Douglas
Masculine name of Scottish origin meaning "dark river".
Name Census estimates that about 414,023 living Americans carry the first name Douglas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Douglas today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Douglas births was 1957 (16,766 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Douglas. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Douglas is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 2,073 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Douglas have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
414K
~ 1 in 828 Americans
Peak year
1957
16,766 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2024 SSA rank
#853
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Douglas
Out of the 561,781 babies given the name Douglas since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Douglas as a male name
- Ranked #853 in 2024
- 283 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (16,731 births)
Douglas as a female name
- Ranked #14,662 in 2004
- 6 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1959 (53 births)
Popularity
Douglas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Douglas from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 148,502 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Douglas by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Douglas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Douglas' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Douglas, while Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10,908 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Douglas
The name Douglas has its roots in the Scottish Gaelic language and culture, originating in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Gaelic words "dubh" meaning "dark" and "glas" meaning "stream" or "water." The name can be interpreted as referring to a dark stream, river, or valley.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled as "Douglasce" or "Douglasse" and was associated with the Douglas clan, a powerful Scottish family that played a significant role in the nation's history. The first recorded use of the name dates back to the 12th century, with records mentioning a person named William de Douglasce in 1175.
The name gained prominence in the 13th and 14th centuries, thanks to the exploits of the Douglas clan and its members, such as Sir James Douglas, who was a close companion of Robert the Bruce and played a crucial role in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England in the early 14th century. Another notable figure was Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas, who was a powerful nobleman and military leader in the late 14th century.
Over the centuries, the name has been borne by several notable historical figures, including:
1. James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516-1581), a Scottish nobleman and regent of Scotland during the minority of King James VI.
2. Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861), an American politician and lawyer who famously debated Abraham Lincoln and was a leading figure in the Democratic Party before the Civil War.
3. Lord Alfred Douglas (1870-1945), an English poet and former lover of Oscar Wilde, whose infamous relationship led to Wilde's imprisonment.
4. Norman Douglas (1868-1952), a British novelist and travel writer best known for his novel "South Wind."
5. Donald Wills Douglas Sr. (1892-1981), an American aviation pioneer and founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company, which later merged with McDonnell Aircraft to form McDonnell Douglas Corporation.
The name has endured over the centuries, transcending its Scottish origins and becoming popular in various parts of the English-speaking world, particularly in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries with historical ties to the British Empire.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Douglas
People
Douglas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Douglas as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Douglas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Douglas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 414,023 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Douglas going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 828 US residents.
Is Douglas a common name?
We classify Douglas as "Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 561,781 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Douglas most popular?
The single biggest year for Douglas was 1957, when 16,766 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Douglas is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Douglas a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Douglas in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.