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.
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.
DesrouleauxFrench, Haitian Creole Means "of the scrolls" in French. It is a occupational name for a scribe, a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing... [more]
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".
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]
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.'
De VignerotFrench, French (Belgian) The surname Vignerot was first found in Belgium, where the name became noted for its many branches in the region, each house acquiring a status and influence which was envied by the princes of the region... [more]
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 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]
De WaardDutch From Dutch waard "innkeeper, host, landlord, protector", derived from Middle Dutch weert. Alternatively, from Middle Dutch waert "floodplain, riverine island".
De WildeDutch Means "the wild", from Middle Dutch wilt "wild, savage, untamed".
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.
DieuFrench, Walloon From French dieu "god" given as a nickname for someone who played Christ in medieval mysteries or for a presumptious or an overly religious person, or from a short for of the given name Dieudonné.
DieulafoyFrench From Old French Dieu la foy meaning "God the faith". Famous bearers were the married couple of French archeologists Marcel Dieulafoy (1844-1920) and Jane Dieulafoy (1951-1916). A medical condition of the stomach causing gastric bleeding called "Dieulafoy's lesion" was named after Dr... [more]
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.
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]
DisharoonFrench (Americanized) Americanized form of an unidentified French name, possibly de Charente. This name was established in MD by the end of the 17th century.
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.
DonkDutch Means "sandy hill" in Dutch, specifically referring to a hill above a marsh or silty area. Element found in several place names.
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.
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.
d'OrvesFrench Denoted someone from Orve, a commune in the Doubs department in eastern France.
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]
DoucetFrench Nickname for a gentle minded person from French doux "sweet" (from Latin dulcis).
DouillardFrench Nickname for a softie, possibly derived from Old French do(u)ille meaning "soft, tender".
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.
DouxFrench From French meaning "sweet". Probably a nickname for someone who's gentle and kind-hearted.
DozierFrench Meaning "lives near willow trees" or possibly someone who made goods, such as baskets, from willow wood.
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]
DreikFrench Derived from the Old Norse given name Draki or the Old English given name Draca both meaning "dragon".
DrenthDutch From the place name Drenthe, possibly derived from Old Dutch thrie "three" and hant "lands".
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’
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]
DrostDutch, German, Danish Means "reeve, steward; sheriff, bailiff" in German and Dutch, a title for the administrative head of a court or district.
DrouillardFrench Probably a derogatory nickname, from a derivative of the regional term drouiller "to defecate", which also has various figurative senses.
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]
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.
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".
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]
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.
DuckDutch Dutch variant of Duyck. In a German-speaking environment, this is also a variant of van Dyck and Dyck.
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"
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."
DufresneFrench Topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent ash tree from Old French fraisnefresne "ash" from Latin fraxinus "ash".
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.
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).
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]
DumoulinFrench, Walloon Variant with fused preposition and definite article du "from the" of Moulin meaning "from the mill".
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.
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".
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]
DuyckFlemish Nickname from Middle Dutch duuc "duck"; in some cases the name may be a derivative of Middle Dutch duken "to dive" and cognate with Ducker... [more]
DuysterDutch Derived from Middle Dutch duuster meaning "dark, gloomy, obscure" or "stupid, terrible".
DyckDutch Topographic name for someone who lived by a dike, from Dutch dijk. Compare Dyke.
EggenkampDutch Probably from Dutch eggen "to harrow, to plough" and kamp "field".
EichhornGerman, Jewish, Belgian German topographic name for someone who lived on or near an oak-covered promontory, from Middle High German eich(e) ‘oak’ + horn ‘horn’, ‘promontory’. German from Middle High German eichhorn ‘squirrel’ (from Old High German eihhurno, a compound of eih ‘oak’ + urno, from the ancient Germanic and Indo-European name of the animal, which was later wrongly associated with hurno ‘horn’); probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, or alternatively a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a squirrel... [more]
ElenbaasDutch Reinterpretation of Elenbos or Elebaers (see Elbert), or from another Germanic personal name composed of the elements aljaz "other" or agil "point or edge (of a sword)" combined with berht "bright"... [more]
ElsevierDutch The name of a prominent Dutch publishing house of the 17th and 18th century, possibly derived from Old Hebrew הל ספר (hal safir) meaning "the book". Another suggested origin is Dutch hellevuur "hellfire" or helsche vier "four from hell", supposedly derived from a sign by the family’s house.
EmeryEnglish, French, Norman English and French from a Germanic personal name, Emaurri, composed of the elements amja ‘busy’, ‘industrious’ + ric ‘power’... [more]
EngelbertGerman, English, French From a Germanic personal name composed of engel (see Engel) + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. The widespread popularity of the name in France during the Middle Ages was largely a result of the fact that it had been borne by a son-in-law of Charlemagne; in the Rhineland it was more often given in memory of a bishop of Cologne (1216–25) of this name, who was martyred.
ErmanGerman (Modern), French (Modern) Erman is a shortened French adaption of the Swiss-German surname Ermendinger, itself derived from the older surname Ermatinger, a name connected to the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance, and came into existence during the early or middle 18th century when Jean-Georges Ermendinger (1710-1767), a Swiss fur trader from Geneva, married into a French speaking Huguenotte family... [more]
FaberGerman, Dutch, French, Danish An occupational name for a blacksmith or ironworker, ultimately derived from Latin faber "artisan, creator, craftsman, smith".
FafardFrench Possibly derived from the french 'fard' meaning 'made-up' or 'make-up'. This is in a theatrical sense and does not imply lying. Very possibly a derivation form a theatrical occupation
FarragutBreton, French, Catalan, American A Breton-French surname of unknown origin. A notable bearer was American naval flag officer David Farragut (1801-1870), who is known for serving during the American Civil War. His father was of Catalan ancestry... [more]
FerrandFrench, English This French surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a nickname (thus making it a descriptive surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval French masculine given name Ferrand, which was a variant form of the name Fernand, itself a contraction of Ferdinand.... [more]
FerrandinFrench (Rare) This French surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from the name of a profession (thus making it an occupational surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the masculine given name Ferrandin, which was a diminutive of the medieval French given name Ferrand... [more]