Given name

Dugald

“a dark stranger”

In Scottish use, Dugald has a related form in Dougal. One Celtic interpretation is “a dark stranger.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

In Scottish use, Dugald has a related form in Dougal. One Celtic interpretation is “a dark stranger.”

Explained through its name family

Where it comes from

In Scottish use, Dugald has a related form in Dougal. An origin associated with Dougal is Celtic.

Explained through its name family

How it developed

In Scottish use, Dugald is used as a variant of Dougal.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1919. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Dugald through the years

Babies since 1880
16
16 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
1919
6 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
02468192019401960198020002025Highest share 19190.0
Dugald in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1919–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1948. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 6 in 1919.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Dugald’s family of names

Dugald has a related form in Doyle. Dugald has a related form in Dougal.

Walk Dugald’s family in the name graph

DugaldDoyleDougalDougald

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 2

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Across languages 1

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

See also 1

Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.

Similar names

If you love Dugald, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Gaelic

McDonald

“the son of Donald”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Gaelic

Dunbar

“from the castle at the headland”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Gaelic · Nature

Dorsey

“from the fortress near the sea”

0Not recently recorded

87% boys · 13% girls

Gaelic

Dunn

“a brown-haired man”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Gaelic

Downey

“descendant of Dúnadhach”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Gaelic · Old-fashioned

Donal

“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”

0Not recently recordedCooling

>99% boys

Gaelic · Place names

Athol

“from the new Ireland”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Gaelic

Forbus

Forbus is a surname from Scottish Gaelic.

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share Dugald’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Dugald

A sister for Dugald