100 Last Names That Start With D With Meanings And History

Georgia Stone
Dec 12, 2023 By Georgia Stone
Originally Published on Nov 06, 2020
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Within the various cultures and communities of the world, there are varied family names that identify people distinctly.

The last names are an identity of their family, occupation, or home town. A surname that starts with D is a top choice.

D is a letter with energy with a determination to succeed. It represents focus and will. Start your search for a surname with our database of the top 100 last names beginning from the letter D which you can search by origin or meaning.

To further help you in your search for a surname, take a look at Last Names Beginning With C and Last Names Beginning With Z.

Popular Last Names That Start With Letter D

cool last names that start with d

If you want to search for top surnames that start with letter D, some of the famous ones are given below.

1. Da'Souza, (Portuguese origin) Locational name for people belonging to places named Souza.

2. Da Costa,(Portuguese, Italian, Jewish origin) refers to "someone who lived on a riverbank or sea coast".

3. D’ambrisio,(Latin origin) One of the surnames derived from the Latin word  Ambrosius, meaning "immortal".

4. Darby,(English origin) Surname derived from the Old Norse word ‘djur’, meaning "deer".

5. Dam, (Dutch origin) Surname for those living by the pond.

6. Daube, (German origin) From the German word ‘Taube’, meaning "pigeon".

7. Day, (English origin) Used as a medieval diminutive of David, meaning  "day-servant".

8. DeFelice, (Italian origin) A patronymic surname that starts with D derived from Latin word Felix meaning "happy".

9. DeJonker,(Dutch origin) These last names that start with D are used as an occupational surname indicating  an ancestor who was a joker.

10. DeKlerk, (Dutch origin) These last names that start with the letter D is an occupational surname for "a clerk".

11. Desmond,(Gaelic origin) Derived from Gaelic word Deasmhumhain.

12. DiCaprio,(Greek, Latin) One of the most common surnames starting with letter D derived from the Latin.

13. Dixon,(Anglo origin) One of the less common surnames starting with D.

14. Dadds, (Celtic Origin) One of the surnames starting with D means "stupid person".

15.  Dunn,(Irish origin ) One of the surnames starting with D meaning "grandson of Donn".

16.  Dvorak,(Czech origin) used for someone who works in a manor.

17. Dwerryhouse,(English origin) On search, these surnames mean "a person who worked or lived at a dyehouse".

18. Desrosiers,(French origin) These last names that start with d are derived from the French word, "rosier".

19. De la Cruz,(Spanish origin) Surnames starting with letter D,  De la Cruz which is a Spanish meaning "of the cross".

20. Degarmo, (French origin) Degarmo is derived from the French word de Garmeaux.

Famous Last Names That Start With D

amazing last names start with d

These last names are popular due to their origin or history and often pop in search engines.

21. Deadman,(English origin) Variant of Debenham word denoting the name of the river Deben.

22. David,(Israel origin)One of thelast names meaning "friend’" in Hebrew.

23. Darrow,(Scottish origin) One of the less known last names that start with D meaning  "oak tree".

24. D’Antonio,(Italian origin) Beginning with D, D'Antonio means ‘son of Antonio’,  of the Roman clan.

25. Dahl,(Norwegian, Swedish, Danish origin) Beginning with the letter D, Dahl means "valley".

26. D’Aramitz,(French origin) One of the top french last names that start with D.

27. D’Cruz,(Spain, Portuguese origin) Having its origin in the Iberia community; Cruz means "Christian cross".

28. Daalman,(Dutch origin) Daal meaning ‘valley’ and ‘man’.

29. Dabato,(Italian origin) Dabato comes from the Southern Italian Sabbato meaning "Saturday".

30. Dabbs, (German origin) This is a patronymic surname starting with the letter D.

31. Dace, (French origin)Beginning with D, Dace is a  metonymic occupational name.

32. Dach, (Polish Origin) One of the less used last names that start with D.

33. D Amelio,(Italian origin) A patronymic name deriving from personal name Amelio.

34. Dalca,(Romanian origin) Used by Roman families primarily, Dalca means "uncertain".

35. Dale, (English origin ) Originally from the word dæl, this means "valley."

35. Daley, (Irish origin) This last name with d is a variant of original O Dalaigh in Irish.

36. Dalgaard, (Danish origin) Traces back to a word from Old Norse word divided into Dalr meaning "valley".

37. Dali, (Spanish origin) It forms with the beginning of the Germanic element 'adal' which means "noble".

38. Dallas, (English origin) Derived from the old English word dæl,

39. Dallas, (Scottish origin) It means "meadow dwelling" in Gaelic.

40. Dalton, (English origin) Deriving from a place which gets its meaning in Old English as  "valley town".

Short Last Names Starting With D

Following are the short surnames deriving from personal names or used as a reference to profession or occupation.

41. Daly, (Irish origin) One of the last names that start with D mean "descendant of DÁLACH".

42. D'Amore,(Italian origin)This Italian last names starting with D means "love".

43. Dane, (English origin) Formally used for a person of Denmark, called as a Dane.

44. D'aramitz, (French origin) Originally denoted one who came from Aramits, the name of a town in the French Pyrenees.

45. Davin, (Irish origin) Meaning "a stag".

46. Darrell, (English origin) This surname was used for one who came from the Airel town in Normandy.

47. Dara, (Persian origin) A common surname that starts with the letter D.

48. Datta,(Hindu origin) These last names that start with d derives from the Sanskrit word ‘datta’, meaning  "gift".

49. Deol,(Sikhism origin) One of the top and most common last names used by Sikh family and community.

50. Deshpande, (Indian origin)Deshpande is one of the top last names, many families in India belong to.

51. Dhawan, (Indian origin) It derives its meaning from the Sanskrit word ‘dhav’, meaning  "messenger".

52. Dixit, (Sanskrit origin) These last names that start with D letter, have been used for Brahmans.

53. Dubey, (Indian Origin) The last name Dubey is linguistically related to Gujrati's 'Dave'.  

54. Dewan, (Arabic origin) These last names originated from the Arabic word ‘diwan’, meaning "a royal court".

55. Dalal, (Indian origin) Derived from a clan of the Jats community found in the northern part of India.  

56. Darzi, (Persian origin) One of the surnames starting with D was used for tailors which later became last names for them.

57. Das, (Indian origin) Used in various Indian communities meaning  "devotee" in the Sanskrit language.

58. Dodda, (Old English) A nickname for a person with a baby face which later became a surname.

59. Dev, (Indian origin) Dev is a family last name used by the Bengali community in India.

60. Dey, (Scottish origin) Derives from the occupational names of dairymaids of some parts Scotland and England.  

Long Last Names That Start With D

There are many last names that have multiple syllables or are longer than other searched surnames. These are named after old language words made from two different meanings.

61.  Dahlman, (Swedish origin) Made of two words Dahl and man.

62. Desroches, (French origin) Derived from the French word Roche meaning "rock".

63 Desrosiers, (French origin) The word is derived from the French word rosier meaning 'rose bush' used for people who cared for a rose garden.

64. Devereux,(English origin) It is used for a person belonging to Evreux in France.

65. Devin, (English origin) These surnames starting with D, were used for a divine person.

66. Doctor, (English origin) Occupational surname used to denote a doctor.

67. Dodge, (English origin) Derived from word Dogge, a diminutive of ROGER.

68. Doherty, (Irish origin) One of the Irish last names starting with D, means 'descendant of Dochartach.'

69. Dohman, (German origin) Derives from a diminutive of THOMAS.

70. Dolan, (Irish origin) Derives from the Irish word  Ó Dubhshláin meaning "descendant of DUBHSHLÁINE".

71. Dolezal, (Czech origin) was used to call a lazy person, derived from the Czech verb doležat "to lie down".

72.  Donne,(Scottish, Irish origin) Used for a person who has brown hair.

73. DONNELLY, (Irish origin) Derived from the Irish word Ó Donnghaile meaning "descendant of Donnghal".

74. Donoghue,(Irish origin) Derives from Irish Ó Donnchadha that means 'descendant of DONNCHADH.'

75. Donovan, (Irish origin) It means "descendant of DONNDUBHÁN".

76. Doran, (Irish origin) Derived from Irish Deoradhán meaning "descendant of Deoradhán", where the word means  'exile, wanderer.'

77. Dorsey, (English origin) Derives from the Latin name Orcius that refers to the town of Orsay near Paris.

78. Doubek,(Czech origin) Derived from word dub meaning "oak".

79. Douglas, (Scottish origin) Anglicized form of a similar name in Gaelic meaning "dark river".

80. Downer, (English origin) Used for people who lived on or near a down meaning "hill" in English.

Lesser-Known Last Names With D

Following are few surnames starting with D that are according to the occupation or hometown.

81. Drake,(English origin) Originating from the Old Norse words Draki or  Draca, meaning "dragon".

82. Draper, (English origin) Common last names that start with D used for seller or maker of cloth.

83. Dreher, (German origin) From Middle High German "drehen" meaning  "to turn".

84. Dreschner, (German origin) Used for people who separated the grains from cereal by beating.

85. Dresdner, (German origin) Used for people who belonged to the city of Dresden in German.

86. Driscoll, (Irish origin) One of the unique d last names i that means  "descendant of the messenger".

87. Droit, (French origin) Used to name an upright person meaning "right, straight" in French.

88. Drummond, (Scottish origin) Derived from the Gaelic word meaning "ridge".

89. Dufort, (French origin) Derived from French fort 'stronghold' meaning "from the fort".

90. Dufour, (French origin) This is taken from French word 'four' meaning 'oven', used for a baker.  

91. Duke, (English origin) Used for the 'noble' title used for someone behaving like a duke.

92. Dayal, (Indian Origin) Beginning with the letter D, Dayal is a common surname of the Kayastha community.

93. Doyle,(Irish Origin) Anglicized version of the word O Dubhghaill that means  "descendant of Dubhghall".

95.  Delaney,(French origin)  From the Norman French word ‘de l’aunaie’, meaning "from the alder grove".

96. Deforest,(French origin) A French last name meaning "from the forest".

97. Dhillon,(Indian origin) From the widely distributed Jat community from the northern part of India.

98. Dwight,(English origin) Derives from the name Diot that is a diminutive of Dionysia.

99. Dyer,(English origin) Name given to people involved in the occupation of cloth dyeing.

100. Dykstra, (Frisian origin) It is used by people living near a dyke or embankment.

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for Last Names That Start With D then why not take a look at Arabic Last Names, or for something different take a look at Unusual Middle Names.

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Written by Georgia Stone

Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

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Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.

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