Counties That Start With D | Full U.S. County List

If you came here for a clean list, you’re in the right spot. County-name posts can get messy fast, especially when the same name shows up in more than one state, some places use county-equivalent names, and a few spellings look odd at first glance.

This article keeps it simple. You’ll get the U.S. counties that start with D, grouped by state, plus a few notes that make the list easier to use for trivia, schoolwork, word games, genealogy, or place-name research.

What Counts As A County Here

For this article, the main list sticks to U.S. counties with names that begin with the letter D. That means standard county names such as Dallas County, DeKalb County, and Douglas County are included. Parish names in Louisiana are not part of the county list, even when they begin with D, because they are named under a different local unit.

There’s one wrinkle. The federal government tracks counties and county-equivalent entities together for geography and data work. That matters in places such as Alaska, where boroughs and census areas fill a similar role. The U.S. Census Bureau’s county code lists and the National Association of Counties’ county overview both spell out that distinction.

Why D County Names Show Up So Often

D names are common because many counties were named after people. Dallas, Dawson, Davidson, Decatur, and Douglas all come from surnames tied to public figures, military officers, politicians, or early settlers. Once a name caught on in one state, it often popped up in another.

Then you get place-name carryovers. Delaware County appears in several states. Dakota and Dorchester are tied to broader regional or colonial naming habits. A few names come from Spanish roots, such as DeSoto and Doña Ana, which gives the D group a wider mix than many other letters.

That mix is why a plain alphabet list isn’t enough. Readers usually want one of three things:

• A full list by state
• A way to spot repeats fast
• A note on unusual spellings and county-equivalent cases

That’s what the rest of this piece does. You can skim the table, then use the notes below it to sort out the names that tend to trip people up.

How Many Counties Start With D In The United States

There are well over 60 U.S. counties whose names start with D. The count stays a little slippery when a person mixes standard counties with county-equivalent places such as Alaska boroughs and census areas, or when they try to fold Louisiana parishes into the same bucket. Sticking to county names keeps the list clean.

You’ll notice a few repeat stars right away. Dallas, Delaware, DeKalb, Douglas, Dawson, and Dodge appear again and again. That makes D counties handy for quizzes and lookup tasks, though it can be a headache when you only remember the county name and not the state.

State	D Counties	Notes
Alabama	Dale, Dallas, DeKalb	Three solid entries, with DeKalb shared by several states.
Arkansas	Dallas, Desha, Drew	Desha stands out as one of the less common D names.
California	Del Norte	Only one, but the name is easy to spot.
Colorado	Delta, Denver, Dolores, Douglas	A varied group with both common and rarer forms.
Florida	DeSoto, Dixie, Duval	Three familiar names with distinct spellings.
Georgia	Dade, Dawson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Douglas	One of the richest D-state lists in the country.
Iowa	Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque	Heavy on repeats, plus the two-word Des Moines.
Illinois	DeKalb, De Witt, Douglas, DuPage	De Witt and DuPage add spelling variety.
Indiana	Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, DeKalb, Delaware, Dubois	A strong mix of recurring county names.
Kansas	Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas	Doniphan is one of the less repeated D names.
Minnesota	Dakota, Dodge, Douglas	Short list, all familiar names.
Missouri	Dade, Dallas, Daviess, DeKalb, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin	Another state with a deep D bench.
North Carolina	Dare, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham	Dare and Durham are easy to remember.
Texas	Dallam, Dallas, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton, DeWitt, Dickens, Dimmit, Donley, Duval	Texas has one of the longest D county lists.
Wisconsin	Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn	Door County gives the state a memorable entry.

Counties That Start With D By State

Here is the fuller state-by-state sweep for standard U.S. counties beginning with D.

States With One To Three D Counties

These states have a short D list: California (Del Norte), Kentucky (Daviess), Maryland (Dorchester), Massachusetts (Dukes), Michigan (Delta, Dickinson), Mississippi (DeSoto), Nevada (Douglas), New York (Delaware, Dutchess), Ohio (Darke, Defiance, Delaware), Oklahoma (Delaware, Dewey), Oregon (Deschutes, Douglas), Pennsylvania (Dauphin, Delaware), Utah (Daggett, Davis, Duchesne), Virginia (Dickenson, Dinwiddie), Washington (Douglas), West Virginia (Doddridge), and Wyoming, which has none.

States With Longer D Lists

Some states go much deeper. South Carolina has Darlington, Dillon, and Dorchester. South Dakota has Davison, Day, Deuel, Dewey, and Douglas. Tennessee has Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, and Dyer. Nebraska has Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, and Dundy. Georgia, Missouri, Iowa, and Texas all rank near the top for sheer D-name volume.

A few names deserve a second glance. DeKalb is usually written as one word, while De Witt is written as two. DeSoto often shows a capital S in the middle. DeWitt County in Texas closes that space back up. Those details matter when you’re matching a county to records or a map.

If you’re checking whether a county name is still current, the Census Bureau’s county changes page is a smart place to verify naming or boundary updates.

Names That Repeat The Most

Some D counties appear in multiple states. That repetition is handy for memory games and quiz prep, though it can cause mix-ups in research notes. The biggest repeaters are Dallas, DeKalb, Delaware, Douglas, Dawson, and Dodge. Once you spot those clusters, the rest of the list feels a lot easier to sort.

There are a few stand-alone names that tend to stick in your head on first read: Door County, Deaf Smith County, Dubuque County, DuPage County, and Dunklin County. They don’t blend in with the standard surname pattern, so they work as good anchors when you’re trying to remember the whole set.

Name Pattern	County Examples	What It Helps You Spot
Repeated surnames	Dallas, Dawson, Douglas, Dodge	These show up in several states and are easy to confuse.
“De” names as one word	DeKalb, DeSoto, DeWitt	Capital letters in the middle can affect search results.
“De” names as two words	De Witt, Des Moines	Spacing matters when copying official names.
Directional or regional feel	Del Norte, Dakota, Delaware	These often trace back to larger place names.
Spanish-root forms	DeSoto, Dolores, Doña Ana	These add a different naming style to the D group.
Short, plain spellings	Dade, Dare, Day, Dent	Easy to read, easy to miss in long lists.
Distinctive outliers	Door, DuPage, Dubuque, Dunklin	Useful memory anchors for quizzes and worksheets.

County-Equivalent Names That Start With D

If you want the wider federal geography set, a few county-equivalent names begin with D too. Alaska has Denali Borough and Dillingham Census Area. New Mexico has Doña Ana County, which is still a county, though the tilde on the ñ can be dropped in casual typing and then restored in formal writing.

This is where readers often get tripped up. A county list, a county-equivalent list, and a state-by-state county code list are close cousins, not the same thing. If your goal is a school answer, a puzzle answer, or a plain county count, stick with standard counties unless the prompt says county equivalents are allowed.

Best Ways To Use This List

This sort of list is more useful than it looks. It works well for:

• Alphabet county projects
• Geography class worksheets
• Genealogy note checks
• Crossword and trivia prep
• County database cleanup

If you’re building your own sheet, copy the county name with the state beside it every time. “Dallas County” alone is shaky. “Dallas County, Alabama” or “Dallas County, Texas” is clear on the spot. That one habit cuts down on mix-ups more than anything else.

A Final Read Through The D List

The D group is one of the stronger letters in the county alphabet. It has a nice spread of common names, odd spellings, and repeat entries across several states. That makes it fun for list lovers and handy for anyone doing lookup work.

If all you needed was the core answer, here it is in plain words: yes, there are many counties that start with D in the United States, and the biggest clusters show up in states such as Texas, Georgia, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska.