DollingEnglish (British) From an unrecorded Middle English word dolling, douling, or dulling meaning “dull person.” Compare Doll. Post-medieval examples of the name may also have arisen from a late assimilation of rl to ll in Dorling, a variant of Darling: Samuel Dorling, 1770 is identical with Samuel Dolling, 1782 in Parish Registers (West Stow Suffolk)... [more]
DollinsEnglish (British) Variant of Dollin, with post-medieval excrescent -s, itself a variant of Dolling, a nickname from an unrecorded Middle English word dolling douling dulling meaning “dull or stupid one” (compare Doll)... [more]
D'orivalFrench Variant form of D'oreval. This is also one of the very few forms (of what is ultimately the D'aurevalle surname) that is still in use nowadays.
DorlandEnglish A variant of Darling. It was a name for a person who was greatly loved by his friends and family. The surname was originally derived from the word deorling, which meant "darling".
DoughtyEnglish Doughty. This interesting surname of English origin is a nickname for a powerful or brave man, especially a champion jouster, deriving from the Middle English "doughty", Olde English pre 7th Century dohtigdyhtig meaning "valiant" or "strong"... [more]
DowdellEnglish Habitational name from a lost Ovedale or Uvedale which gave rise to the 14th-century surname de Uvedale alias de Ovedale connected with the manor of D'Ovesdale in Litlington, Cambridgeshire, first recorded as “manor of Overdale, otherwise Dowdale” in 1408... [more]
DowlandEnglish Habitational name from Dowland in Devon, possibly named from Old English dūfe meaning “dove” + land “open country.” The name is pronounced with the first element rhyming with owl, but it may have been confused with and absorbed by Dolling, also a Devon name (see Dollins)... [more]
DrabkinBelarusian, Jewish Jewish (from Belarus): metronymic from Yiddish drabke “loose woman”. Can also be from drabki (Belarusian) 'light cart' (+ the same suffix -in), an occupational name for a coachman (Alexander Beider).... [more]
DraculaRomanian The Wallachian name for dragon was "Drac" or "Dracul". Vlad II of Wallachia joined a semi-secret order known as The Order of the Dragon and took the name Vlad Dracul. The word "Drac" can also mean "devil" or "evil spirit"... [more]
DreamerEnglish The word dreamer (or surname) comes from the word dream with an added -er at the end indicating someone is dreaming. The word dream comes from the Dutch phrase droom and the German phrase Traum.
DrewittEnglish, French English (Wiltshire Berkshire and Surrey): of Norman origin from the Old French personal name Druet a diminutive of Drue Dreu (from ancient Germanic Drogo); see Drew Alternatively the name may be from a diminutive of Old French dru ‘lover’
DruckerGerman, Jewish, Dutch Occupational name for an operator of a printing press, derived from German drucken "to print".
DrummerEnglish Locational name from a place called Drummer, near Chadderton in Lancashire. The meaning is possibly from the pre 7th century Olde English 'drum' meaning "a ridge".
DruzhkoUkrainian, Russian Means "friend", from Ukrainian and Russian друг (druh, drug) in a diminutive form.
DucasseFrench French: topographic name for someone who lived by an oak tree, from Old French casse ‘oak (tree)’ (Late Latin cassanos, a word of Celtic origin), with the fused preposition and article du ‘from the’... [more]
DuchêneFrench Means "from the oak (tree)" in French, used to denote a person who lived near an oak tree or an oak forest.
DudayevChechen, Ossetian (Russified) Russified form of a Chechen and Ossetian family name of disputed meaning; the name may be derived from Ossetian дудахъхъ (dudaqq) meaning "bustard", from Ingush тат (tat) meaning "Mountain Jew", or from Circassian дадэ (dade) meaning "grandfather" or "king, head, chief"... [more]
DugmoreMedieval English This habitational name is chiefly found in the West Midlands region of England. The origin is certainly Old English pre 7th Century and may be Ancient British i.e. pre Roman 55 A.D. The origins are lost but are believed to develop from "Dubh" meaning "black" and "mor" a morass or swamp... [more]
DugonjaBosnian This surname is used at: Sarajevo, Mostar, Dubrovnik, Novi Pazar.
DuhamelFrench Topographic name for someone who lived in a hamlet, from Old French hamel, a diminutive of ham "homestead", with fused preposition and definite article du.
DukakisGreek Dukakis means "son of the duke or little duke".
DukakisGreek Alternate transcription of Greek Δουκάκης (see Doukakis). This name is borne by the American lawyer and politician Michael Dukakis (1933-), who served as Governor of Massachusetts twice... [more]
DukelowEnglish This surname is of Old French origin. It was initially introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and subsequently by French Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecutions in their own country... [more]
DulquerArabic The name is derived from the Arabic word "Dhul-Qarnayn". Actor Dulquer Salmaan says it means Warrior. but another meaning is "Expressive, Diplomatic"
DumagitVisayan Literally "to swoop" or "to snatch" in Cebuano. Related to Dumaguete, capital of the province of Negros Oriental.
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]
EbiharaJapanese From a combination of 海 (e) meaning "vastly, gathered, sea, ocean, wide, vast" and 老 (bi) meaning "old age, elderly" or 蛯 (ebi) meaning "pawn, shrimp, lobster", that is then combined with 原 (hara) meaning "plain, field".
EbikemeAfrican Unsure of the source, used famously by Charles Ebikeme, African scholar and educator in the 21st century.
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".