Douglas (surname)

For the Scottish family of Douglas see Earl of Douglas, Earl of Angus or House of Douglas

Douglas, occasionally spelt Douglass, is a Scottish surname. It is thought to derive from the Scottish Gaelic dubh glas, meaning "black stream". There are numerous places in Scotland from which the surname is derived. The surname has developed into the given name Douglas. 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 Scotland, it is thought, in most cases, to refer to Douglas, South Lanarkshire, the location of Douglas Castle, the chief stronghold of the Lords of Douglas.[1] The Scottish Gaelic form of the given name is Dùbhghlas [ˈt̪uːl̪ˠəs̪]; the Irish-language forms are Dúghlas[2] and Dubhghlas, which are pronounced [ˈd̪ˠuːɣlˠəsˠ].[3] According to George Fraser Black, in southern Argyllshire the surname is an Anglicised form of the surnames MacLucas, MacLugash (which are derived from the Gaelic Mac Lùcais).[4]

  1. ^ "Learn about the family history of your surname". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 6 April 2010. which cited Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surname "Douglas".
  2. ^ Coghlan, Ronan (1979), Irish Christian names: an A-Z of first names, Johnston and Bacon, p. 42
  3. ^ Norman, Teresa (2003), A World of Baby Names (Revised ed.), Perigee, p. 287, ISBN 978-0-399-52894-1
  4. ^ Black, George Fraser (1946), The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History, New York: New York Public Library, pp. 217–218