Irish Surnames D

Posted in: Irish Surnames

A list of Irish surnames beginning with the letter D

Name Variants In Irish Location Origin
Daly Dawley O’Daly Daley Ó Dálaigh Widespread Gaelic
Very old name; means “present at assemblies” and has the same origin as “Dail”, which is the name for the Irish Parliament.
Dardis Dublin, Kildare, Meath Norman
From the Norman d’Ardis
Delany Delane, Delaney Ó Dubhshlaine Widespread, Dublin, Laois Gaelic
Means “of the black river Slaney”.
Dempsey Ó Diomasaigh Laois, Offaly Gaelic
Means “proud”.
Devine Davin, Devane, Devin, Downes Ó Daimhin Cavan, Dublin, Louth, Tyrone Gaelic
Means “poet or storyteller”.
Devlin Ó Doibhlin Sligo, Tyrone Gaelic
Dillon Widespread Norman-French
Derived from “de Leon”
Doherty Dougharty, Dougherty, MacDevitt, O’Dogherty. Ó Dochartaigh Ulster Gaelic
Means “obstructive”.
Dolan Doolan, Dowling, Doelan, O’Doelan. Ó Dobhailen Galway, Roscommon Gaelic
Means “defiant”.
Donoghue Donohue, Donohoe, O’Donoghue, O’Donagh, Donaghue, Dunphy Ó Donnchadha Widespread Gaelic
Means “Sons of Donogh”.
Doran Ó Deoradháin Armagh, Down, Kerry, Laois, Wexford Gaelic
Means “stranger”.
Dowling Ó Dunlaing Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Laois, Wicklow Gaelic
Doyle Doyelle, Doyley, MacDowell Ó Dubhghaill Widespread, Wexford. Irish name for Norse invaders
Means “dark or evil foreigner”
Driscoll O’Driscoll Ó hEidersceoil, Cork
Means ” interpreter”.
Duffy Doohey, Dowey, Duhig, O’Duffy Ó Dubthaigh Ulster, Monaghan Roscommon Gaelic
Duggan Doogan, Dougan Cork, Donegal, Galway, Tipperary. Gaelic
Means “black head (hair?)”
Dunne O’Dunne, O’Doyne, Doine, Doin, O’Dunn and many more. Ó Duinn Widespread, Laois Gaelic
Means “brown”.

3 Comments »

  • On 15 February 2009 at 2:12 am James Dunning said:

    What can you tell me about Dunnings from Westmeath (Athlone) and Connacht (Roscommon)? 

    I have met some in Eire, and was told they derive from O’Duinin clan, but necessarily anglicized their name in order to maintain residence within the city or town limits of an English bailiwick during the time of the Penal Laws.

    I suspect my Dunning ancestor is most likely English, but through progressive intermarriage we are now more Irish than anything else (on BOTH sides), including so-called ‘Black Irish’ from Antrim, Spanish / Portuguese ancestry verified by DNA (!).  

    James (Seamus) Dunning

  • On 3 May 2010 at 11:58 pm sarah yee said:

    my grandmother was irish. her last name was Dorris. I’ve been told i take after the Dorris side of the family. i was wondering what part of irland her family came from.

  • On 4 May 2010 at 11:56 am Katherine (author) said:

    I’ve never come across that name, but I’ll ask about it and see what I come up with.

Leave a comment!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

DoChara is Gravatar-enabled. To get your own globally recognized avatar, please register at Gravatar.

Home|Contact |Content © DoChara.com 2004-2009.