DobbEnglish From a nickname of Robert, a variant is Dobbs.
DobbeEnglish From the medieval personal name Dobbe, one of several pet forms of Robert in which the initial letter was altered. Compare Hobbs.
DobbersteinGerman Metonymic occupational name for a dice maker or a nickname for a dice player, from Middle High German topel ‘die’ + stein ‘stone’, ‘cube’.
DobbinsEnglish Means "son of Dobbin," which is a medieval diminutive of the name Dob, a medieval short form of the personal name Robert.
DobellEnglish (Australian) Sir William. 1899–1970, Australian portrait and landscape painter. Awarded the Archibald prize (1943) for his famous painting of Joshua Smith which resulted in a heated clash between the conservatives and the moderns and led to a lawsuit.
DobyEnglish From a diminutive of the given name Dob or Dobbe, itself a medieval diminutive of Robert (one of several rhyming nicknames of Robert in which the initial letter was altered; compare Hobbs).
DockEnglish, Scottish Possibly a variant of Duke or Duck. Alternatively, could be derived from a place name such as Doxey.
DockGerman An occupational name for someone who worked with textiles, related to the German word Tuch "cloth, piece of fabric".
DockNorwegian Habitational name from a farm called Dokk, from Old Norse dǫkk "pit, hollow, depression", itself from Proto-Germanic *dankwaz "dark".
DoeEnglish From a nickname for a gentle person, derived from Old English da "female fallow deer". A famous bearer of the name was the 21st Liberian President Samuel Doe (1951-1990).
DoeEnglish Indicated a person from Eu in northern France, itself possibly derived from Frankish *auwju "floodplain, island" or a reduction of Latin Augusta.
DoepnerGerman Derived from Middle Low German top and dop "pot". This is an occupational surname originally given to a potter.
DoerflingerGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places in Bavaria named Dörfling.
DoernerGerman Occupational name for a miller or mill worker.
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]
DollingEnglish (British) From an unrecorded Middle English word dolling, douling, or dulling meaning “dull person.” Compare Doll. Post-medieval examples of the name may also have arisen from a late assimilation of rl to ll in Dorling, a variant of Darling: Samuel Dorling, 1770 is identical with Samuel Dolling, 1782 in Parish Registers (West Stow Suffolk)... [more]
DollinsEnglish (British) Variant of Dollin, with post-medieval excrescent -s, itself a variant of Dolling, a nickname from an unrecorded Middle English word dolling douling dulling meaning “dull or stupid one” (compare Doll)... [more]
DoncastermEnglish Doncaster's name originates from the Roman fort called Danum, established around 71 AD. The term "caster" derives from the Latin castra, meaning military camp, while "Don" comes from the Old English word Dunne, referring to the nearby River Don... [more]
DondersDutch From Dutch donder meaning "thunder", a nickname for someone loud or boisterous.
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.
DonmigomEnglish In the vast expanse of the internet, I stumbled upon a captivating profile that caught my eye. Her name was Mia, and her passion for technology and finance was infectious. We connected instantly, sharing late-night conversations about dreams, ambitions, and the future... [more]
DoolingEnglish Variant of Dolling, a nickname from an unrecorded Middle English word, dolling, douling, dulling meaning “dull or stupid one.”
DoolittleEnglish From a nickname for a lazy man or an idler, from Middle English don "to do, to perform" and litel "little, small". A famous bearer of the name was American military general Jimmy Doolittle (1896-1993).
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".
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.
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).
DornGerman, Jewish, Flemish Means "thorn" in German. Given as a habitational name to someone who lived near thorn bushes, or as an ornamental name.
DornfeldGerman topographic name for someone who lived by a field where thorn bushes grew from Middle High German Middle Low German dorn "thorn" and feld "open country".
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]
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]
DossatEnglish, Scottish Possibly from French origins (used predominantly in Louisiana in the United States).
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’
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".
DoughtonEnglish Habitational name from Doughton in Gloucestershire or Doughton in Norfolk, both from Old English dūce meaning “duck” + tūn “farmstead.”
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]
DouwDutch Possibly from the given name Douwe, derived from West Frisian do "dove, pigeon". Alternatively, from a short form of David.
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.
DoveGerman, Dutch From a nickname for a deaf person, derived from Middle Low German dof or Middle Dutch doof, both meaning "deaf".
DoveEnglish From a nickname for a gentle person or an occupational name for a keeper of doves, derived from Old English *dufe or Old Norse dúfa, both meaning "dove, pigeon". In some cases, it is derived from the Middle English given name Dove, of the same origin... [more]
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.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
DrangmeisterGerman Occupational name for a healer or someone who made medicinal drinks, from Middle Low German drank "beverage, potion" and meistar "master" (from Latin magister).
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.
DreilingGerman From Middle High German drīling, meaning “third (part),” possibly denoting a service or tax obligation and hence a status name or a triplet.
DreilingGerman Habitational name from Drelingen near Uelzen, Lower Saxony.
DrenthDutch From the place name Drenthe, possibly derived from Old Dutch thrie "three" and hant "lands".
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]
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’
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
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]
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’.
DrollingerGerman Ethnic or habitational name for someone from Tyrol.
DrostDutch, German, Danish Means "reeve, steward; sheriff, bailiff" in German and Dutch, a title for the administrative head of a court or district.
DrownEnglish Derived from drone meaning "honey bee"
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]
DruxGerman Variant of Trux, which itself is a contracted form of Truxes and derived from the German word Truchsess, ultimately from Middle High German truhsaeze and Old High German truhtsazzo (from truht "band; cohort; regiment" and saza "seat; chair").... [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.
DubachGerman (Swiss) A surname describing a person from the town of Tübach in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
DuceEnglish From a nickname for a pleasant person, derived from Middle English douce "pleasant, sweet, nice". In some cases, from the given name Douce, of the same origin (see Dulcie).
DückLow German, German North German nickname for a coward, from Low German duken ‘to duck or dive’. ... [more]
DuckDutch Dutch variant of Duyck. In a German-speaking environment, this is also a variant of van Dyck and Dyck.
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]
DuckworthEnglish From the name of a minor place in Lancashire, from Old English duce "duck" and worþ "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]
DudeEnglish Derived from Old English word doughty which meant "manly".
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]
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]
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]
DunacreEnglish (British) From Scottish Gaelic dun or donn, meaning 'fort' or 'brown' respectively, and acre, as in a plot of land.
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]
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.
DunhamEnglish From any of the places in England so-called, all derived from Old English dun "hill, mountain" and ham "home, estate, settlement".
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.
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]
DuntonEnglish Either a habitational or topographic name from Dunton in Norfolk or Dunton Bassett in Leicestershire, from Middle English doune, dune "hill" (Old English dun) and Middle English toun "settlement" (Old English tun)... [more]
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.
DürerGerman, History In the case of the German painter Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), this was a variant of the German surname Türer, a German translation of Hungarian Ajtósi, meaning "doormaker", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect... [more]
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."
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]
DurwardEnglish, Scottish Occupational name meaning "doorkeeper, porter", derived from Old English duru "door" and weard "guard, guardian". In Medieval Scotland, this was a hereditary title for the warden of the king’s door.