Douglas
Scottish surname from a place on a stream in Lanarkshire, named with the Gaelic dubh glas, dark water.
Douglas in 2025
Douglas was given to 308 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 1,658th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 10,764 babies born.
The history of Douglas
Douglas reached its highest point in 1957, when 16,765 babies were given the name, ranking 53rd that year. Its best-ever ranking was 44th, in 1942.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 562,086 babies have been named Douglas. Half of them were born before 1959, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Douglas by decade
| Decade | Babies named Douglas | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 334 | 582 |
| 1890s | 585 | 532 |
| 1900s | 960 | 477 |
| 1910s | 7,022 | 270 |
| 1920s | 17,486 | 226 |
| 1930s | 26,183 | 128 |
| 1940s | 81,000 | 44 |
| 1950s | 148,503 | 51 |
| 1960s | 135,413 | 53 |
| 1970s | 65,471 | 66 |
| 1980s | 42,024 | 118 |
| 1990s | 22,022 | 203 |
| 2000s | 8,667 | 543 |
| 2010s | 4,487 | 1,039 |
| 2020s | 1,929 | 1,527 |
Where Douglas is heading
Douglas has fallen 30% over the past decade, from 437 babies in 2015 to 308 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1957 peak — Douglas is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Douglas
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Douglas.