De GoeijDutch From Dutch goei meaning "good", making this a cognate of Good. A famous bearer is the retired Dutch soccer goalkeeper Eduard de Goeij (1966-), better known as Ed de Goey.
De GoeyDutch Variant of De Goeij. Famous bearers of this name include former Dutch soccer goalkeeper Ed de Goey (1966-) and Australian rules footballer Jordan De Goey (1996-).
De HeerDutch Means "the lord" or "the gentleman" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch hêre "feudal lord, master, leader, gentleman". Could be a nickname for a person who acted as a leader, or an occupational name for someone who worked for a lord... [more]
De HoogDutch Means "the high" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch hooch "high, tall; important, noble". Either a nickname for a tall person, or for someone who is high in rank or behaves as though they are, or a habitational name from a settlement built on relatively high ground.
De LeeuwDutch, Flemish Means "the lion" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived at a house or tavern with a sign depicting a lion. In some cases, it may have been a nickname denoting a wild or courageous individual.
DellaItalian, Spanish Likely derived from the Italian and Spanish word della, meaning "of the".
DemarFrench, English Combination of the French word de, meaning "from" and the Old French word maresc, meaning "marsh".
DeMilleFrench (Belgian) Denoted a person from Hamme-Mille, a section of the municipality of Beauvechain, in the province of Walloon Brabant in Wallonia, Belgium. This surname was borne by the American filmmaker and producer Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959).
DemskyPolish, Jewish Derived from Polish dab and demb meaning "oak", which is either a habitational name from a place with the same name or an ornamental name with reference to the tree and its qualities of strength and durability.
Den UijlDutch Means "the owl" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch ule. A notable bearer was the Dutch prime minister Johannes den Uijl (1919-1987), also known as Joop den Uyl.
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).
DeutscherGerman Means "German, person from Germany" in German.
DevonJamaican Patois (Modern, Rare) The name Devon is of English and Irish origin and means "Warrior of God". This name is also very common in the British West Indies, especially Jamaica.
De WaalDutch, Walloon Means "the Walloon" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch wale, originally indicating a person who came from Wallonia, a French-speaking region of southern Belgium. It could also possibly be a variant spelling of Van Der Walle and De Walle meaning "the wall"', though evidence for this is lacking... [more]
DewanIndian, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali From a title for a high-ranking government official or minister, derived from Persian دیوان (divan) meaning "royal court, tribunal, ministry, assembly".
DickerEnglish Either an occupational name for a digger of ditches or a builder of dikes, or a topographic name for someone who lived by a ditch or dike, derived from Middle English dike or dik meaning "dyke.
DidukhUkrainian From Ukrainian дідух (didukh), meaning "didukh". A didukh is a Ukrainian Christmas decoration originating from ancient times.
DigginsNorman Diggins came to England in the 11th century wave of migration that was set off by the Norman Conquest of 1066; from the Norman baptismal name which means the son of Diccon, a diminution of the parent name, Richard.
DikshitIndian, Hindi, Odia From Sanskrit दीक्षित (dikshita) meaning "one who is initiated", ultimately from दीक्षा (diksha) meaning "initiation, dedication". The term was historically used to refer to teachers and scholars of the Brahmin caste.
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".
DinçerTurkish From Turkish dinç meaning "vigorous, energetic, active" and er meaning "man, hero, brave".
DinklageGerman Occupational name for a grain farmer or grain merchant, derived from an agent derivative of Middle High German dinkel meaning "spelt" (a variety of wheat). It could also be derived from Dinkelsbühl, a historic town in the state of Bavaria (formerly in central Franconia), or Dinklage, a town in the Vechta district, in Lower Saxony, Germany... [more]
DondoJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 闐々 (dondo), from ドンド (dondo), an onomatopoeic word for sounds of thuds and bangs, referring to a water gate; to a person working at one.... [more]
DonkerDutch Means "dark, dim, somber" in Dutch, a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion, or perhaps for someone with a gloomy demeanour.
DönmezTurkish Means "steadfast, steady, firm" in Turkish.
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".
DouwesDutch, Frisian From the given name Douwe, itself derived from Frisian dou meaning "dove, pigeon". A notable bearer was the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887), better known by his pen name Multatuli.
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.
DōyuJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 堂 (dō) meaning "temple, shrine, hall" and 湯 (yu) meaning "hot water, bath; hot spring".
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
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.
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).
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]
DubosqueFrench DuBosque means 'of the forest' in french and was a surname given typically to someone from a rural treed area.
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.
DuchêneFrench Means "from the oak (tree)" in French, used to denote a person who lived near an oak tree or an oak forest.
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]
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-).
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]
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.
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]
DupainFrench Means "of the bread" in French, probably used as an occupational name for a baker.
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.
DurieuxFrench Derived from Old French riu meaning "river, stream", originally used to indicate someone who lived by a stream.
DurkoRussian, Ukrainian, Belarusian Derived either from Russian дурной (durnoy) or Ukrainian дурний (durnyi) or Belarusian дурны (durny) all meaning "dump, foolish, stupid".
DurmazTurkish Derived from Turkish durmak meaning "to stop" or "to remain, to persist".
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.
DüzgünTurkish Means "smooth, orderly, correct" in Turkish.
DyatlovRussian From Russian дятел (dyatel) meaning "woodpecker".
DymekPolish Diminutive of Polish dym meaning "smoke".
DziałoPolish Derived from Polish działo "cannon" or "gun" as an occupational name metonymically. It can also be a nickname from Polish działać "to work", "to do", "to influence", etc.
DźwigałPolish Derived from Polish dźwigać "to lift; to lug".
EarleyGerman, Irish The surname Earley originally derived from the Old English word Eorlic which referred to one who displayed manly characteristics.... [more]
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".
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".
EdénSwedish Possibly a habitational name from a place named with the element ed "isthmus". In some cases it could also be a shortened form of EDENIUS (a combination of Swedish ed "isthmus" and the Latin suffix -enius "descendant of").
EdströmSwedish Combination of Swedish ed "isthmus" and ström "stream".
EfeTurkish Means "older brother, brave" in Turkish.
EfronJewish From a Biblical place name that was used for a mountain mentioned in Joshua 15:9 and a city mentioned in 2 Chronicles 13:19. It can also be considered to be derived from the given name Ephron.
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.
EiseleGerman Either from a diminutive of any of the Germanic given names formed with the element isarn meaning "iron" (such as Isanhard) or from Isenlin, a nickname for a blacksmith, ironworker or dealer in iron, composed of Middle High German īsen "iron" and the diminutive suffix -līn.
EkbladSwedish Combination of Swedish ek "oak" and blad "leaf".
EklandSwedish (Rare) Combination of Swedish ek "oak" and land "land". A famous bearer is Swedish actress Britt Ekland (b. 1942), but in her case, the name is a variant of Eklund.
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]
EschelsLow German A name common to the native inhabitants of the island of Föhr off the coast of northern Germany.
EscherGerman Derived from German Esche meaning "ash (tree)", a habitational name for someone who lived near an ash tree, or came from a place named after it. This name was borne by the Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher, known for making works inspired by mathematics.
EstesWelsh, Spanish, English a popular surname derived from the House of Este. It is also said to derive from Old English and have the meaning "of the East." As a surname, it has been traced to southern England in the region of Kent, as early as the mid-16th century.
EtchellsEnglish (British) This surname was a habitation name derived from the Old English word "ecels" which is roughly translated as the "dweller on a piece of land added to an estate." Alternatively, the name may have derived from the Old English word "ecan" which means "to increase."
Eto'oCentral African, Ibibio, Efik Means "tree, wood" in Ibibio and Efik. It is found predominantly in Cameroon. The former Cameroonian soccer player Samuel Eto'o (1981-) is a famous bearer of this surname.