DonnaItalian Probably a matronymic, from the given name Donna meaning "lady, mistress" in classical Italian and "woman" in modern Italian. May alternately derive from a place name.
DoolittleEnglish From a medieval nickname applied to a lazy man (from Middle English do "do" + little "little"). It was borne by the American poet Hilda Doolittle (1886-1961). A fictional bearer is Eliza Doolittle, the flower seller in Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion' (1913); and a variant spelling was borne by Dr Dolittle, the physician who had the ability to talk to animals, in the series of books written by Hugh Lofting from 1920.
DoradoSpanish From dorado "golden" (from Late Latin deaurare "to gild", from aurum "gold"), probably applied as a nickname to someone with golden hair.
DorchesterEnglish Derived from either the village in Oxfordshire, or the county town of Dorset, England (both of which have the same name). Both are named with a Celtic name, respectively Dorcic and Durnovaria combined with Old English ceaster meaning "Roman fort, walled city".
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".
DormanEnglish From the Old English personal name Deormann, composed of Old English deor (see Dear) + mann 'man'. This surname became established in Ireland in the 17th century; sometimes it is found as a variant of Dornan.
DorsainvilHaitian Creole Ornamental name derived from French d'or meaning "of gold" combined with saint "holy" and vil "settlement" (the Haitian Creole spelling of French ville).
DoschGerman Topographic name for someone living near bushes or brush, from Middle High German doste, toste ‘leafy branch’, or a habitational name from a house with a sign depicting a bush. Also an altered spelling of Dasch.
Dos SantosPortuguese, Galician Means "of the saints" in Portuguese and Galician, originally given to a person born or baptized on All Saints' Day.
DossettEnglish Recorded in several forms including Dowsett, Dosset, and Dossit, this is an English surname. ... [more]
DosterGerman, Belgian A German surname, which is from an agent derivative of the Middle High German words 'doste' and 'toste' (meaning ‘wild thyme’, ‘shrub’, ‘bouquet’). It is a topographic surname which was given to someone whose land abutted an uncultivated piece of land, or possibly an occupational name for someone who dealt herbs.... [more]
DotsonEnglish Patronymic of the Middle English name Dodde. Originally derived from the Germanic root dodd meaning "something rounded", used to denote a short, rotund man.
DötterGerman From a Germanic personal name formed with theud ‘people’, ‘race’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘strong’ or hari, heri ‘army’
DouChinese From Chinese 窦 (dòu) meaning "hole, burrow".
DouangdaraLao From Lao ດວງ (douang) meaning "ball, sphere, circle" and ດາລາ (dara) meaning "star".
DouangmalaLao From Lao ດວງ (douang) meaning "circle" and ມາລາ (mala) meaning "bunch of flowers, garland".
DoubledayEnglish Possibly from the nickname or byname do(u)bel meaning "the twin", or a combination of the given name Dobbel (a pet form of Robert) and Middle English day(e) meaning "servant".
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]
DoukasGreek From medieval Greek doukas "duke", "lord", from Latin dux. This was the name of a family of imperial rank in medieval Byzantium.
DovelEnglish A English name that originated from the french surname Duval in 1725 in England, the Dovels are historically farmers and are mostly found in the USA.
DowellEnglish, Scottish, Irish Derived from the Gaelic name Dubhgall, composed of the elements dubh meaning "black" and gall, "stranger". This was used as a byname for Scandinavians, in particular to distinguish the dark-haired Danes from fair-haired Norwegians.
DowlerEnglish Occupational name for a maker of dowels and similar objects, from a derivative of Middle English “dowle”.
DowneyIrish Anglicization of Irish name Dounaigh, which is, in turn, an Gaelicization of a Norman name. Dates from the 11th c.
DowningAnglo-Saxon from 'Dunning', a patronymic meaning 'Son of Dunn', 'Dunn' being a nickname for someone with brown coloring
DownsEnglish This surname is derived from the Old English element dun meaning "hill, mountain, moor." This denotes someone who lives in a down (in other words, a ridge of chalk hills or elevated rolling grassland).
DowsonEnglish Either a patronymic surname derived from the given name Dow, a medieval variant of Daw (which was a diminutive of David), or else a metronymic form of the medieval feminine name Dowce, literally "sweet, pleasant", from Old French dolz, dous (cf... [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]
DrachJewish Ornamental surname derived from German Drache "dragon" (ultimately from Middle High German trache).
DragNorwegian (Rare) Habitational name from any of several farms named Drag. The place name is related to Old Norse draga "to pull" (compare modern Norwegian dra with the same meaning) and originally denoted a place where boats were pulled along a river or across an isthmus.
DragonFrench, English Nickname or occupational name for someone who carried a standard in battle or else in a pageant or procession, from Middle English, Old French dragon "snake, monster" (Latin draco, genitive draconis, from Greek drakōn, ultimately from derkesthai "to flash")... [more]
DragooAmerican, French (Huguenot) Americanized form of Dragaud, a French (Huguenot) surname derived from the Germanic given name Dragwald, itself derived from the elements drag- meaning "to carry" and wald "power, rule".
DrakefordEnglish The first element of this locational surname is probably derived from the personal name Draca or Draki (see Drake), while the second element is derived from Old English ford meaning "ford"... [more]
DraxlerGerman Derived from the Middle High German "Drehseler," meaning "turner," and was most likely initially borne by a turner or lathe worker.
DrayEnglish From Middle English dregh, probably as a nickname from any of its several senses: "lasting", "patient", "slow", "tedious", "doughty". Alternatively, in some cases, the name may derive from Old English drýge "dry, withered", also applied as a nickname.
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.
DrescherYiddish, German German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a thresher, German Drescher, Yiddish dresher, agent derivatives of Middle High German dreschen, Yiddish dresh(e)n 'to thresh'.... [more]
DrexelGerman, Jewish It originates from the pre 7th century word 'dreseler' meaning 'to turn', a verb which in medieval times had a wide range of meanings.
DreyfussGerman, Jewish Means "three feet" in German. This surname originates from the German city of Trier. The Latin name for the city was "Treveris," whose pronunciation eventually developed into Dreyfuss. The spelling variants tend to correspond to the country the family was living in at the time the spelling was standardized: the use of one "s" tends to be more common among people of French origin, while the use of two tends to be found among those of German descent
DriggersAmerican Corruption of the Spanish surname Rodriguez. Originated in 17th century Virginia as a former slave by that surname was integrated into free society.
DringEnglish Means "young man" (from Old Norse drengr).
DriverEnglish Occupational name for a driver of horses or oxen attached to a cart or plow, or of loose cattle, from a Middle English agent derivative of Old English drīfan ‘to drive’.
DromgooleIrish An Anglicized from the Irish Gaelic place name Droim Gabhail in County Louth, Ireland meaning "ridge of the forking stream." Dromgoolestown in County Louth is believed to be named after this surname... [more]
DropkinJewish, Belarusian Jewish (from Belarus): nickname from Belorussian drobka ‘crumb’+ the eastern Slavic patronymic suffix -in.... [more]
DrouillardFrench Probably a derogatory nickname, from a derivative of the regional term drouiller "to defecate", which also has various figurative senses.
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".
DruryEnglish, French, Irish Originally a Norman French nickname, derived from druerie "love, friendship" (itself a derivative of dru "lover, favourite, friend" - originally an adjective, apparently from a Gaulish word meaning "strong, vigourous, lively", but influenced by the sense of the Old High German element trut, drut "dear, beloved").... [more]
DrydenEnglish Possibly from an English place name meaning "dry valley" from the Old English elements drȳġe "dry" and denu "valley". A notable bearer was the English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright John Dryden (1631-1700).
DryerEnglish From an agent derivative of Old English dr̄gean "to dry"; possibly an occupational name for a drier of cloth. In the Middle Ages, after cloth had been dyed and fulled, it was stretched out in tenterfields to dry.
DuanChinese From Chinese 段 (duàn) meaning "section, piece, division". According to legend, the name was adopted by the descendants of Shu Duan, a son of a Zheng duke who unsuccessfully tried to overthrow his elder brother.
DubeNdebele, Zulu It means Zebra. It is usually a surname instead of a person's name used by Zimbabwean Ndebele people and South African Zulu people.... [more]
DubreuilFrench Topographic name derived from Old French breuil meaning "marshy woodland" (also derived from Late Latin brogilum, of Gaulish origin). In French the term later came to mean "enclosed woodland" and then "cleared woodland", and both these senses may also be reflected in the surname.
DubuissonFrench A topographic name for someone who lived in an area of scrub land or by a prominent clump of bushes, derived from Old French buisson meaning "small tree, bush, scrub".
DucaRomansh Derived from Romansh duca "duke, prince".
DucaRomanian Derived from the old Romanian title duca "vaivode duke".
DucaItalian from the title of rank duca "duke" (from Latin dux genitive ducis "leader") an occupational name for someone who lived or worked in the household of a duke or a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces like a duke... [more]
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]
DuchekCzech Duchek is short form of name Duchoslav.
DucheminFrench Either a topographic name with fused preposition and definite article du "from the" for someone who lived beside a path from chemin "path way" (from Late Latin caminus a word of Gaulish origin); or a habitational name for someone from Le Chemin the name of several places in various parts of France.
DuchêneFrench Means "from the oak (tree)" in French, used to denote a person who lived near an oak tree or an oak forest.
DückLow German, German North German nickname for a coward, from Low German duken ‘to duck or dive’. ... [more]
DuckEnglish, Irish English from Middle English doke "duck", hence a nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a duck, or an occupational name for someone who kept or hunted ducks. Alternatively, a variant form of Duke... [more]
DuckDutch Dutch variant of Duyck. In a German-speaking environment, this is also a variant of van Dyck and Dyck.
DuckworthEnglish Habitational name from Duckworth Fold, in the borough of Bury, Lancashire, which is named from Old English fuce "duck" and wor{dh} "enclosure".
DuclosFrench du 'from the' from Old French clos 'enclosure' (see Clos ) or a habitational name for someone from Le Clos the name of several places in various parts of France so it means "from the enclosure"
DudeEnglish Derived from Old English word doughty which meant "manly".
DudkinRussian Derived from Russian дудка (dudka) meaning "fife, pipe", referring to a folk instrument played by shepherds. Thus, it was used to denote someone who made pipes or a shepherd who played pipes.
DuerreGerman Topographic name for a person who lived on a dry, barren land, derived from Old German durri and German dürre meaning "barren, infertile". It could also be a variant of Dürr.
DueslerUpper German Andrew & brother Jacob were the Progenitors of Duesler, Duessler, Dueßler from 1752 Germany to America. ... [more]
DufauFrench The name DUFAU come from two French words DU which means « of the » and FAU which is old French for a beech tree. Surnames in France were given later so the person with this name meant he/she had a beech tree in his property... [more]
DufaultFrench Alternate spelling of Dufau, meaning "of the beech tree."
DuffRomansh Derived from the given name Duff, itself a diminutive of Rudolf.
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]
DuguidScottish Probably "do good", from a Scottish nickname for a well-intentioned person or (ironically) a do-gooder.
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.
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]
DulayFilipino, Tagalog Occupational name for a picker of fruit or a gatherer of bird nests, from Tagalog dulay meaning "climbing a tree".
DulinFrench The surname Dulin is most common in France and is an occupational name meaning "from flax". Pronounced "du LIN" in English; however, in French it is pronounced "du LON". Anglicized in some cases as Duling, Dowling, or Dulong (a more common French surname brought to England, Ireland and Scotland from French Normans and later Huguenots).
DulleaIrish Variant of Dunleavy. A well-known bearer is American actor Keir Dullea (1936-).
DummittEnglish Habitational name from Dumart-en-Ponthieu in Somme, France.
DumoulinFrench, Walloon Variant with fused preposition and definite article du "from the" of Moulin meaning "from the mill" and This surname is also found in the Flemish part of Belgium and in the Netherlands.
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]
DundasScottish, Northern Irish Scottish and northern Irish (Counties Leitrim and Fermanagh): habitational name from Dundas, a place near Edinburgh, Scotland, which is named from Gaelic dùn ‘hill’ + deas ‘south’.
DundeeScottish From the name of the city of Dundee in Scotland, derived from Gaelic dùn meaning "fort" and dè meaning "fire".
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.
DunkinsonEnglish (British) Derives from the Scottish surname of Duncanson with the same meaning of "son of Duncan". Likewise, it may derive further from the Gaelic male given name "Donnchad", related ultimately to "Donncatus", a Celtic personal name of great antiquity.
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'.
DunneIrish, English, Scottish This surname means dark and was likely given to those with a dark complexion or with dark hair.