Where does “Douglas” come from?

Douglas derives from Scottish Gaelic glais through Old Irish dub and Proto-Celtic dubus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to darkness or obscurity.

Douglas (English): of Scottish origin

Definitions

  1. of Scottish origin

Ancestry of “Douglas”, step by step

Douglas traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Scottish Gaelic glais

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Scottish Gaelicglaislock; vocative/genitive singular of glas
2Old Irishglasgreen, greenish; blue, green-blue, grey-blue; the...
3Proto-Celticglastosgreen, blue
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰl̥h₃stós
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰelh₃-to flourish; green, yellow

via Scottish Gaelic dubh

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Scottish Gaelicdubhblack; black-haired; blackness, darkness
2Old Irishdubblack; morally dark, dire, gloomy, melancholy;...
3Proto-Celticdubusblack
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewbʰ-deep
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “Douglas

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃-Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰl̥h₃stósEvery word from Proto-Celtic glastos