Find out how popular the last name Dougal is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Dougal.

Dougal, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Dougal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dougal in America

Dougal is the 35945th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dougal surname appeared 624 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dougal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dougal to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Dougal

The surname Dougal has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic personal name "Dougal," which means "dark stranger" or "dark foreigner." This name was likely given to someone who had a swarthy or dark complexion and was considered a newcomer to a particular area.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Dougal can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of parchment rolls that recorded the names of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. In these rolls, the name appears as "Dugal" and "Dougal."

The name Dougal is also connected to several place names in Scotland, such as Dougalston in East Dunbartonshire and Dougalston Loch in North Lanarkshire. These place names may have originated from individuals bearing the surname Dougal who owned or lived in those areas.

One notable person with the surname Dougal was John Dougal (1622-1700), a Scottish clergyman and writer who served as the Principal of the University of St. Andrews. Another was James Dougal (1810-1888), a Scottish author and journalist who wrote extensively on Scottish history and culture.

In the 16th century, there was a John Dougal who was a prominent merchant in Edinburgh, and in the 17th century, a William Dougal served as the Provost (mayor) of Linlithgow, a town in West Lothian.

Another individual of note was Archibald Dougal (1759-1838), a Scottish minister and author who wrote several works on theology and religious subjects.

While the surname Dougal is not as common as some other Scottish surnames, it has a rich history and can be traced back to the 12th century, with various individuals bearing the name making significant contributions to Scottish society over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dougal

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Dougal.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Dougal was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Dougal has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Dougal was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dougal, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!