A list of Irish surnames beginning with the letter D
Daly
Variants: Dawley O’Daly Daley
In Irish: Ó Dálaigh
Found in: Widespread
Origin: Gaelic
Very old name; means “present at assemblies” and has the same origin as “Dail”, which is the name for the Irish Parliament.
Dardis
In Irish: Dublin, Kildare, Meath
Origin: Norman
From the Norman d’Ardis
Delany
Variants: Delane, Delaney
In Irish: Ó Dubhshlaine
Found in: Widespread, Dublin, Laois
Origin: Gaelic
Means “of the black river Slaney”.
Dempsey
In Irish: Ó Diomasaigh
Found in: Laois, Offaly
Origin: Gaelic
Means “proud”.
Devine
Variant: Davin, Devane, Devin, Downes
In Irish: Ó Daimhin
Found in: Cavan, Dublin, Louth, Tyrone
Origin: Gaelic
Means “poet or storyteller”.
Devlin
In Irish: Ó Doibhlin
Found in: Sligo, Tyrone
Origin: Gaelic
Dillon
Found in: Widespread
Origin: Norman-French
Derived from “de Leon”
Doherty
Variant: Dougharty, Dougherty, MacDevitt, O’Dogherty.
In Irish: Ó Dochartaigh
Found in: Ulster
Origin: Gaelic
Means “obstructive”.
Dolan
Variant: Doolan, Dowling, Doelan, O’Doelan.
In Irish: Ó Dobhailen
Found in: Galway, Roscommon
Origin: Gaelic
Means “defiant”.
Donoghue
Variant: Donohue, Donohoe, O’Donoghue, O’Donagh, Donaghue, Dunphy
In Irish: Ó Donnchadha
Found in: Widespread
Origin: Gaelic
Means “Sons of Donogh”.
Doran
In Irish: Ó Deoradháin
Found in: Armagh, Down, Kerry, Laois, Wexford
Origin: Gaelic
Means “stranger”.
In Irish: Ó Dunlaing
Found in: Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Laois, Wicklow
Origin: Gaelic
Doyle
Variant: Doyelle, Doyley, MacDowell
In Irish: Ó Dubhghaill
Found in: Widespread, Wexford.
Origin: Irish name for Norse invaders
Means “dark or evil foreigner”
Driscoll
Variant: O’Driscoll
In Irish: Ó hEidersceoil,
Found in: Cork
Means ” interpreter”.
Variant: Doohey, Dowey, Duhig, O’Duffy
In Irish: Ó Dubthaigh
Found in: Ulster, Monaghan Roscommon
Origin: Gaelic
Duggan
Variant: Doogan, Dougan
Found in: Cork, Donegal, Galway, Tipperary.
Origin: Gaelic
Means “black head (hair?)”
Dunne
Variant: O’Dunne, O’Doyne, Doine, Doin, O’Dunn and many more.
In Irish: Ó Duinn
Found in: Widespread, Laois
Origin: Gaelic
Means “brown”.
Published: August 16, 2008 | Updated: March 31, 2017 | Image Credits
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13 Comments
Devine is Ó / Ua Daimhín which means ox or stag. Being a symbol of a hero, as far as I now. Damh -ox/stag. Dámh – poet . Please change
Once again I would like any info about the Dockrays name
who lived around the Ballymote area. My great
grand father was born in or around Ballymote on December 1835. Was married in Canada on Jan 1850
No, I am NOT a spammer?? I live in Ont. Canada. I was
in Ireland 6 years ago & met what we believe is a cousin to my family, who lives in the Town of Ballymote. We believe that we may be related several generations back.
I don’t know what information I gave you that I would be denoted as a spammer?
Hi Helen,
We use a spam filter because if we didn’t there would be thousands of spam comments a day flooding in – totally impossible to manage. Occasionally someone legitimate is caught in the filter by accident, and that is what must have happened to you. My apologies.
The (O’)Driscolls are the most senior line of the chiefs of the Dairine (later called the Corcu Loigde), a well-attested Erainn people from whom the Scottish House of Dunkeld proudly claimed descent. The Dairine are called Darini in Claudius Ptolemy’s atlas, the Geographia, and their name means the descendants of Daire Doimthech.
Thomas Francis O’Rahilly thought that Daire had the earlier form Darios, and that it is related to the Gaulish name Dario.
Daire Donn is the Irish name for Darius the Great, the Persian emperor whose invasion of Greece was defeated by Athens at Marathon in 490 BC.
By the way, there’s a legend that the Gaels migrated to Ireland from Galicia in north-west Spain, according to which King Breogan of Galicia had built a tall tower, from which his son (fancifully) espied the beauty of the emerald isle. On that site now stands the Farum Brigantium, or Tower of Hercules, an early 2nd century Roman lighthouse with Phoenician foundations, which is still in use, and it peculiarly shines its light toward Ireland.
My family, named Dyas, came from Dublin. What is there origin there?
Seeking any leads on my hugeonot grandmother who had the family name Dowzard which may have originally been D’Owzard Born in dublin in 1889
Im a Dempsey staying in Scotland, and ive always wondered if my decendents came here due to the potato famine,or for other reasons.
My maternal Grandparents’ surnames were Durning and Trinity, both from Ireland via Wales and England respectively. I can’t find either name on a list of Irish surnames. Can you tell me anything about them? Thanx!!
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.
I’ve never come across that name, but I’ll ask about it and see what I come up with.
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
i’m aware of people named doorish in donegal and derry areas