Douglas

What Douglas means

Means “black + stream”

From a place name, Scottish Gaelic dubh (“black”) + glais (“stream”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Douglas” (revision 94538835), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Douglas?

US: Falling: down from #615 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #305 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1942, when 11,233 boys got the name (#23 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 5,546 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,225 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,511 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MA (0.44 per 1,000 boys), PA (0.36 per 1,000 boys), TN (0.33 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Douglas is #807 in the US and #224 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Douglas were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Douglas

Boys

• Scott#534Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1971, with 30,901 babies; 561 in 2025
• Corey#778possibly “troop, host, company”^*
• Taylor#683From the word “tailor”^*
• Travis#434“to cross over”^*
• Cody#318Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1992, with 19,876 babies; 1,076 in 2025
• Keith#800“wood”^*

For a sister

• Tiffany#878Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1988, with 18,364 babies; 304 in 2025
• Kelsey#814Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #343 in 2015, #814 in 2025
• Kelly#851Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 18,234 babies; 319 in 2025
• Holly#416“wood, clearing, meadow”^*
• Ashley#164“ash tree + wood, clearing”^*
• Lacey#738Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 2,399 babies; 370 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Douglas’s. Rank is US 2025.