De RaisHistory Denoted a person from the historical subregion of France, once a part of the Duchy of Brittany, Pays de Retz, historically called Rais, Rays, or Raiz during the Middle Ages. Gilles de Rais (1405-1440) was a knight and lord from Brittany, known for his confession as a serial killer of children.
DerbyshireEnglish Habitational name from a county in England, derived from Old English Deorby (see Derby) and scir "shire, district".
DereTurkish Means "creek, brook, stream" in Turkish.
De RomaMedieval Spanish (Rare) A Spanish locational surname meaning “Of Rome”, perhaps for a Spaniard who lived in Rome or an Italian expat who immigrated to Spain
DeruelleFrench Habitational name for someone who lived near a place called (la) Ruelle, for example Ruelle-sur-Touvre.
De RuiterDutch Means "the rider" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch ruter "freebooter, vagrant, robber", later meaning "cavalryman, soldier, armed horseman". It could also be a nickname based on an event, in one case deriving from an incident involving a ride on a runaway pig.
DerungsRomansh Derived from the preposition de "of" and Latin runcare "to weed out, to thin out, to root up", referring to someone who lived near a clearing.
DerwentEnglish Originating from Derwent River in England.
DesaillyFrench Originally denoted a person who came from any of the various places in northern or eastern France called Sailly, which is possibly derived from Old French saillir, salir meaning "to spring", ultimately from Latin saliō... [more]
De SantaItalian (Tuscan) The surname De Santa was first found in Lucca, a city and comune in Tuscany, capital of the province of Lucca and where Bascilican type churches abound. The history commences in 218 B.C., and passed through many hands in the intervening centuries... [more]
DesaulniersFrench (Quebec) Topographic name denoting a property distinguished by a grove of alder trees, derived from Old French au(l)ne meaning "alder".
De SaussureFrench (Swiss) Referred to a person who came from various places named Saussure, Saulxures or Saussay in northern France. Their names are derived from Medieval Latin salcetum, a derivative of Latin salix meaning "willow"... [more]
DeschenesFrench "Chenes" is French for "oak tree". In French, "Des" means more than one. "Des"+ "Chenes"= Deschenes meaning "Many oak trees."
DeslauriersFrench (Quebec) A topographic name for someone living among laurels, a combination of the fused preposition and plural definite article des ‘from the’ + the plural of Old French lorier ‘laurel’.
DesmaraisFrench Means "from the marsh", from French marais "wetlands, swamp, marsh".
DesmoinesFrench (Archaic), French (American) An archaic French surname that begins in the US. It denotes a person who lived in places named Des Moines. From French meaning "from the monks" or "of the monks".
DesmoulinsFrench A French surname meaning “of the windmills.” A famous bearer of this surname is Camille Desmoulins, a journalist and politician during the French Revolution who was guillotined.
DesogusItalian Denotes someone from the town of Sogus, which may have taken its name from Sa bia de is Ogus, "the road of the eyes".
De SouzaPortuguese Means "of Sousa" in Portuguese, referring to the River Sousa flowing through northern Portugal. The word Sousa itself is derived from the Latin saxa, saxum meaning "stone, rock". The surname is more commonly used in Brazil and Portuguese-speaking African countries today.
Des RochesFrench Either a topographic name for someone living among rocks or a habitational name from any of several places named with this word, meaning "from the rocks" in French.
DesruisseauxFrench, French (Quebec) Topographic name for someone who lived in an area characterized by streams, from the fused preposition and plural definite article des meaning "from the" and ruisseaux (plural of ruisseau) meaning "stream".
DesserJewish Habitational name from the city of Dessau in Germany.
DessiItalian Denoting someone from Sini, Sardinia, formerly called Sinu or Sii.
d'EstaingFrench Derived from Estaing, a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. A famous bearer was the French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1926-2020).
De TalleyrandFrench A French noble surname. A cadet branch of the family of sovereign counts of Périgord, they took their name from the estate of Périgord owned by these counts, and date back to Boso I, count of la Marche... [more]
De ValeraSpanish Originally indicated a person from one of the two towns named Valera in the provinces of Cuenca and Badajoz in Spain. This name was borne by American-born Irish president and prime minister Éamon de Valera (1882-1975; birth name George de Valero, also known as Edward de Valera), who was born to an Irish mother and a Cuban-Spanish father.
DevallFrench, English Devall (also DeVall) is a surname of Norman origin with both English and French ties.Its meaning is derived from French the town of Deville, Ardennes. It was first recorded in England in the Domesday Book.In France, the surname is derived from 'de Val' meaning 'of the valley.'
DevaneMarathi Someone descended from deva(god).Someone who is like a god
DevonEnglish Regional name for someone from the county of Devon. In origin, this is from an ancient British tribal name, Latin Dumnonii, perhaps meaning "worshipers of the god Dumnonos".
DevoreFrench French: variant of De Var, a habitational name for someone from a place named Var, for example in Charente. Respelling of French Devors, a habitational name, with the preposition de, for someone from Vors in Aveyron.
De WaardDutch From Dutch waard "innkeeper, host, landlord, protector", derived from Middle Dutch weert. Alternatively, from Middle Dutch waert "floodplain, riverine island".
De WinterDutch Means "the winter" in Dutch, a nickname for a cold or gloomy man, or perhaps for someone born in the winter. It could also be a habitational name referring to a house or tavern named for the season.
De WolfDutch, Flemish Means "the wolf", a nickname given to someone associated with wolves in some way, or a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a wolf. Could also be a patronymic form of Wolf.
DickensheetsEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of German Dickenscheid, a habitational name from a place named Dickenschied in the Hunsrück region. The place name is from Middle High German dicke ‘thicket’, ‘woods’ + -scheid (often schied) ‘border area’ (i.e. ridge, watershed), ‘settler’s piece of cleared (wood)land’.
DieringerGerman (Americanized) Americanized form of German Thüringer, regional name for someone from Thuringia, This was also used as a medieval personal name. Americanized form of German Tieringer, habitational name for someone from Tieringen in Württemberg.
DierkingLow German, Dutch Habitational name from a farm so named which once belonged to a certain Dierk and his kin, for instance Dircking (nowadays Derkink) in Enschede.
DifanoItalian Rare Italian surname that comes from the city of Isola di Fano, Presaro e Urbino, Italy.
DigbyEnglish Derived from the name of an English town, itself derived from a combination of Old English dic "dyke, ditch" and Old Norse býr "farm, town".
DijkhuizenDutch Means "houses in the dike" in Dutch, derived from dijk meaning "dike, ditch, levee" and huizen meaning "houses, settlement", and so indicated a person who lived in a house close to a dyke or embankment.
DillingerGerman Denoted a person from Dillingen, a district in the region of Swabia in Bavaria, Germany. This name was borne by the infamous John Dillinger (1903-1934), an American gangster and bank robber during the Great Depression.
DillinghamEnglish (British) Habitational name that probably derives from Dullingham in Cambridgeshire which was recorded as Dolingeham in 1214 and Dillyngham in 1298, named in Old English as ‘homestead (Old English hām) of the people (-inga-) of Dull(a)’.
DillonIrish, English Could be an Irish form of the Breton surname de Léon, meaning "of Léon", an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Duilleáen, from the given name Dallán "little blind one", or be from a Norman French personal name derived from Ancient Germanic Dillo, possibly a byname from dil- "destroy".
DingfelderMedieval German (Rare, Archaic) When surnames were finally adopted, family heads who originated from Thungfeld in the Steigerwald area of Mittelfranken, took the name of their traditional home area.
DingleEnglish A name for someone who lives near a dingle, a small wooded dell or hollow.
DinwiddieScottish Habitational name from Dinwoodie near Dumfries. The place name is first recorded in 1296 in the form Dinwithie/Dunwythye and is probably named with British words that are ancestors of Welsh din meaning “forest” + gwydd meaning “shrubs, bushes.”
DionFrench Meaning uncertain. It may be a habitational name from any of various locations called Dion or Dionne, derived from the Gaulish element divon- meaning "(sacred) spring" or Celtic dēwos meaning "god, deity"... [more]
DischingerGerman Habitational name for someone from Dischingen near Neresheim or Oberdischingen near Ehingen in Württemberg.
DiskinIrish (Anglicized) Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Díscín "descendant of Díscín", which may be derived from díosc "barren". The place name Ballyeeskeen, now Ballydiscin, in County Sligo, is derived from the surname.
DisraeliItalian, Jewish Originally denoted a person who came from Israel. This surname was borne by the British politician, statesman and novelist Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only British prime minister to have been of Jewish origin.
DistelGerman, Low German, Dutch Means "thistle" in German and Dutch, a topographic name for someone who lived by a patch of ground overgrown with thistles, or perhaps a nickname for a "prickly" person.
DistlerGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a place where thistles grew, from German Distel "thistle" (see Distel) and -er, suffix denoting an inhabitant.
Di TarantoItalian Habitational name for someone from the city of Taranto the provincial capital of Apulia. Variant of Taranto and Tarantino.
DjazairiArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic الجزائر (al-Jazā’ir) meaning "the islands", referring to the country of Algeria or referring to an Algerian person. This surname could be used to refer to someone from the city of Algiers, or just a general Algerian person.
DoeEnglish Indicated a person from Eu in northern France, itself possibly derived from Frankish *auwju "floodplain, island" or a reduction of Latin Augusta.
DoerflingerGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places in Bavaria named Dörfling.
DolbergDanish, German A name for a village in North Rine-Westphalia Germany.
DoldersumDutch From the name of a village, derived from heim "home, settlement" and an uncertain first element.
DoleEnglish, Irish (Anglicized) English: from Middle English dole ‘portion of land’ (Old English dal ‘share’, ‘portion’). The term could denote land within the common field, a boundary mark, or a unit of area; so the name may be of topographic origin or a status name... [more]
DonkDutch Means "sandy hill" in Dutch, specifically referring to a hill above a marsh or silty area. Element found in several place names.
DonskikhRussian Derived from the name of the Don river, derived from an Aryan root meaning "river".
DoornbosDutch Denoted a person who lived near thorn bushes, derived from Dutch doornbos literally meaning "thorn bush".
DopereiroGalician This is a surname that alludes to the locality of Pereiro de Aguiar (northern Spain). Also, this is an apple tree and its fruit is the pero (apple fruit).
Do PereyroGalician Do Pereyro is an apple tree. It is very old surname, dating from the Middle Ages. Do Pereyro comes from Galicia (northern Spain).
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.
DornGerman, Jewish, Flemish Means "thorn" in German. Given as a habitational name to someone who lived near thorn bushes, or as an ornamental name.
DornEnglish Either a place name from Dorn, Worcestershire, possibly derived from a root word meaning "fort, stronghold", or a variant of Thorn from Middle High German dorn "thorn" (from ancient Germanic þurnaz).
DorsaItalian Derived from the Albanian placename Durrës.
DorstGerman, Dutch Either a topographic name for someone who lived on dry hard ground from dörr "dry" or a habitational name from any of the places called Dorst near Cologne or Helmstedt or Dorste in the Harz Mountains... [more]
d'OrvesFrench Denoted someone from Orve, a commune in the Doubs department in eastern France.
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.
DøskelandNorwegian A surname originating from south-western Norway. The Døskeland farm in Sande, Gaular is the most notable place name. An older pronunciation, Dysjeland, has also been suggested by the Norwegian archaeologist Oluf Rygh... [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]
DotaJapanese From 土 (do) meaning "soil, ground earth" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
DotaniJapanese (Rare) 戸 (Do) means "door" or 藤 (do) means "wisteria". 谷 (Tani) means "valley".
DouchiJapanese Possibly from 戸 (do) meaning "door" and 内 (uchi) meaning "inside".
DoughtonEnglish Habitational name from Doughton in Gloucestershire or Doughton in Norfolk, both from Old English dūce meaning “duck” + tūn “farmstead.”
DōuneJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 堂 (dō) meaning "temple, shrine, hall" and 畝 (une) meaning "raised ridge of earth in a field; furrow", referring to possibly a place with a hall and a field.
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]
DownEnglish Derived from Old English dun meaning "down, low hill".
DowningEnglish Topographic name derived from Middle English doun "hill, down" (see dun). Compare Downer.
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).
DozierFrench Meaning "lives near willow trees" or possibly someone who made goods, such as baskets, from willow wood.
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.
DragonettiItalian Diminutive of Drago or Dragone meaning "dragon". Can also derive from a toponym, which may have been named after a person with the given name Dragonetti, or perhaps for the sulphur springs in the area.
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]
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
DrielsmaDutch, Jewish Derived from the Frisian town IJlst. IJlst in Frisian is Drylts > Dryls > Driels combined with the Frisian surname suffix -(s)ma, which is most likely derived from Old Frisian monna meaning "men". Drielsma has Frisian Jewish origins.... [more]
DrollingerGerman Ethnic or habitational name for someone from Tyrol.
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]
DrumScottish Habitational name from a place and castle in Aberdeenshire named from Gaelic druim "ridge".
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".
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).
Du AiméFrench The Duaime surname comes from an Old French word "hamel," which meant "homestead." It was likely first used as a name to describe someone who lived at a farm on the outskirts of a main town, or for someone that lived in a small village.
DualRomansh Derived from the preposition de "of" and Romansh ual "brook, creek".
DuanChinese From Chinese 段 (duàn) referring to the ancient fief of Duan Gan (段干).
DubachGerman (Swiss) A surname describing a person from the town of Tübach in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
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".
DucasFrench Habitational name, with fused preposition and definite article du meaning “from the,” for someone from any of various minor places called with cas, an Old Occitan variant of Old French chas meaning “house.”
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.
DuddridgeEnglish It is locational from a "lost" medieval village probably called Doderige, since that is the spelling in the first name recording (see below). It is estimated that some three thousand villages and hamlets have disappeared from the maps of Britain over the past thousand years... [more]
DudzińskiPolish Habitational name from Dudyńce or from the surname Duda suffixed with -iński based on habitational surnames.
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.
DufresneFrench Topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent ash tree from Old French fraisnefresne "ash" from Latin fraxinus "ash".
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]
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.
DuhaylungsodFilipino, Cebuano Means "having two hometowns" from Cebuano duha meaning "two" and lungsod meaning "town."
DuhonFrench Altered form of French Duon, possibly a habitational name from Duon-Grande a place in Lozère. The surname Duon is very rare in France.
DuhonFrench Gascon variant of Dufon or Dufond, which is a topographic name from fond meaning “bottom,” with fused preposition and definite article du meaning “from the.” The surname Duhon is very rare in France.