D is for …

Ordnance Survey 1884, Pentney, Norfolk.  Reproduced with the permission on the National Library of Scotland.

From: Reaney, P H, (ed. Wilson, R M), 1997, Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames, 3rd ed., OUP, Oxford, unless otherwise stated.
Davies
Earliest in Andrew’s Kindred: Mary Ann Davies, b.1807, Rock, Wellington, Shropshire.
Son of Davy.
Deakin
Earliest in AK: John Henry Deakin, b, 1854, Little Wenlock, Shropshire.
Essentially a variant of Deacon. The Internet Surname Database (ISD) suggests it might refer to a Deacon’s servant. I had thought the kin part might refer to kinship, but, it appears, in error.
Dennis
Earliest in AK: Richard Dennis, bp. 1559, Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire.
DENNIS. DENIS. A baptismal name : the patron saint of France. Sometimes, however, as Ferguson observes, it may be from the Anglo-Saxon Denisca, Danish.
Reaney cites similar derivation, and includes Old French daneis, meaning Danish or the Dane, and Old English denisc and Middle English denshe. This appears to tally with the significant Scandinavian component of my DNA.
Dodge
Earliest in AK: William Dodge, bp. 1710, Measham, Derbyshire.
Pet name for Roger, rhyme with Rodge and Hodge. [Roger the dodger?]
Also Dogge (pronounced ‘dodger’) a pet form of Roger, which in turn comes from the Anglo-Saxon name Hrothgar, meaning fame spear (ISD).
Dugmore
Earliest in AK: John Dugmore, father of Frances Dugmore, bp. 1798 Lapley, Staffordshire.
This name is not covered by Reaney. ISD says the origins are lost, but one possibility is a portmanteau place name from dubh, black and mor, morass or swamp. Apparently, it is chiefly found in the West Midlands and the map on Ancestry indicates highest frequency in Warwickshire and Staffordshire, home of my Dugmores. It is suggested that the original place may be a lost village.
Dye
Earliest in AK: William Dye, b. abt. 1806, Pentney, Norfolk.
A pet from of the ancient Greek Dionisia, the female counterpart to Dionysios. It is therefore linked to the same ancient root of Dennis. Norfolk is where the name is most frequent.

Packwood House, Warwickshire.  Copyright John Brightly, via Geograph.org.uk reused under creative commons.

Dyke
Earliest in AK: Edward Dyke, father of William Dyke, b. 1772, Packwood, Warwickshire.
Long-standing Anglo-Saxon name. Dweller by the dike or ditch. Old English dic, ditch or earthwork, Middle English diche, dike. Widespread in England, but more frequent in western counties: might this have some relationship to Offa’s Dyke, the earthwork that once defined the western boundary of the Kingdom of Mercia?