US Name Trends

Douglas

Scottish Gaelic dubh glas, “dark water,” a river and then a clan surname.

1957peak year
No. 23best rank (1942)
562,086babies since 1880
No. 807rank in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Douglas per year — peak 16,730▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Douglas appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1929 to 1989. Its biggest year was 1957, when 16,730 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 30 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1942, at No. 23. In 2025 it ranked No. 807 for boys. All told, 562,086 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Douglass (5,795) (total births since 1880)

Explore Douglas interactively →

By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s334No. 245
1890s585No. 187
1900s950No. 168
1910s6,908No. 115
1920s17,301No. 97
1930s26,031No. 58
1940s80,760No. 23
1950s148,205No. 27
1960s134,989No. 27
1970s65,155No. 36
1980s41,746No. 62
1990s21,972No. 103
2000s8,661No. 274
2010s4,487No. 485
2020s1,929No. 737

Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper

Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.