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Dougal

Quick answerThe name 'Dougal' means "dark stranger" or "black foreigner," derived from the Scottish Gaelic elements *dubh* ("black/dark") and *gall* ("stranger/foreigner").

Scottish Gaelic · Boy · 2 syllables

D
Top 5,000

Popularity & facts

Relative popularity index, 2010–2025
GenderBoy
US Rank#4,077
TrendVintage
Peak year1916
Syllables2
OriginScottish Gaelic
LanguageScottish
CultureScottish
Letters6
Numerology6 Chaldean 6
Global rank#619

Popularity over time

Popularity index
Hover the line to see any year. 100 = most popular.

Historical popularity from 1880–2025 · US Social Security Administration data

About the name Dougal

The name 'Dougal' means "dark stranger" or "black foreigner," derived from the Scottish Gaelic elements *dubh* ("black/dark") and *gall* ("stranger/foreigner").

Cross-referenced with Behind the Name. AI-assisted, community-reviewable. Suggest an improvement.

Etymology

The name 'Dougal' means "dark stranger" or "black foreigner," derived from the Scottish Gaelic elements *dubh* ("black/dark") and *gall* ("stranger/foreigner"). It is primarily used in Scottish and Irish cultures, often associated with the medieval Clan MacDougall, and has no specific religious affiliation.

Dougal currently ranks #4,077 in the United States as a boy's name. It reached its peak popularity around 1916.

Variants & nicknames

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