Douglas (given name)

Common card · No. 408030

Douglas is a masculine given name which originated from the surname Douglas. Although today the name is almost exclusively given to boys, it was used as a woman's name in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the north of England. There were three wives of Members of Parliament named Douglas during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). 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 Douglas. Linguistically, Douglas is derived from the Gaelic elements: dubh, meaning "dark, black"; and glas, meaning "stream" (also a derivative of glas, meaning "green"). 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...

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