Douglas

Douglas is a boy's name of Irish and Celtic origin meaning “dark, black.” In 2024 it was given to 283 boys in the United States.

Douglas at a glance

Gender
Boy name
Origin
Irish & Celtic · English & American
Meaning
“dark, black”
Pronunciation
/ˈdʌɡləs/

About the name Douglas

Douglas belongs to the Irish & Celtic and English & American tradition. Its meaning — “dark, black” — is the sense carried by its Irish and Celtic roots, and it is the meaning we verified against published sources for this page.

In the United States, Douglas first appears in Social Security records in 1880. It climbed to its best-ever rank of #23 in 1942, and in 2024 283 babies received the name — 559,708 in total since 1880. Those are the official counts, not estimates.

Douglas in US records

First recorded (US)
1880
Best US rank
#23 in 1942
Peak year
1957
Babies named Douglas in 2024
283
Total since 1880
559,708

Similar names

More names from the Irish & Celtic shelf:

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Douglas mean?

Douglas means “dark, black” in its Irish and Celtic roots. We check every meaning against published sources before it appears here.

Is Douglas a boy or girl name?

Douglas is a boy name. In 2024, 283 babies received the name in the US.

What origin is the name Douglas?

Douglas comes from the Irish & Celtic and English & American tradition.

How popular is the name Douglas?

Douglas first appears in US records in 1880. Its best-ever ranking was #23 in 1942, and 283 babies were given the name in 2024.

How do you pronounce Douglas?

Douglas is pronounced /ˈdʌɡləs/ (IPA).

Share this name

Put the Douglas name card on your own site or blog — free, with the code below. It keeps a small credit link back to this page.

<iframe src="https://namepetal.com/embed/douglas/" width="100%" height="330" style="border:0;max-width:460px" loading="lazy" title="Douglas name card — NamePetal"></iframe>

Card by NamePetal.

Meaning and origin for this page were checked against this source. US popularity figures are from the Social Security Administration's public baby-names data. If you spot an error, write to [email protected] — accuracy is the whole point of this site, and corrections are made fast.