conqueror. A famous bearer was Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), an American jazz singer.
Fitzroy EnglishMeans
"son of the king" in Anglo-Norman French, from French
roi meaning "king". This name has been bestowed upon illegitimate children of kings.
Flanagan IrishFrom Irish
Ó Flannagáin meaning
"descendant of Flannagán".
Flannagán is a given name meaning "blood red". From County Roscommon in Ireland, it has many other spellings.
Flannery IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Flannghaile meaning
"descendant of Flannghal", a given name meaning "red valour".
Fletcher EnglishOccupational name for a fletcher, someone who attached feathers to the shaft of an arrow. It is derived from Old French
fleche meaning "arrow".
Fleury FrenchFrom the name of various towns in northern France, derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name
Florus.
Flower EnglishFrom Middle English
flour meaning
"flower, blossom", derived from Old French
flur, Latin
flos. This was a nickname given to a sweet person. In other cases it could be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of flour (a word derived from the same source).
Flynn IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Floinn meaning
"descendant of Flann".
Foley IrishFrom Irish
Ó Foghladha meaning
"descendant of Foghlaidh". The byname
Foghlaidh meant "pirate, marauder, plunderer".
Fonda ItalianOf Italian origin, possibly from a place derived from
fondo meaning
"deep". The family of Henry Fonda (1905-1982) came from the Netherlands, but they were of Genoese origin.
Fontaine FrenchDerived from Old French
fontane meaning
"well, fountain", a derivative of Latin
fons.