Dougal is a Scottish masculine
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
. It is an
Anglicised
Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
form of the
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
''Dubhghall'', or ''Dùghall''. These
Gaelic names are composed of the elements: ''dubh'', meaning "black"; and ''gall'', meaning "impostor". The Gaelic names are derived from a
byname
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
, said to have referred to a
Dane, in contrast to the fairer
Norwegians
Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...
.
Variants of ''Dougal'' include ''Dugald'', ''Dougald'' and ''Dugal''. A pet form of ''Dougal'' is ''
Dougie''.
[ which cited for the given name "Dougal".]
People
Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Dougal
*
Dougal Dixon (born 1947), Scottish geologist, palaeontologist, educator and author
*
Dougal Graham (c. 1724-1779), Scottish writer
*
Dougal Howard (born 1996), Australian rules footballer
*
Dougal Jerram (born 1969), British geologist, and television and media presenter
*
Dougal Robertson (1924-1992), Scottish author and sailor
Fictional characters
*
Father Dougal McGuire, a character on
Father Ted
''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
.
See also
*
List of Irish-language given names
This list of Irish-language given names shows Irish language given names, their Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicisations and/or English language equivalents.
Not all Irish given names have English equivalents, though most names have an angl ...
*
Dubgaill and Finngaill
References
{{given name, Dougal, nocat
Anglicised Scottish Gaelic-language given names
Scottish masculine given names
Masculine given names
Irish masculine given names