Douglas

An Irish surname of Dublin, Galway, and Kerry. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 101,458 people, the 311th most common surname in the country.

Dubhghlas

Where the name comes from

Dubhghlas is of Douglas, a parish in Lanarkshire, and the surname is of Scottish origin.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizon
The Muglins by Moonlight II

The Douglas counties, photographed

Dublin

Dublin is a county as well as a city. The bay has Howth at the north end and Killiney Hill at the south, the Muglins are a pair of rocks off Dalkey, and the Dublin Mountains start about half an hour from the city centre.

Long exposure panoramic view of the White Rock swimming platform at Killiney Bay, Dublin, floating in misty high-tide watersThe White Rock, Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin Heron fishing at dawn on the Dublin coast — fine art wildlife photograph by Peter CoxHeron, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

Galway

Connemara takes up the west of the county: the Twelve Bens, blanket bog, and fields walled off into very small squares. The Aran Islands sit at the mouth of Galway Bay. The Gaeltacht starts a few miles west of Galway city.

Enormous waves sending spray over 30-metre sea cliffs at Poll an tSeidein on Inis Meain, Aran Islands at sunsetPoll an tSéideáin, Inis Meáin, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway The rusting Plassey shipwreck on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, seen from above with the Atlantic Ocean beyondThe Plassey, Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway Dramatic storm waves battering tall cliffs at sunset on the west coast of Inis Meain, Aran IslandsPoll an tSéideáin Panoramic, Inis Meáin, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway Turf drying at sunset with Connemara mountains in the background, Co. Galway, Ireland, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxConnemara Turf, Co. Galway Co. Galway Dramatic light slicing through a stormy Connemara landscape on the road towards Leenaun village, County GalwayThe Road to Leenaun, Co. Galway Co. Galway

Kerry

Carrauntoohil in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks is the highest mountain in Ireland at 1,038 metres. The Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas run west from it, with the Skelligs eight miles off the Iveragh coast. I ran a gallery in Killarney for years.

Moody long exposure of Coumeenoole Beach with Blasket Islands, Dingle, Kerry, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxEvening, Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry Co. Kerry Long exposure evening light on moss-covered rocks at Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxEvening II, Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry Co. Kerry An Searrach sea stack at night near Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland, long exposure fine art photograph by Peter CoxAn Searrach, Dingle, Co. Kerry Co. Kerry Ballaghbeama Gap mountain pass in black and white, Co. Kerry, Ireland — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxBallaghbeama Gap, Co. Kerry Co. Kerry

All Dublin prints · All Galway prints · All Kerry prints

Notable bearers

Kirk Douglas (1916-2020), actor, writer, and musician.

Michael Douglas (born 1944), actor and producer.

Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981), actor.

Mary Douglas (1921-2007), anthropologist.

Jesse Douglas (1897-1965), university teacher and mathematician.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Smith · Brown · Miller · Wilson · Anderson · Thomas · Taylor · Moore · Jackson · Martin · Lee · Thompson

How common the name was

In 1890, 54 births were registered under Douglas in Ireland, most of them in Dublin, Galway, Kerry, and Roscommon.

Ulster 41
Leinster 12
Connacht 1
Munster no figure printed
Ireland 54

Roscommon is the one I haven't worked in.