Duane is both a

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 ...

for a

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

, and a family name. The name derives from St.

Dubhán Dubhán was a 5th-century Brittonic priest and pilgrim, for whom Hook Head (originally ''Rinn Dubháin'') is named. The name is from Old Irish Dubán meaning "little dark one", derived from dub "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. ...

, who established an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

in Hook Head, Ireland, during the 5th century. As a surname it is O'Dubhain, or Dubhan. Dubhain was a popular given name in 16th century southern Ireland; its anglicized form is Duane. In the United States, Duane became a popular name around the 1920s and remained one of the 200 most popular names for about 50 years. The spelling

Dwayne Dwayne or Dewayne is a traditionally male name, a variant of Duane. It is Gaelic in origin, deriving from the Irish saint Dubhán. History St. Dubhán was an Irish monk who established a monastery in Hook Head, Ireland , during the 5th century. ...

was adopted as time went on, most likely because of the also popular name Wayne. Dwayne eventually became the preferred spelling, especially in the southern U.S., while Duane remains the more common spelling in northern-Midwest states such as Minnesota, Michigan, and North Dakota. Dwyane was once a birth certificate spelling mistake that gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s thanks to basketball legend

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. ( or , born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the co-owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. He is also currently the host of the American a ...

Notable people named Duane

* Duane Acker (1931–2024), American academic, president of Kansas State University *

Duane Allen Duane David Allen (born April 29, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter, who had formal training in both operatic and quartet singing before becoming a member of the Oak Ridge Boys in 1966. Allen is the lead singer for the quartet and i ...

(born 1943), lead singer of The Oak Ridge Boys country and gospel quartet * Duane Allen (American football) (1937–2003), American football player *

Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock and blues guitarist and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

(1946–1971), American guitarist * Duane Bastress (born 1983), American mixed martial artist *

Duane Beeson Duane Willard Beeson (July 16, 1921 – February 13, 1947) was an American fighter aircraft, fighter aviator, pilot and flying ace of World War II. He scored 22.08 victories, including 17.3 air-to-air kills, 12 of which were scored in the P-47C/D ...

(1921–1947), American World War II fighter pilot * Duane Bickett (born 1962), American football player *

Duane Bobick Duane David Bobick (born August 24, 1950) is an American former boxer. As an amateur, Bobick won the gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games and fought at the 1972 Olympics. He then turned professional in 1973 and retired in 1979 with a record ...

(born 1950), American boxer *

Duane Brown Duane Anthony Brown (born August 30, 1985) is an American professional football offensive tackle. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was selected by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft. Brown ha ...

(born 1985), American football player * Duane Bryers (1911–2012), American painter, illustrator and sculptor * Duane R. Bushey (born 1944), seventh Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy *

Duane Butler Duane Butler (born November 9, 1973) is an American former professional gridiron football linebacker and safety. He played college football at Illinois State. College career Duane Butler attended Illinois State University. While there, he wa ...

(born 1973), American football linebacker * Duane G. Carey (born 1957), American astronaut *

Duane Carter Duane Claude Carter (May 5, 1913 – March 7, 1993) was an American racecar driver. He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars.Pancho Carter Duane Claude Carter Jr. (born June 11, 1950), nicknamed "Pancho," is an American former open-wheel racing driver. Best known for his participation in Championship car racing, he won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the M ...

, Jr. (born 1950), American racecar driver, son of Duane Carter *

Duane Chapman Duane Chapman (born February 2, 1953), also known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, is an American television personality, bounty hunter, and former bail bondsman. Note: Some sources give the year as 1953, including Chapman came to international notic ...

(born 1953), American bounty hunter and star of the reality TV series ''Dog the Bounty Hunter'' *

Duane Clarridge Duane Ramsdell "Dewey" Clarridge (April 16, 1932 – April 9, 2016) was an American senior operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supervisor for more than 30 years. Clarridge was the chief of the Latin American division ...

(1932–2016), American CIA supervisor known for his role in the Iran-Contra Affair *

Duane Clemons Duane Anthony Clemons (born May 23, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) between 1996 and 2005. He played college football for the California Golden Bears and wa ...

(born 1974), American football player *

Duane Courtney Duane Jerome Courtney (born 7 January 1985) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Highgate United. He has played in the Football League for Burnley. Courtney started his career in the youth system of D ...

(born 1985), English footballer *

Duane Denison Duane Denison (born January 21, 1959) is an American guitarist best known for work with the punk rock band The Jesus Lizard. He is also a founding member of super-group Tomahawk. Biography Denison began his musical career by studying classica ...

(born 1959), American guitarist * Duane E. Dewey (1931–2021), United States Marine *

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (April 26, 1938 – April 30, 2024) was an American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" guitar sound, including ...

(1938–2024), American guitarist *

Duane Elgin Duane Elgin (born 1943) is an American author, speaker, educator, consultant, and media activist. Early life and education Duane Elgin grew up near Wilder, Idaho. He attended the Sorbonne in Paris for one semester in 1963 and earned a Bachelor ...

(born 1943), American author and media activist *

Duane Ferrell Duane Ferrell (born February 28, 1965) is an American retired professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors. He played college bas ...

(born 1965), American basketball player * Duane Gill (born 1959), American professional wrestler *

Duane Gish Duane Tolbert Gish (February 17, 1921 – March 5, 2013) was an American biochemist and a prominent member of the creationist movement. A young Earth creationist, Gish was a former vice-president of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) ...

(1921–2013), American biochemist * Duane Glinton (born 1982), Turks & Caicos Islands footballer * Duane Graveline (1931–2016), American astronaut *

Duane D. Hackney Duane D. Hackney (June 5, 1947 – September 3, 1993) was a United States Air Force pararescueman. He was the most decorated enlisted man in USAF history and the recipient of 28 decorations for valor in combat and more than 70 awards and dec ...

(1947−1993), United States Air Force Pararescueman *

Duane Hanson Duane Hanson (January 17, 1925 – January 6, 1996) was an American artist and sculptor born in Minnesota. He spent most of his career in South Florida. He was known for his life-sized realistic sculptures of people. He cast the works based on ...

(1925–1996), American artist and sculptor *

Duane Harden Duane Harden (born August 5, 1971) is a German-born American dance music vocalist and songwriter who has sung on several hits by various producers. Harden is particularly famous in the United Kingdom, having sung on two best-selling dance sing ...

(born 1971), American singer and songwriter *

Duane Henry Duane Henry (born 18 March 1985) is an English actor. Henry is most notable for his roles as Clayton Reeves in '' NCIS'' and Gareth Broadhurst in '' Doctors''. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Early life Duane Henry was born ...

(born 1985), English actor *

Duane Holmes Duane Octavious Holmes (born November 6, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo. Born in Columbus, Georgia, United States, Holmes has an American father and an Engl ...

(born 1994), American-English footballer * Duane Hudson (1910–1995), British Special Operations Executive (SOE) officer during WWII *

Duane Jones Duane Lionel Jones (April 11, 1937July 22, 1988) was an American actor. He was best known for his lead role as Ben in the 1968 horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''. He was later director of the Maguire Theater at the State University of New ...

(1936–1988), American actor * Duane Josephson (1942–1997), American baseball player *

Duane Kuiper Duane Eugene Kuiper (born June 19, 1950), nicknamed "Kuip", is an American sportscaster and former professional baseball player. As a player, he was a second baseman for the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (M ...

(born 1950), American baseball sportscaster and former player *

Duane Litfin A. Duane Litfin (born 1943) is an American academic administrator and evangelical minister. He was the seventh president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Early life and education Litfin was born on November 14, 1943. He holds an undergra ...

(born 1944), seventh president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois *

Duane Ludwig Duane Paul Ludwig (born August 4, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts coach, retired professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Ludwig formerly held the unofficial fastest knockout record in the UFC after his win against Jonathan Go ...

(born 1978), American mixed martial artist *

Duane Martin Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) is an American actor. He began his career making appearances on numerous television sitcoms before starring as Robert James on the UPN/ CW sitcom '' All of Us'' (2003–2007) and as Detective Ben Baines on t ...

(born 1965), American film and television actor *

Duane Michals Duane Michals ( "Michaels"; born February 18, 1932) is an American photographer. Michals's work makes innovative use of photo-sequences, often incorporating text to examine emotion and philosophy. Education and career Michals's interest in ar ...

(born 1932), American photographer * Duane

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

(born 1941), American National Football League head coach * Duane D. Pearsall (1922–2010), American entrepreneur known for smoke detectors *

Duane Pederson Father Duane Pederson, The Right Reverend Archimandrite (September 30, 1938 – July 20, 2022) was an American Eastern Orthodox priest, " Jesus freak" and former leader of the "Jesus movement". He was also the founder of Orthodox Christian Priso ...

(1938–2022), American Eastern Orthodox minister *

Duane Peters Duane Thomas Peters (born June 12, 1961) is a punk rock singer/songwriter and professional skateboarder. Active since 1975, he is probably best known as the singer in the California punk rock band U.S. Bombs, which formed in 1993. Biography P ...

(born 1961), American punk rock singer/songwriter and professional skateboarder *

Duane Pillette Duane Xavier "Dee" Pillette (July 24, 1922 – May 6, 2011) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different teams from 1949 through 1956. Listed at , , Pill ...

(1922–2011), American baseball player * Duane Pomeroy (born 1952), American politician and teacher * Duane Sand (born 1965), American politician * Duane Starks (born 1974), American football cornerback *

Duane Sutter Duane Calvin Sutter (born March 16, 1960) is a Canadian former National Hockey League player and head coach. He was a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the New York Islanders. He is one of the famed six Sutter brothers to play in the NHL. On Ma ...

(born 1960), Canadian National Hockey League player and head coach * Duane Thomas (born 1947), American football player *

Duane Thomas (boxer) Duane Thomas (February 1, 1961 – June 2000), was an American professional boxer in the super welterweight (154 lb) division. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. Professional career Thomas turned pro in 1979 and won the Vacant USBA Light middle ...

(1961–2000), American boxer * Duane Washington (born 1964), American basketball player *

Duane Whitaker Nathan Duane Whitaker Jr. (born June 23, 1959) is an American character actor. Early life Whitaker was born in Abilene, Texas, the oldest child of Nathan Duane Whitaker Sr. and Barbara Ella Hudson, a nurse. He has two younger sisters, both bor ...

(born 1959), American actor * Duane Wilson (1934–2021), American baseball player

Fictional characters

* the title character of ''

Duane Hopwood ''Duane Hopwood'' is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Matt Mulhern, and starring David Schwimmer, Janeane Garofalo, Judah Friedlander, John Krasinski and Steve Schirripa. After being featured in the Sundance Film Festiva ...

'', a 2005 film * Duane Adelier, in '' Unsounded'', a 2012 graphic novel

References

{{given name, Duane English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Masculine given names

Notable people named Duane

Fictional characters

See also

References