DunawayEnglish Originally indicated someone who came from the village and civil parish of Dunwich in Suffolk, England, derived from Old English dun meaning "hill" (or possibly dune meaning "valley") and weg meaning "way"... [more]
DunfordEnglish Derived either from Dunford Bridge in Yorkshire (named after the River Don and the English word “Ford”), or from Dunford House in Yorkshire (named after “Dunn’s Ford”). One known bearer is US General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
DunmoreEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from Dunmore Farm in Oxfordshire or from any of many places in Scotland named in Gaelic as Dún Môr 'great hill'.
DunstanEnglish Either from the given name Dunstan or habitational name from Dunston (Derbyshire Lincolnshire Norfolk) from the Old English personal name Dunn and tun "settlement"... [more]
DuplainFrench topographic name from Old French plain an adjective meaning "flat" and a noun meaning "plain" with fused preposition and definite article du "from the".
DuretteFrench Altered form of French Duret, reflecting the Canadian and American French practice of sounding the final -t. In some cases, also derives from the feminine form of Duret.
DurningIrish First found in County Antrim, Ireland, Durning is possibly an Anglicized form of O'Duirnin. The name is derived from "dorn", which means "fist".
DurraniPashto Derived from Persian در (dorr) meaning "pearl". It was historically used in the phrase padshah durr-i durran meaning "king pearl of the age", a title used by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan.
DurrettFrench Altered form of French Duret, reflecting the Canadian and American French practice of sounding the final -t. Compare Durette.
DursleyEnglish (British) Of English origin and is locational from a place so called in Gloucestershire, which was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Dersilege', in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195 as 'Derseleie' and in the Fees of 1220 as 'Dursleg'... [more]
DurwardEnglish, Scottish Occupational name meaning "doorkeeper, porter", derived from Old English duru "door" and weard "guard, guardian". In Medieval Scotland, this was a hereditary title for the warden of the king’s door.
DuterteFilipino, Cebuano Hispanicised spelling of the French surname Dutertre. A notable bearer is Rodrigo Duterte (1945-), the former president of the Philippines.
DuxburyEnglish Habitational name from a place in Lancashire, recorded in the early 13th century as D(e)ukesbiri, from the genitive case of the Old English personal name Deowuc or Duc(c) (both of uncertain origin) + Old English burh ‘fort’ (see Burke).
DuysterDutch Derived from Middle Dutch duuster meaning "dark, gloomy, obscure" or "stupid, terrible".
DwengerGerman From an agent derivative of Middle Low German dwengen "to press or oppress" probably a nickname for a violent person.
DwivediIndian, Hindi From Sanskrit द्विवेदी (dvivedi) meaning "one who has studied two Vedas", from द्वि (dvi) meaning "two" and वेद (veda) meaning "Veda".
DworkinJewish From a pet-form of the Yiddish female personal name Dvoyre, from Hebrew Devorah (source of English Deborah), literally "bee"... [more]
DzagoevOssetian (Russified) Russified form of the Ossetian surname Зæгъойты (Zægoyty), which came from the nickname Dzagoy. The name was probably from Ossetian дзаг (dzag) meaning "full, complete", ultimately derived from Persian چاق (čâq) meaning "fat".
DžambasRomani Meaning "herdsman, horse trader", from Persian ganbas, which translates as "herdsman". In the Turkish language, this term has the same meaning as... [more]
DziekanPolish Occupational name for "dean" from Polish dziekan.
DzugaevOssetian (Russified) Probably derived from Dzuga, the name of a past ancestor and the founder of the family/clan of uncertain meaning, though it could have been used to refer to a shepherd or herder if derived from Iron Ossetian дзуг (dzug) meaning "flock, herd (of sheep or cattle)".
EastleyEnglish A Saxon village called East Leah has been recorded to have existed since 932 AD. (Leah is an ancient Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'a clearing in a forest'). There is additional evidence of this settlement in a survey from the time which details land in North Stoneham being granted by King Æthelstan to his military aid, Alfred in 932 AD... [more]
EdamuraJapanese The kanji 枝 (Eda) means "Branch", while 村 (Mura) means "Town, Village". Combine the two and the surname means "Branching Town/Village".
EdevaneWelsh, Cornish A rare Welsh surname, believed to be of Cornish origin. This surname is made up of two elements. ‘Ed’ is not a shortened form of Edward, but derives from the ancient (Old English?) ‘ead’ meaning ‘prosperity’ and/or ‘happiness’... [more]
EdgerlyEnglish Habitational name from any of numerous minor places named Edgerley, Edgerely, or Hedgerley.
EgilatzBasque (Rare, Archaic) From the name of a town in Álava, Basque Country, derived from (h)egi "border, edge; hill, slope, bank" and lats "brook, small stream", or possibly latz "rough, crude".
EinhornGerman, Jewish Derived from German Einhorn (Middle High German einhorn) "unicorn", denoting someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a unicorn.
EjioforWestern African, Igbo Means "one who acts in good faith" in Igbo. A famous bearer is British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (1977-).
ElfvingSwedish Possibly a combination of an obsolete spelling of Swedish älv "river" and the suffix -ing (ultimately from Proto-Germanic -ingaz) meaning "coming from, belonging to, descending from"... [more]
EllerbyEnglish Denoted a person from a town called Ellerby, meaning "Ælfweard’s farm", or perhaps "alder tree town" from Middle English aller "alder tree" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement".
EllicotScottish The Ellicot family name was first used by descendants of the Pictish people of ancient Scotland. It is a name for someone who lived in Liddesdale and Teviotdale where the family has a long and distinguished history dating back to the early Middle Ages... [more]
ElmahdyArabic (Egyptian) Means "the Mahdi" from Arabic مَهْدِيّ (mahdiyy) meaning "guided one, rightly guided". In Islam, the term refers to a figure who will restore peace to the world.
ElmalehJudeo-Spanish, Arabic From Arabic مَالِح (māliḥ) meaning "salty, savoury", probably used to refer to a salt trader.
ElortzaBasque Derived from Basque elorri "hawthorn, thorn" and the abundance suffix -tza.
El OuafiArabic (Maghrebi) Means "the Ouafi", derived from the given name Wafi. A bearer was AhmedBoughèra El Ouafi (1898-1959), an Algerian athlete during the French rule over the country.
El-qasesArabic It means "the narrative (which refers to the title of a chapter of the Quran)".
EnokidaJapanese 榎 (Enoki) means "Hackle/Chinese Nettle Berry Tree", and 田 (Da) means "Rice Paddy, Field". A notable bearer with this family name is Daiki Enokida, who is a professional baseball player.
EpsteinGerman, Jewish A habitational name for someone from a place named Eppstein, which is from Old High German ebur meaning ‘wild boar’ and stein meaning ‘stone’.
EriksonEnglish, Swedish Means "son of Erik". This was famously used by Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson (Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson).
EriksooEstonian Eriksoo is an Estonian surname meaning "Erik's swamp" in Estonian. However, it most likely derived from a corruption of the Swedish surname "Eriksson" that has been Estonianized.
EscatelSpanish Derived from the Latin word “scatellum,” which means “small coin”. It is likely that the surname originally referred to someone who was involved in the production or circulation of small coins, or who had a reputation for being particularly frugal or economical... [more]
EstrelaPortuguese The surname Estrela, of Portuguese origin, means "star," symbolizing guidance, hope, and celestial beauty, and is commonly found in Portugal.
EtienamNigerian, Ibibio (?), Spanish (Caribbean, ?) This is a name which originates from the Calabar/Akwa Ibom region of southeastern Nigeria. It means "a doer of good, or benevolent". It is also found in Spanish-speaking regions of the Caribbean such as Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba (El Oriente) which have populations of people of Ibibio/Efik decent known as "Carabali".
EtxagueBasque Habitational name derived from Basque etxe "house, home, building" and an altered form of the suffix -gune "place, area".
EtxaideBasque It indicates familial origin within either of 2 Navarrese neighborhoods: the one in Elizondo or the one in Anue.
EtxalarBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque etxe "house, home, building" and larre "pasture, meadow, prairie".
EtxauriBasque From the name of a town in Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque etxe "house, building" and uri "town, city".
EtzdorfGerman Origin and meaning unknown, possibly a given name. Usually has nobiliary particle "Von".
EubanksEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a bank of yew trees, from Old English iw "yew" and bank "bank".
EvertonEnglish Habitational name from any of various places, in Bedfordshire, Merseyside, and Nottinghamshire, so named from Old English eofor ‘wild boar’ + tun ‘settlement’.
EveshamEnglish Derived from the Old English homme or ham and Eof, the name of a swineherd in the service of Egwin, third bishop of Worcester.