Douglas (given name)
| Douglas | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈdʌɡləs/, DUG-ləs |
| Gender | Male, Female |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Scottish Gaelic |
| Meaning | black stream |
| Region of origin | South Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Doug; Dougalasa; Dougie; Douglas (surname); Duggie, Dúghlas; Dubhghlas; Duggie; Dùbhghlas; Koukakala |
 |
Look up Douglas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Douglas (/ˈdʌɡləs/ DUG-ləs) is a Scottish masculine given name which originated from the surname Douglas. Although today the name is almost exclusively given to boys, it was used as girls name in the 17th and 18th centuries, in the north of England.[1] The Scottish surname Douglas was borne by one of the most powerful families of the Kingdom of Scotland (the Earls of Douglas, Angus, Morton, Dukes of Hamilton and others). It has sometimes been stated that the given name is connected with the given name Dougal, although it is more likely derived from the surname already mentioned.[2]
Linguistically, Douglas is derived from the Gaelic elements: dubh, meaning "dark, black"; and glas, meaning "stream" (also a derivative of glas, meaning "grey"). The surname Douglas is a habitational name, which could be derived from any of the many places so-named. While there are numerous places with this name in both Ireland and Scotland, it is thought, in most cases, to refer to Douglas, South Lanarkshire, which was once the stronghold of Clan Douglas.[3]
The Scottish Gaelic form of the given name is Dùbhghlas;[2] the Irish language form it is Dúghlas,[4] and Dubhghlas, which are pronounced Irish pronunciation: [duːɣləs].[5] The Hawaiian language form of the given name is Koukakala, which is pronounced IPA: [koukəˈkɐlə]; a variant form of this name is Dougalasa.[6][7] The given name Doug is a common short form variant of Douglas. Pet forms of the given name include Dougie[2] and Duggie.[8]
Notable people named Douglas
- Douglas C. Aagard, American politician
- Douglas Abbott, Canadian politician
- Douglas Adams, author
- Douglas Alexander, Scottish politician
- Doug Allen, multiple people
- Douglas A. Anderson, American author
- Douglas Applegate, American politician
- Douglas Bader, British flying ace
- Douglas Barr, American actor
- Doug Belden, American football player
- Douglas Booth, British actor
- Douglas Brinkley, American author
- Douglas Costa, Brazilian footballer
- Douglas Coupland, Canadian novelist
- Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton, 18th-century Scottish peer
- Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, pioneering aviator
- Douglas Eggers, American football player
- Douglas Fairbanks, American actor
- Douglas Franco Teixeira, Dutch footballer who plays as a centre-back.
- Douglas H. Ginsburg, American judge
- Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, British Field marshal
- Douglas Hamilton, British General, surveyor and big-game hunter
- Douglas S. Harlan, American political consultant, lawyer, educator, public official
- Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist
- Douglas A. Hicks, American author
- Douglas Hofstadter, American author and professor of cognitive science
- Douglas MacArthur, American general
- Doug McFarland, American politician
- Douglas Albert Munro, American armed forces member
- Doug Nordquist, American high jumper
- Douglas Polk, American professional poker player
- Douglas Robb (musician), frontman of American band Hoobastank
- Douglas Rodríguez (boxer), Cuban boxer
- Douglas A. Ross, American political scientist
- Douglas Santos, multiple people
- Douglas Simpson, Scottish field hockey forward
- Douglas Trevor, American author and academic
- Douglas H. Wheelock, American astronaut
References
- ↑ "Douglas". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 September 2010. which cited A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. 2006.
- 1 2 3 "Learn about the family history of your surname". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 6 April 2010. which cited A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280050-7. for the given name "Douglas".
- ↑ "Learn about the family history of your surname". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 6 April 2010. which cited Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surname "Douglas".
- ↑ Coghlan, Ronan (1979), Irish Christian names: an A-Z of first names, Johnston and Bacon, p. 42
- ↑ Norman, Teresa (2003), A World of Baby Names (Revised ed.), Perigee, p. 287, ISBN 978-0-399-52894-1
- ↑ Norman, Teresa (2003), A World of Baby Names (Revised ed.), Perigee, p. 227, ISBN 978-0-399-52894-1
- ↑ Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel Hoyt (1992), New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary: With a Concise Grammar and Given Names in Hawaiian, University of Hawaii Press, p. 246
- ↑ Norman, Teresa (2003), A World of Baby Names (Revised ed.), Perigee, p. 101, ISBN 978-0-399-52894-1