# Douglas (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/douglas/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 101,458 |
| US rank (2010) | 311 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,043 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.2% (96,425 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdʌɡləs/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Douglass |

## Etymology

From a place name, Scottish Gaelic dubh (“black”) + glais (“stream”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Douglas in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 59% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 35% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Douglas in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Greece.

## People named Douglas

- Kirk Douglas, American actor (1916–2020)
- Michael Douglas, American actor, producer and activist (born 1944)
- Melvyn Douglas, American actor (1901-1981)
- Mary Douglas, British anthropologist (1921–2007)
- Jesse Douglas, American mathematician (1897–1965)
- Stephen A. Douglas, American politician and lawyer (1813–1861)
- Donna Douglas, American actress (1933-2015)
- Gabby Douglas, American gymnast
- Illeana Douglas, American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer
- Helen Gahagan Douglas, American actress and politician (1900–1980)
- Buster Douglas, American boxer
- Gordon Douglas, American film director (1907-1993)

and 61 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Douglass, Duclos.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.