Douglass

Where Douglass comes from

The dictionaries list Douglass as a given name — a male given name transferred from the surname — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

Along the way
  1. 1883
    First appearance
    #799 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1907
    Douglass Montgomery born
    American actor
  3. 1920
    Douglass North born
    American economist and Nobel laureate
  4. 1942
    Peak, #575
    116 babies named Douglass — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1976
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,304.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Douglass North · American economist and Nobel laureate, 1920–2015
  • Douglass Montgomery · American actor, 1907–1966
  • Douglass Dumbrille · Canadian-American actor, 1889–1974
  • Douglass Cadwallader · American golfer, 1884–1971
  • Douglass Houghton · American geologist and botanical collector, 1809–1845

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.