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.
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.
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.
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.
DuckworthEnglish Habitational name from Duckworth Fold, in the borough of Bury, Lancashire, which is named from Old English fuce "duck" and wor{dh} "enclosure".
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.
DumarsFrench Habitational name, with fused preposition and definite article du meaning “from the,” denoting someone from any of several places called Mars. This surname is very rare in France. Alternatively, it could be an altered form of some similar French surname, possibly Demars.
DumfriesScottish, Dutch, Dutch (Surinamese) From the name of a market town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, derived from Gaelic dùn meaning "fort" and preas meaning "thicket". This surname is found predominantly in Aruba, the Netherlands and Suriname... [more]
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".
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]
DunayevskyRussian Derived from the Danube, the second-longest river in Europe. Two famous bearers are Soviet film composer and conductor Isaak Dunayevsky (1900-1955), and his son, Russian film composer Maksim Dunayevsky (1945-).
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.
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'.
DunwoodyScottish, Scottish Gaelic It is said that the origin is pre 7th century Gaelic from ''dun'' or ''din'' meaning a wood or forest and ''gwydd'' which means much the same. Arguably the name means wood - wood, a result of language and dialect changing several times in the past 1500 years.
DupinFrench Means "of the pine tree" in French, referring to a person who lived near a pine tree or was from any of various locations named Le Pin.
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".
DurbinFrench Derived from the place called D'urban or D'urbin in Languedoc
DurdenEnglish A different form of Dearden. A fictional bearer is Tyler Durden, a character from Chuck Palahniuk's 'Fight Club' (1996) and its subsequent film adaptation (1999).
DürenGerman Habitational name from any of numerous places called Düren in northern Germany, in particular the one near Cologne.
DurhamEnglish Denotes a person from either the town of Durham, or elsewhere in County Durham, in England. Durham is derived from the Old English element dun, meaning "hill," and the Old Norse holmr, meaning "island."
DurieuxFrench Derived from Old French riu meaning "river, stream", originally used to indicate someone who lived by a stream.
DurrenbergerGerman habitational name for someone from any of numerous places in Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony, and Silesia named Dür(r)nberg or Dürrenberg
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]
DüsterwaldGerman Derived from Middle Low German düster "dark" combined with Old High German wald "forest".
DuterteFilipino, Cebuano Hispanicised spelling of the French surname Dutertre. A notable bearer is Rodrigo Duterte (1945-), the former president of the Philippines.
DutertreFrench Means "of the hillock, of the mound" in French.
DuttonEnglish habitational name from any of the places called Dutton, especially those in Cheshire and Lancashire. The first of these is named from Old English dun ‘hill’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’; the second is from Old English personal name Dudd + Old English tun.
DuvernayFrench Means "from the alder grove," from Gaulish vern meaning "alder" combined with Latin -etum, whence Modern French -aie, forming names of orchards or places where trees/plants are grown)... [more]
DuvillardFrench French surname, pronounced /dyvilaʁ/, whose bearers mainly live in Haute-Savoie. It means "from Le Villard", a village in the Rhône-Alpes region, whose name comes from the Latin 'villare' which means 'hamlet'... [more]
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).
DyckDutch Topographic name for someone who lived by a dike, from Dutch dijk. Compare Dyke.
DykeEnglish English - Name for someone who lived 'by the dike' from Middle English dik deke, dike deke "ditch dyke", or someone from Dyke in Lincolnshire. Medieval dikes were bigger than modern ones and often built for defense, not drainage.... [more]
EarnshawEnglish Means "person from Earnshaw", Lancashire ("Earn's nook of land" - Earn from an Old English personal name meaning literally "eagle"). In fiction this surname is borne by Catherine Earnshaw, her brother Hindley and her nephew Hareton, characters in Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights' (1847).
EastEnglish From the English vocabulary word, ultimately derived from Proto-Germanic *austrą "east". It originally denoted someone who lived to the east of something, or someone who came from the east.
EastburnEnglish Habitational name from either of two places, one in Humberside and one in West Yorkshire, so named from Old English ēast, ēasten "east" and burna "stream".
EasterbrookEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a brook to the east of a main settlement, from Middle English easter meaning "eastern" + brook meaning "stream".
EasthopeEnglish From the name of the village and civil parish of Easthope in Shropshire, England, derived from Old English est meaning "east, eastern" and hop meaning "enclosed valley".
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]
EbitsuboJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 海老坪 (Ebitsubo) meaning "Ebitsubo", a division in the area of Mimura in the city of Ishioka in the prefecture of Ibaraki in Japan.
EccbeerEnglish (Rare) From Middle English aker "field" and Old English bǣre "swine pasture," denoting someone who lived near one.... [more]
EcclesEnglish From the name of a town in Greater Manchester, England or another town or village named Eccles, derived from Latin ecclesia via Romano-British ecles meaning "church".