Surnames starting with D

An Italian surname meaning “of Agostino,” originally marking someone as the son or family of a man named Agostino.

An Italian surname meaning “son of Alessandro,” or more loosely “of Alessandro.”

An Italian surname meaning “son of Ambrose” or “belonging to Ambrose.”

An Italian surname meaning “of Amico” or “son/descendant of Amico,” originally marking family connection to the personal name Amico.

An Italian surname meaning “of love,” originally formed from the word for love or from a devotional name tied to Love as a personal or religious idea.

An Italian surname meaning “of Andrew,” originally marking someone as the son or family of a man named Andrea.

A surname meaning “of Angelo” or “son of Angelo,” originally marking descent from a man named Angelo.

An Italian surname meaning “son of Onofrio,” ultimately from the saint’s name Honorius/Onuphrius.

A Goan and Mangalorean surname ultimately meaning “of Sousa,” pointing to a family connection with the place-name Sousa in Portugal.

An Italian surname most likely built on the word for “bear,” with roots in a nickname or personal name.

A Portuguese and Spanish surname meaning “from the coast” or “of the shore.”

A Portuguese surname meaning “of the wood” or “from the forest.”

A surname most likely from the old given name Dobb/Dob, with the spelling shaped by regional pronunciation.

An English surname that likely developed as a French place-name surname, ultimately from Aubigny/Aubigné, with the French prefix d' absorbed into the name.

An English surname with several possible origins, most likely from the Old English name-element dag- meaning “day,” though some authorities also link it to London’s Dowgate or to a Yorkshire nickname form.

A surname from German and Scandinavian words for “valley,” often referring to someone who lived in or near a valley.

A Swedish place-based surname meaning “valley mountain” or “hill by the dale.”

A Welsh nickname surname from a familiar short form of David.

A French surname most likely descended from a place-name or an old local name, now especially familiar in French Canada and Louisiana.

A short surname probably connected with a valley or low-lying place, especially in Gaelic or northern English usage.

A common spelling variant of the Irish surname Daly, sometimes also influenced by the English word “daily.”

A Scottish surname taken from Dailly, a parish place-name in Ayrshire.

Likely a short English surname, possibly a variant of Day or Dake/Dack-style nickname forms, with the exact origin uncertain.

A surname for someone who lived in or near a valley, especially one with roots in northern English place-names.

An Irish surname that is usually explained as meaning “blind” or “descendant of the blind man,” though some later sources also link it to a Gaelic descriptive byname.

A Scottish surname taken from a place name, most famously the parish and burgh of Dallas in Moray.

A Scottish place-based surname from Ayrshire, probably meaning something like “the valley by the pool” or a related landscape feature.

A habitational surname meaning “from Dalton,” referring to one of several English and Scottish places with that name.

An Irish surname, often explained as meaning “blind,” and strongly associated with the old bardic O’Daly families.

An old surname that may come from a personal name or a nickname for a woman-headed household, with origins that are not entirely certain.

A French surname probably built from a personal name or a diminutive form, with some early writers linking it loosely to notions of rank or nobility.

A surname from the personal name Damian, ultimately tied to the Greek name of a saint and early Christian tradition.

A surname that is often a short form or variant of names like Diamond or Daymond, though in some cases it may be a direct baptismal surname.

An English surname most likely from a medieval personal name or nickname, later carried to North America in various spellings.

An old Celtic surname often explained as meaning “bold” or “daring,” though some bearers may also reflect other local or patronymic origins.

An English surname likely from the place-name Dansey or Densy, later fixed in forms like Dancy and Dancey.

An English surname probably from a place name, most likely meaning “from Tandridge.”

An English place-based surname meaning “the ford of the Danes.”

A surname that is often a modern spelling found in several languages, including Chinese and some South Asian traditions, rather than a single classic English-origin name.

A common surname taken from the biblical given name Daniel, meaning “God is my judge.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Daniel.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Daniel.”

A surname with East Slavic roots, often a pet form built from a short name stem like Dan- or Dank-.

An English-language surname of uncertain origin, likely a family-name form built from an older name or place element ending in -ley.

A short form of Daniel, originally a biblical baptismal surname meaning “God is my judge.”

A surname that may be a shortened or altered form related to Irish names such as Danaher/Daniher, though the exact origin is uncertain.

A surname most likely linked to “Dan,” meaning a Dane, though in some German contexts it may also be tied to place or personal-name forms beginning with Dann-.

A German-style surname that likely began as a family name brought to America by immigrants, with the ending -ler suggesting a habitational or occupational origin.

Dao is a short surname found in several cultures, often as a transliterated East or Southeast Asian family name.

A surname most often taken from Derby, the English city and county—though in Ireland it can also reflect the Gaelic personal name Diarmuid.

A surname that usually began as a Norman French place-name meaning “from Arcy” or a related French locality.

A surname with several possible origins, most likely a French or English place-name surname that later spread into the Anglophone world.

Usually a shortened or variant form of an old personal-name element meaning “deer” or “wild animal,” though some bearers may come from other local or surname developments.

A surname that began as a nickname for a beloved or favored person.

An English surname with disputed roots, often linked either to a place-name or to an old word for the weed darnel.

A surname with several possible roots, including a nickname meaning “dear” or a shortened Germanic personal name.

An Irish surname most often linked to a word for an oak tree, with several close spelling variants.

A surname with uncertain origins, probably from an older nickname or place-name source rather than a single clear family line.

An English surname that can come from a place-name, especially from the River Dart in Devon, or less securely from the Old English word for a dart or spear.

A surname with several possible origins, most likely from a place-name or an old descriptive byname rather than one single family line.

Likely a topographic surname for someone who lived by an ash tree or an ash-wood, though some early writers also linked it to French place-name forms.

An Irish surname, usually an anglicized form of a Gaelic name tied to Donegal and Ulster families.

An English surname that likely began as a place-name spelling of Hawtrey/Dawtrey, later reshaped in American usage.

Usually a short form of names like David, Dave is a familiar given-name-derived surname or byname.

A habitational surname meaning “from Davenport,” a place-name in Cheshire.

A surname usually from the given name David, with Davey preserving an old familiar form of that name.

A surname taken from the biblical given name David, meaning “beloved.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of David.”

A surname usually taken as a familiar form of David, especially in Scots and English use.

A Welsh patronymic surname meaning “son of David,” later also used widely in England.

A very common patronymic surname meaning “son of David,” especially associated with Wales and the English-speaking world.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of David.”

A surname usually meaning “son of David,” from a familiar medieval form of the biblical name.

An English surname that usually comes from the medieval nickname Daw, often a short form of David.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Daw,” with Daw a short form of David or, in some sources, Day.

Originally a surname meaning “son of Daw,” later associated by some writers with David or with Normandy, though the patronymic explanation is the standard one.

A common surname with more than one origin, most often from the given name David or from a place-based form such as D'Eye/Deye.

A spelling variant of Day, usually from the word for daylight or a nickname tied to it.

A name that most likely began as a place-name surname, meaning someone from a town or settlement called Dayton.

An Italian surname meaning “of the angels,” originally a devotional or family-name form linked to the given name Angelo.

A Dutch surname meaning “the farmer” or “the peasant,” originally used to identify someone by occupation or rural status.

A Dutch surname meaning “the great” or “the tall one,” originally used as a descriptive nickname.

A Spanish surname meaning “of Guzmán,” originally pointing to someone from the town of Guzmán or connected with the noble house of that name.

A Spanish surname meaning “from the hollows” or “of the hollows,” originally indicating someone from a low-lying place.

A devotional surname meaning “of Jesus,” originally marking religious devotion or connection to the Christian name Jesus.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the stag,” originally a noble-style name tied to a place or lineage associated with that symbol.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the Cross,” originally referring to Christian devotion or a place named for the Cross.

A Spanish surname meaning “from the spring” or “from the fountain.”

A Spanish surname meaning “of the heron” or “from the heron,” originally a nickname or place-based name.

A Spanish surname meaning “of peace,” usually formed from a devotional or place-based phrase.

A Spanish surname meaning “from the rock” or “of the stone.”

A Spanish surname meaning “of the bridge,” originally attached to someone who lived near or came from a bridge.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the rose,” originally pointing to a place, landmark, or house marked by a rose.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the tower,” originally identifying someone who lived by or came from a tower or fortified place.

A Spanish locational surname meaning “from the meadow” or “from the lowland,” originally pointing to someone who came from a place called Vega.

A Spanish surname meaning “of Leon,” originally marking someone from the city or region of León in Spain.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the kings,” originally referring to someone connected with the Feast of the Three Kings or a place/devotional name using that phrase.

A Spanish-language surname meaning “of the saints,” originally a devotional or religious family name.

A southern Italian surname meaning “of Lucia,” originally marking someone as the child, family member, or person associated with Lucia.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the moon,” originally marking someone from a place called Luna or associated with that name.

A surname meaning “of Mary” or “from Mary,” common in Italian and other Romance-language traditions.

A Portuguese surname meaning “from the olive tree” or “of Oliveira,” often pointing to a family connected with a place named Oliveira.

A surname built on the Spanish phrase for “of peace,” often found as a devotional or honorific name.

A surname meaning “of the forest” or “from the woods,” especially common in Portuguese- and Sri Lankan/Goan-descended families.

An Italian surname meaning “of Simon,” originally used to identify someone as the son or family member of a man named Simone.

A Portuguese surname meaning “from Sousa,” originally pointing to someone from a place called Sousa.

A surname from the church office of deacon, originally used for someone who held that post or was identified with it.

Usually a locational surname from Deal, the town in Kent, though in some cases it may be a variant or corruption of Dale.

A common English surname either from a dean of the church or, more often, from someone who lived near a valley or plain.

A Spanish-language surname often understood as meaning “from Anda” or “of Anda,” likely pointing to a place or locality name.

A habitational surname for someone who lived near or in a dean, meaning a valley or low-lying place.

A surname built from the name Angelo, often meaning "of Angelo" or "from the angelic one."

A Scottish surname that likely began as a place name, especially from the Lanarkshire district of Deans.

An English surname that may have begun as a nickname for someone “dear” or beloved, though in some cases it may relate to the deer.

A surname most likely tied to the older name Dering, with possible roots in an Old English personal name or a nickname connected to a deer.

An English surname that most likely began as a pet-form personal name, though some sources also connect it with deer-keeping or deer hunting.

A Scottish and Irish surname that likely began as a Gaelic nickname or place-name element meaning “south,” “pleasant,” or “beautiful,” depending on the family line.

A surname with a few possible roots, most likely linked to forms of Dyson or to a Flemish place-name element.

A surname most likely from an English place-name, originally meaning someone from or near a town called Denton or Deaton.

A surname with a likely Irish origin, often explained as a form linked to a word meaning “dark” or “black.”

A surname usually formed from a French-style place name or descriptive byname beginning with de-, often pointing to an ancestral connection with a place called Berry.

A surname most often understood as French in origin, probably meaning someone from or near a boundary, bank, or edge.

A name meaning “of Carlo” or “son of Carlo,” pointing back to the given name Carlo (Charles).

A surname meaning “of Castro,” originally marking someone from a place called Castro.

A surname with several possible roots, including a nickname from the word for a ship’s deck or a continental form like German Deck/Decker.

A surname most likely from a German personal name, brought into English-speaking countries by immigrants and their descendants.

A surname with both Dutch and German roots, most often tied to roofing or covering with thatch, tile, or shingles.

A surname usually built from a French-style “de + Costa,” meaning “of the coast” or from a place name with Costa.

A surname most often taken from someone who lived by the River Dee in Cheshire or Aberdeenshire.

An Irish surname most often linked to a Gaelic nickname meaning “little dark one” or “black-haired one.”

A name that likely began as a short form or variant of Deal, ultimately tied to a valley or to a personal name in some cases.

Most likely from an old word for a judge or law-speaker, with roots in the idea of “to judge” or “to deem.”

A surname that can point to a local topographical origin from a valley or to an occupational title meaning “the dean.”

An old surname usually explained as meaning “son of Dering,” with Dering itself tied to an old personal name linked to a bear or to “dear/beloved.”

Usually a variant of the Irish surname Dease, ultimately tied to the historic people of Desies/Deise in southeastern Ireland.

An English and Scottish surname that likely began as a nickname or a shortened form of an older personal name.

A surname meaning “of Felice” or “descended from Felice,” built from the personal name Felice, “happy” or “fortunate.”

A surname usually understood as a shortened or altered form of a continental personal-name surname, often linked to an old word for “deer” or “hart.”

A surname that likely began as a place-based name meaning “from the haven” or “from the harbor.”

A German surname likely from a short form of names built on an old word for “people” or a related nickname form.

A Dutch and Flemish surname meaning “the young,” often from a nickname or family distinction.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the castle,” originally marking someone who came from or lived near a castle or fortification.

A Spanish-style surname meaning “of the royal” or “from the royal place,” likely tied to a place name or descriptive byname.

A Spanish and Italian-style surname meaning “of the river,” originally a place-based name.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the Rosary,” originally marking devotion to the Virgin Mary and the rosary prayer.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the bull,” usually pointing to a place name, a farm, or a house sign rather than a literal nickname.

A Spanish and Hispanic surname meaning “of the valley,” originally used for someone from a place called Valle or who lived in a valley.

An Italian surname meaning “of the old man” or “from the old one,” originally a descriptive byname.

An Irish surname usually from Gaelic Ó Dubhshláine, meaning “descendant of Dubhshláine,” a personal name often glossed as “dark challenge” or “dark defiance.”

A French surname most likely meaning “of the meadow” or “from the meadow.”

A surname most likely built from a Romance-language place or family-name prefix plus a shorter name element, rather than from a single clear English word.

A surname that is probably Irish in origin, but in some cases may also have come from French-looking forms such as De la Haye or Delarue.

A surname of Spanish-language appearance, likely built from a place-name or a descriptive nickname rather than an English occupational root.

An Italian surname most likely built from the personal name Leo, often understood as “of Leo” or “from the Leo family.”

A Spanish surname meaning “little Delgado,” ultimately based on a nickname for someone slim, delicate, or slight.

A Spanish nickname surname meaning “thin,” “slender,” or “delicate.”

Originally a classical epithet of the goddess Diana, meaning “of Delos,” Delia later became a personal name and a surname in some families.

A French surname meaning “of the island,” originally marking someone who lived near or came from an island or island-like place.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably a shortened form or regional spelling that developed from older local-name or nickname forms.

A topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a small valley or dell.

A surname of German origin, most likely meaning someone from a place called Dellingen or Delling.

A surname most often understood as a variant of De Lisle or De La(s) something, probably built from a French place-name element.

A surname often understood as a shortened French form of a place-based name meaning “of the long one” or “the tall man,” though the exact origin is not fully certain.

An Italian surname meaning “of Lorenzo,” originally marking someone as the son, family member, or person associated with a man named Lorenzo.

A surname with likely German roots, probably a shortened or dialect form related to older names like Dultpert/Delpert.

An Italian surname meaning “from Luke” or “of Luca,” originally pointing to a person named Luca.

An Italian surname usually meaning “of Maio,” a name tied to the month of May or to a personal name derived from it.

A surname meaning “of Marco,” usually pointing to descent from a man named Marco or Mark.

A French surname that likely means “from March” or, more broadly, is tied to the month of March in a nickname-like way.

An Italian surname most often understood as meaning “of Matthew” or “from the place of Mato/Mattia.”

A surname of Portuguese origin, typically meaning someone from the Mello family line or from a place called Mello.

A rare surname that may come from a nickname or an older French word-form, but its exact origin is uncertain.

A surname most likely tied to the French phrase for “of the sea,” though its exact family origin can vary by line.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely from an old personal name or regional family line rather than a clear occupational meaning.

A surname most likely built from a French-style prefix plus a place- or nature-based root, though its exact origin is uncertain.

An Irish surname from O'Dempsey, originally a family name tied to an ancestral personal name or byname in medieval Ireland.

A common Chinese surname, most often linked to an ancient state and later clan name.

A locational surname meaning “from Denham,” a name borne from several English places called Denham.

A classic French surname and given name from Saint Denis, the patron saint of Paris.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Denis” or “son of Dennis.”

An English surname most likely meaning “dweller in a valley or den,” though some 19th-century writers also linked it to an old byname for a swineherd.

A surname most often taken from the country name, used for someone identified as being from Denmark.

A surname most likely from a place-name, especially the Scottish village of Denny or related local names.

A surname with multiple possible roots, most likely a patronymic or nickname form built from the old personal name Denn/Dan or related diminutive forms.

A surname that usually comes from the given name Denis, originally tied to St. Denis, France’s patron saint.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Denis,” with some historical spelling overlap from Tennison/Tennyson forms.

Usually a pet-form surname from Dennis, and sometimes a shortened or altered form of a place-based name.

An English-language surname whose exact origin is uncertain, though it is likely a later altered form of an older name beginning with Den-.

A surname usually understood as meaning “Dennis’s son,” with medieval forms also linked to Denning and Denison.

A surname that most often began as a local name for someone from Dent in Yorkshire.

A habitational surname meaning “from Denton,” taken from one of several English places with that name.

An Italian surname meaning “of the palm,” usually pointing to a place called Palma or to the palm tree as a symbolic name.

A surname of Italian origin meaning “of Pasquale,” originally marking someone as the son or family member of a man named Pasquale.

A surname likely reshaped in America from French Dupuy, meaning “of the hill” or “from the hill.”

A surname most likely referring to “the priest” in French or a Norman/French-influenced form of the same occupational name.

A locational surname from Derby, the historic county town in central England.

An Italian surname meaning “of Rose” or “from the rose,” often tied to a place name or a house sign featuring a rose.

A surname usually understood as “of Rose” or “from Rose,” often shaped by Romance-language naming habits.

Usually an Anglicized spelling of the German surname Doerr/ Dör, linked to the idea of a thorn or, in some cases, a personal nickname.

Usually a surname from the medieval name Theodoric, though in Cornwall it was also linked to a word for a sexton or gravedigger.

A surname with multiple likely origins, most often linked to Ireland and the place-name Derry or to Gaelic forms that were anglicized as Deery/Derry.

A South Asian surname that originally marked a village headman or local landholder, especially in western India.

A Spanish surname meaning “of Santiago,” originally pointing to a place, family connection, or devotion to Saint James.

An Italian surname meaning “of the saint” or “from the saints,” originally marking a family’s devotion or connection to a saint’s name.

A surname that may reflect the French word for “desire,” though its exact family-history origin is not well established from the available evidence.

A French locational surname meaning “of the gardens” or “from the gardens.”

A French surname meaning “of the marshes,” originally used for someone who lived near marshy ground.

An Irish surname and given name tied to the old Gaelic kingdom of Desmond in Munster.

A Portuguese surname meaning “from Sousa,” originally pointing to someone from the Sousa region or estate.

A surname usually understood as a French-style form of the old place-name surname d'Espagne, meaning “from Spain.”

A French habitational surname meaning “from the rose bushes” or “from the rose garden.”

An Italian surname meaning “son or descendant of Stefano,” with Stefano being the Italian form of Stephen.

A habitational surname for someone from a place called Detweil/Datweil, especially in Zurich or the Palatinate.

A Germanic surname probably meaning someone from a place called Dettweiler or a related village name.

A German surname and nickname meaning “German” or “from the German-speaking area.”

An Irish surname usually understood as a variant of Devany/Deveney, ultimately from Gaelic forms beginning with Ó Dubháin or a related name.

A surname most likely built from a French-style place name or an altered form of a similar surname, with the prefix De- suggesting “of” or “from.”

A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as an Irish name and sometimes linked to older forms like Devine or to continental names such as Devereux.

A rare surname that is most likely a variant spelling of a name built on Devereux or a related place-based form.

A French surname that most likely began as a place-based name, ultimately tied to a place called Évreux in Normandy.

An Irish surname most likely tied to a form of Dever/Devere or an older Gaelic name that was later Anglicized in different ways.

A surname usually taken from French place-names meaning “of the town” or “from the village,” though some medieval cases may reflect other origins.

An Irish surname usually linked to a Gaelic personal name meaning “poet,” though some families may have a different local origin.

An Italian surname meaning “of Vito,” originally marking someone as the child or family of a man named Vito.

An Irish surname usually linked to a Gaelic personal name meaning “fierce” or “unlucky,” though older writers also connected it with Dublin.

A surname most often understood as a French-style name meaning “of Vaux” or “from the place called Vaux.”

A surname that most likely began as a French name meaning “of Vore” or “from Vore,” though in some families it may reflect other European sources.

A Dutch and Frisian surname meaning “the Frisian” or “from Friesland.”

A surname most likely taken from the Norman place-name Eu, rather than from the English word for morning moisture.

A surname ultimately from a Germanic personal name built on words meaning “people” and “rule” or “power.”

An English surname most likely taken from Dewsbury, a place-name in Yorkshire.

An American surname most likely derived from a Dutch place-name pattern, originally meaning someone from a farm or settlement called De Wees or De Wiese.

Usually an English patronymic surname meaning “son of Dewin,” though in some cases it may reflect the Welsh name Dewi (David).

A surname usually derived from a Dutch place-name element meaning “by the wood” or “at the forest.”

A surname with two main explanations: most often taken as a form of De Exeter, and sometimes linked to the Latin word for “right” or “fortunate.”

A surname found in medieval England, probably from the Old English word for a servant or dairy worker, though some cases may have other local origins.

A surname meaning “the young one,” often a Dutch or Low German family name that became fixed as De Young, DeJong, or similar forms.

A Punjabi Sikh surname and clan name, widely used as a family name in North India and the diaspora.

An Italian surname meaning “of Carlo,” originally identifying someone as the son or family member of a man named Carlo.

An Italian surname meaning “son of Giacomo” or “of Giacomo,” from the given name James/Jacob.

An Italian surname meaning “son of Iorio” or “descendant of Iorio,” from a traditional given name.

An Italian surname meaning “of Lorenzo,” marking descent from or association with a man named Lorenzo.

An Italian patronymic surname meaning “son of Stefano,” literally “of Stephen.”

An English and Irish surname often treated as a spelling variant or corruption of Doyle, with some historical uncertainty.

A West African surname most famously associated with Fulani and related communities.

Usually an English surname from a French place-name or baptismal name, though some bearers may have taken it as a nickname or ornamental name.

A surname most often linked to the Portuguese and Spanish word for “days,” though in some cases it may also be a patronymic or older Iberian name form.

An English surname with several possible origins, most likely a short form or variant tied to a personal name rather than a place.

An Italian surname meaning “of Benedict,” originally marking a family connection to the given name Benedetto.

A surname most likely linked to the English place-name Diss in Norfolk, with medieval spellings such as Dice and Disse.

A short form of Richard that became a surname in medieval England and Scotland.

Usually a surname from Richard, meaning “son of Dick,” though some early forms were influenced by related nicknames and diminutive forms.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Dick,” with Dick being a familiar form of Richard.

A surname that usually means “son of Dick,” with Dick being a medieval pet form of Richard.

Usually a surname that began as a pet form of Richard, though some older writers also tried to link it to local or place-based origins.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Dick,” with Dick as a medieval short form of Richard.

A surname most likely meaning either “man from the dyke” or a nickname-based form built on Dick.

A surname that usually began as a patronymic from Dick, a familiar medieval short form of Richard.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Dick,” with Dick serving as a familiar medieval short form of Richard.

An Italian surname meaning “son of Donato,” originally marking descent from a man named Donato.

A German surname from the old personal name Dietrich, meaning “ruler of the people.”

A Spanish surname and given name originally tied to the name Diego, traditionally explained as a shortened form related to Jacob.

A German surname most often understood as a short form of names based on the old Germanic element for “people” or “folk.”

A surname with likely Dutch or North German roots, probably from a place-name or a word meaning “deep.”

A German surname that usually began as a short form of names like Dietrich or Dieterich, ultimately meaning “people” or “folk” in an old Germanic sense.

A German surname from a famous old personal name meaning “people’s ruler” or “people mighty.”

A German surname usually from a short form of Dietrich or Dietmar, ultimately from an old name element meaning “people.”

A surname most likely descended from the old nickname form of Richard, with Diggs as a later spelling alongside Dix and Dickson forms.

An Italian patronymic surname meaning “son of Giovanni” or “of Giovanni.”

A surname with several possible roots, including a shortened form of Dilke or a nickname/personal-name source in medieval records.

An old English surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational name, and may also reflect a place-based origin in some cases.

A surname with several possible roots, including a German diminutive line and an English nickname sense tied to “dill” or “to dill.”

A surname most likely developed as a diminutive or variant of the old personal name Till/Dill, rather than from a place-name or occupation.

A place-based surname from an English village name, probably meaning “the homestead or settlement associated with Dilla/Dylla’s people.”

A surname probably from a medieval personal name, though older sources sometimes guessed it was linked to a trade.

An Irish surname best known from a noble family in Ireland, though its deeper origin is uncertain.

An old English surname probably developed as a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name, later recorded in several English and continental variants.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely from a nickname or a place-name rather than a single fixed origin.

A habitational surname from Dilworth in Lancashire, originally meaning someone who came from that place.

An Italian surname meaning “from Maio,” originally marking someone as the son or descendant of a man named Maio or living near a place associated with that name.

An Italian surname meaning “son of Marco” or “of Marco,” marking descent from a man named Marco.

A surname most likely from the personal name Dimas, ultimately linked to the New Testament figure known as the Good Thief or St. Dismas.

An Italian surname most likely meaning “from Nardo” or “son of Nardo.”

A surname with a few possible roots, including a short form of Germanic names and, in some cases, a place-name origin.

Likely a surname formed from a Germanic place-name element or nickname pattern, with some early evidence pointing to German and Dutch forms.

A locational surname for someone who lived by, or came from, a small narrow valley or dell.

A surname most likely built from the personal name Ding plus the common man element, giving the sense of “Ding’s man” or a man associated with that name.

A surname with several possible East Asian origins, most often Vietnamese, and sometimes romanized from Chinese characters.

A surname most likely from a medieval pet form of a personal name, with the ending -kins meaning "little" or "son of."

An old place-based surname, probably from a place called Dinmore or a similar local name.

A surname that usually comes from the given name Dion, ultimately tied to the Greek name of Dionysus, but in some cases it may also reflect a French form of Denis/Dionis.

A French surname that began as a personal name, often linked to Dion or Denis-type forms.

An Italian surname meaning “of Pietro” or “son of Pietro,” pointing to descent from a man named Pietro (Peter).

A Dutch and North German surname meaning “son of Dirk,” the old short form of Dietrich/Theodoric.

An occupational surname likely meaning “dish maker” or “dish seller,” from a medieval trade name.

A surname from Normandy: it likely began as “de Isigny,” meaning someone from Isigny near Bayeux.

A short English surname that likely began as a pet-name form of Richard, via Dick.

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Dick,” with Dick being a medieval nickname for Richard.

A spelling variant of Dixon, originally meaning “son of Dick” or “son of Richard.”

A Filipino surname most often understood as a patronymic form built on a local personal name or nickname, rather than a classic European-style occupational surname.

A short surname with several possible origins, often tied to Asian naming traditions rather than a single English root.

A Scottish and Irish surname usually linked to a short form of a personal name, though the exact origin is not fully settled.

A surname usually linked to a place-name meaning “the down” or “hill-slope,” though some bearers may also reflect Irish and Manx surname forms.

An English and American surname most often treated as a local name meaning someone who lived on a down or hillside.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Dob,” a short form of Robert.

Dobbs is a pet-form surname from Robert, ultimately coming from the medieval nickname Dob.

An English and Scottish patronymic meaning “son of Dob,” where Dob was a medieval nickname for Robert.

A surname most likely from a place-name, probably referring to someone from Dockwray in Cumberland.

A surname that usually began as a nickname or occupational label for a learned or medical man.

An old English surname from a short personal name, likely meaning “son of Dodd” in many cases.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Dod,” with Dod being an old personal name.

A surname with two old explanations: in English records it may come from the nickname Dod or Dodd, though one older source also linked it to the verb “to dodge.”

Originally a patronymic meaning “son of Dodd” or “son of Doda,” a medieval personal-name form.

An English surname originally from the animal name “doe,” the female deer.

A German surname often representing the spelling Doer or Dör, sometimes linked to a word meaning a spear or to German vowel simplification.

A surname with uncertain origins, often linked to an old London place-name or to an older personal name.

An Irish surname from the name of an ancient Donegal lordly family, now widely found in Ulster and the Irish diaspora.

An Irish surname most often explained as meaning “descendant of the dark one” or linked to an older Gaelic personal name.

A surname that likely began as a place-name or boundary-mark term, and in some cases may also reflect a local town-name in Brittany.

A surname with several possible origins, including a nickname from “doll,” a pet form of a given name, or a short form of place-based names.

A surname most often taken from the town and parish of Dollar in Clackmannanshire, Scotland.

A Polish surname meaning someone from a place called Dąbrowa, originally linked to oak woods or a grove.

A surname from the personal name Domingo, ultimately meaning “of the Lord” and often tied to the day Sunday or the feast day of St. Dominic.

A surname of Spanish and French shape, ultimately from the Latin name Domingo, meaning “belonging to the Lord” or “born on Sunday.”

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Domingo,” ultimately from the Latin name Dominicus, “of the Lord.”

A given-name surname from the Christian name Dominic, originally linked to Sunday or “the Lord.”

An Irish surname from the same roots as Donoghue and Donahue, referring to a descendant of a “brown-haired chief” or similar personal name.

An Irish surname from a Gaelic personal name meaning roughly “brown-haired,” later anglicized in several forms including Donohoe and Donohue.

An old Gaelic personal name, later used as a surname, often linked to the idea of a powerful or dark-haired person.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Donald,” from the old Gaelic personal name Donald.

A name of Latin Christian origin meaning “given” or “given to God,” often adopted from a saint’s name.

An Irish surname probably from a Gaelic byname meaning “unhappy child” or “unlucky offspring,” though its exact derivation is not fully certain.

A rare surname that most likely developed as a variant spelling of a personal or place-based name related to Done or Dunn.

A surname with several possible origins, most likely Asian in many modern bearers, but not securely explained by the provided sources.

A surname with Irish roots, most likely an Anglicized form of an older Gaelic family name.

A shortened form of O'Donnell, the Irish surname meaning “descendant of Domhnall.”

An Irish surname from O’Donnelly, meaning “descendant of Donnghal/Donal-like one,” tied to an old Ulster sept.

A surname most often linked to German and Dutch words for thunder, with some later overlap from Scandinavian and French forms.

An Irish surname from O’Donoghue, ultimately meaning “descendant of Donnchadh,” a personal name often explained as “brown warrior” or “brown chief.”

An Irish surname meaning “descendant of Donnchadh,” a traditional Gaelic personal name often interpreted as “brown warrior” or “brown chief.”

An Irish surname from a Gaelic personal name meaning “brown-haired chieftain.”

An Irish surname most often taken from Gaelic roots meaning “sorrowful” or linked to a descendant of a man with a similar Gaelic byname.

An English surname that likely began as a nickname for someone thought to do little or be of slight industry.

A Spanish surname originally linked to the word for “gilded” or “golden,” probably first used as a nickname for someone with fair or golden coloring.

A name of Irish origin, often treated as a shortened anglicized form of an older Gaelic surname.

Usually a locational surname from places named Dore, though in some cases it may reflect the French word for “golden.”

Likely an occupational surname for a gatekeeper or porter, though some families may also have shortened it from De Dormans.

Usually a surname from a word for a thorn or thorn-bush, though some early writers suggested other origins in other languages.

A surname with several possible roots, most often explained as a nickname or locative name, and sometimes linked to a “spear” word in Old Norse.

A surname most often understood as a patronymic or regional variant of Doris or similar names, with roots that may reach back to a personal name rather than a single fixed meaning.

A surname usually treated as a variant of Dorset, originally pointing to someone from Dorset in southwest England.

Usually a surname from French place-name origin, most often linked to Orsay in France.

An English surname that likely began as a local or nickname form, later stabilized in spelling in the United States.

A Portuguese surname meaning “of the saints,” originally marking devotion or a person associated with a religious feast or place.

Likely a shortened surname from Germanic name forms, though the evidence is thin and the exact source is not certain.

A surname most likely from a nickname or a regional spelling variant rather than a single fixed meaning.

Dotson is usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Dot” or “son of Dodd,” with the spelling later settling into its modern form.

A surname with uncertain roots, but often treated as a Welsh form possibly linked to a place-name or ale-house sign.

A French surname from a nickname for a sweet, gentle, or pleasant person.

A French surname that began as a nickname, most likely meaning “little gentle one” or “the dainty/pleasant one.”

An Irish surname, usually a reduced form of an older Gaelic name such as O'Dugan or O'Doogan.

An Irish surname from O'Dochartaigh, meaning “descendant of Dochartach,” a personal name understood as “stern” or “difficult.”

An old English surname meaning “brave” or “valiant,” originally used as a nickname for a hardy, daring person.

A famous Scottish surname from the River Douglas and the lands beside it, likely meaning “dark water” or “dark grey stream.”

A Scottish surname tied to the place-name Douglas, usually explained as meaning “dark river” or “dark green stream.”

An English surname that likely began as a nickname for a gentle or dove-like person, though some bearers may also come from places named after the bird or the River Dove.

A mainly locational surname for someone from the Kent port town of Dover, though a few bearers may reflect other place-names or later local usage.

A surname that may come from a Gaelic word for “black,” a Scottish word for “dove,” or an old personal nickname of David.

An Irish surname most often explained as a shortened form of an older Gaelic family name, likely meaning a descendant of a personal name or a “dark” one.

An English surname probably meaning “from Dowdale,” likely a place-name in Yorkshire.

An English surname with an uncertain origin, probably developed as a nickname or a phonetic variant related to Dowd or similar forms.

A surname that likely began as a nickname for someone seen as plain, frumpy, or old-fashioned.

A surname with mixed English and Gaelic roots, often linked either to a local place-name or to the Gaelic MacDowell/McDougall line meaning “dark stranger.”

An Irish surname most commonly linked to Gaelic Ó Dúbhlainn or a related form, with the sense of a descendant of a personal name built on “dubh” meaning “dark” or “black.”

A locational surname for someone who lived by or on a down, or chalk hill.

A surname usually meaning someone who lived on or near a down, hill, or hillside.

A surname with both Irish and Scottish local roots, often linked to places named for hills or to Gaelic forms meaning “little dark one.”

A surname with at least two likely roots: it may come from a place-name meaning “from the down/hill,” or from the personal name Dunning.

An English surname originally used for someone who lived near the downs—open, rolling hill country.

An Irish surname often explained as either Anglo-Norman in origin or from the Irish Gaelic name O’Dubhghaill, meaning “descendant of the dark stranger.”

A surname most often treated as a French-derived name, probably linked to an occupational or descriptive byname that later became hereditary.

A surname with likely Romance roots, often linked to the word for “dragon.”

A topographic surname for someone who lived by a drain, ditch, or watercourse.

An old English surname most likely linked to a dragon or to the nickname for a drake, the male duck.

An occupational surname for a cloth dealer or fabric seller.

A habitational surname meaning “from Drayton,” originally used for people who came from one of several English places of that name.

A German occupational surname meaning “turner,” originally for someone who worked at a lathe.

A mainly Irish surname, likely from an anglicized Gaelic personal-name form, especially associated with Ulster and the north of Ireland.

A German surname most likely formed as a diminutive or variant of a name based on a personal nickname or older Germanic given name.

A surname with several likely roots, including the medieval name Drew, the nickname from Andrew, or a place-name connection to Dreux in France.

A surname usually from the medieval given name Drew, itself a shortened form of Andrew or sometimes from Drogo/Drew.

An occupational surname for a turner or lathe-worker, from German craft vocabulary.

A German occupational surname for a turner or someone who worked with a lathe.

An English-language surname most likely formed as a nickname or occupational name, though its exact origin is uncertain.

An Anglicized Irish surname from O’Driscoll, meaning a descendant of an early Irish personal name of uncertain exact sense.

An Irish surname that may be a variant spelling of an older Gaelic family name, though its exact origin is not firmly settled.

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely a variant spelling that developed from an older surname form in the British Isles.

An occupational surname for someone who drove a cart, wagon, or animals.

Usually an English surname from a nickname or descriptive phrase, though its exact origin is uncertain.

Usually a surname from the word for a drum, likely linked to a drummer or drum-maker.

A surname most likely derived from the Scottish/Irish place-name element meaning “ridge” or “hill crest,” though the exact family line is not certain.

A Scottish surname most often linked to a place name meaning “the ridge” or “back of the hill.”

An old English surname usually traced to the personal name Drew, though some early writers also linked it to Norman-French forms and related spellings like Drewry.

A surname with debated origins, most likely either a Welsh nickname for a distinctive nose or an English place-based name.

A surname found in several cultures, often from a simple particle meaning “of” or from a shortened form of a Chinese family name.

A Portuguese and Spanish surname ultimately tied to the old name Edward, meaning “wealthy guardian” or “prosperous protector.”

A surname with several possible origins, most likely a German or French form linked to a nickname or place-name rather than one single family line.

A French surname meaning “from the wood,” originally used for someone living near or in a wood or grove.

A surname of French origin, likely meaning “from the woods,” and found mainly in the American South.

A French surname meaning “of the charm” or “from the charm,” often linked to a place name or to the word for a pleasant, graceful quality.

A surname with several likely sources, most often a nickname from the waterfowl, but sometimes a form of Duke or a diminutive based on duck.

An English surname with several possible roots, most likely a pet-form of Duck or Duke, and perhaps in some cases linked to a dove-cot or to the bird name duck.

A surname of English local origin, probably from an old place name meaning “duck enclosure” or a related marshy spot.

An old personal-name surname, probably from a short medieval given name related to Anglo-Saxon Duda or similar forms.

A Slavic surname usually linked to the hoopoe bird, used as a nickname or descriptive byname.

A habitational surname from the English town of Dudley in Worcestershire.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place name or a descriptive term rooted in Latin.

A Scottish and Irish surname often linked to the Gaelic word for “black” or to a medieval ancestor named Duff.

An Irish and English surname that likely comes from a Norman place-name, though some bearers may connect to Gaelic Duffy-type forms.

An English place-name surname meaning someone from Duffield, Derbyshire, or one of the Yorkshire places of the same name.

An Irish surname from a Gaelic word meaning “dark” or “black.”

A French surname meaning “of the oven,” originally tied to the communal village bakehouse or public oven.

A French surname meaning “of the ash tree,” originally for someone who lived by an ash or ash grove.

An Irish surname, usually from a Gaelic personal name built on “dark” or “black,” sometimes explained as “descendant of Dugan.”

A French surname likely meaning someone from or beside a wooded place, with some forms possibly linked to local place-names.

An Irish surname from a Gaelic personal name meaning “black” or “dark one.”

An English surname that is usually understood as a nickname or variant built on the name Dug, a pet form of Douglas or related medieval names.

A surname most often linked to French-speaking roots, likely a regional or nickname-based name that settled in Louisiana and other Francophone areas.

Usually a nickname or occupational-style surname from the word for a leader or nobleman, though some families adopted it from a personal nickname.

A surname usually from the title Duke, often used as a nickname or status-based byname, and sometimes explained as meaning “son of a duke.”

An Irish surname most often understood as a form of Delaney, ultimately meaning “descendant of the servant of Saint Laighneach.”

A surname with several possible roots, most likely a reduced or altered form of a French or English family name.

A nickname surname that likely began as a description of someone considered dull, heavy, or slow-witted.

A French surname meaning “the homestead” or “the farmstead,” originally from southern French words for a rural holding.

A French surname meaning “from the hill” or “from the mountain.”

An Irish and Scottish-style surname likely formed from a personal name with the prefix Dun-, later settled in English spelling as Dunagan.

An English and Scottish surname most likely built from a place-name meaning “hill/fort by the way” or from a similar local landmark name.

A Scottish place surname meaning “from Dunbar,” the town whose name refers to a fort or castle on a height.

A Scottish surname from a Gaelic personal name meaning “brown-haired warrior” or “dark chief,” originally used as a given name before becoming hereditary.

A surname usually taken from an English place-name, though one older source also treated it as a corruption of Durnford.

An Irish surname usually explained as a shortened form of Dungannon, the place-name meaning a stronghold name in Ulster.

A locational surname from places called Dunham, especially in Norfolk, Cheshire, and Nottinghamshire.

An Irish surname, likely an anglicized form of an older Gaelic name that was reshaped in English spelling.

A surname most likely from Duncan, with English forms shaped by diminutive-style endings or local spelling changes.

A rare surname whose origin is uncertain, but it may be a variant of Dunkel, a German name linked to “dark” or “dusky.”

A Scottish surname from Dunlop, a place name in Ayrshire, often treated as a variant spelling of Dunlop.

A Scottish and northern English locational surname meaning “from Dunlop,” the Ayrshire place name.

A surname with several possible roots, most often from an old word for “dark” or from a place-name meaning “hill.”

A surname that can mean either “the dark one” or someone from a place called Dun/Downe.

Likely a patronymic surname meaning “son of Dunning,” from an old personal name.

An Irish surname usually treated as a variant of Donoghue/O'Donoghue, though older English writers also linked it to Humphrey.

A surname most likely meaning “son of Dun” or “son of Dunn,” pointing to an ancestor with a name based on dark color or a short form of Donald/Duncan.

Usually a locational surname meaning “from Dunston,” a place name found in several English counties.

A Vietnamese surname most often associated with a name meaning “sun,” “positive,” or “yang.”

A French surname meaning “of the bridge,” originally used for someone who lived near or by a bridge.

A French surname meaning “of the meadow.”

A French surname likely referring to someone from stony or paved ground, or to a place with rocky terrain.

A French surname meaning “of the meadow” or “from the meadow.”

A French surname meaning “of the well” or “from the pit,” originally a topographic name.

A French surname meaning “from the hill” or “at the height,” originally used for someone who lived by an elevated place.

A Spanish surname meaning “duke,” originally a title of nobility and leadership.

A French surname, most likely a diminutive or regional form built on a nickname or personal name beginning with Du-.

A surname with several possible roots, most often linked to the old French name Durand or the Spanish form of a Germanic personal name meaning “hard” or “strong.”

A medieval French surname from a personal name meaning “steadfast” or “enduring.”

A surname of Norman/French origin, ultimately from a byname meaning “enduring” or “steadfast.”

An Italian surname and given name from a Latin word meaning “lasting” or “enduring.”

A surname most often linked to a place-name origin, especially the French town name Durban or a related medieval form.

Usually explained as a nickname surname, originally referring to a “hard tooth” or other hard-featured person, though some evidence also points to a local-place origin.

A surname usually tied to a place name, especially the Dutch form with the prefix Van Duren meaning “from Duren.”

An old English surname most likely built from a place-name or an archaic local word, later carried to North America by early settlers.

A locational surname originally identifying someone from the city of Durham in northeast England.

A surname of uncertain Gaelic origin, often explained as meaning “dark” or “swarthy.”

An Irish surname usually taken as a shortened form of an older Gaelic name, often linked to Ó Duarcáin or a related Durkan/Durkan line.

A surname with several possible roots, including a German nickname tradition and an English/Scottish place-name connection.

A surname of Norman-French origin, ultimately from a personal name meaning “enduring.”

A surname that likely began as a diminutive or altered form of a place-based or nickname name, later fixed in English-speaking family lines.

A surname with at least two likely roots: in English records it can relate to “thirst,” while in German it is often connected with a topographic or descriptive source.

A Spanish surname likely built from duro, meaning “hard,” with Durón as an old augmentative or nickname form.

An old Welsh surname probably meaning “steward of a feast,” though some later writers also linked it to other names and places.

A surname meaning “the Dutchman” or “person from Holland,” originally used as a nickname or label for someone of Dutch origin.

A Portuguese surname, likely a regional or locational name connected to the Douro River or a place-name based on it.

A place-name surname from Dutton in Cheshire and Lancashire, later carried by an old landed family of that district.

An English surname that may have begun as a nickname or status name connected with duty, service, or obligation, though its exact origin is uncertain.

A French surname meaning “of the valley,” originally a locational name for someone who lived by or came from a valley.

A surname of French origin meaning “of the valley,” originally a place-based name.

A Czech surname meaning roughly “from the courtyard” or “man of the yard.”

An Irish surname usually linked to a Gaelic word for a woody place, though it can also reflect an anglicized Irish family name.

Usually a shortened form of a medieval baptismal name such as Dionisia, rather than a word for the color-changing craft.

An occupational surname for someone who dyed cloth or textiles.

A surname for someone who lived by a dyke or ditch, or in some cases worked on building one.

Usually a surname from a place by a ditch or dyke, though in some British traditions it was linked especially to Hadrian’s Wall.

A Frisian surname meaning “from the dike” or “dwelling by the dike.”

A name most likely meaning “son of Dye,” with Dye as a medieval short form of Denis or a related name.

A Spanish surname most often tied to a place-name origin, especially from Ábalos in northern Spain.

A Spanish surname originally tied to place names beginning with Ávila or de Ávila, meaning “from Ávila.”

A classic Spanish patronymic meaning “son of Diego,” ultimately tied to the name Jacob.

A Spanish surname originally marking descent, often explained as “son of Diego.”

A German surname, most likely from a personal name or a place-name, with the umlauted spelling later simplified to Doering in English contexts.