Douglass
A Scottish surname tied to the place-name Douglas, usually explained as meaning “dark river” or “dark green stream.”
The #2,438 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,774 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from the Scottish place-name Douglas, from Gaelic elements usually explained as dubh “dark, black” and glas “green, gray,” referring to a dark-colored stream. Some older sources phrase this as “the dark green river” or “the dark river.” The family-name tradition also linked it to a Gaelic description of a swarthy or dark man, but the place-name explanation is the standard one.
History
The name is strongly associated with the great Douglas family of Scotland, and medieval tradition connected it with heroic service to a Scottish king. From Scotland it spread widely through Britain and later to North America and other English-speaking regions. The spelling Douglass is a well-known variant of Douglas, especially in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The famous American abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass adopted an extra “s” in his surname after escaping slavery.
From the historical record
“DOUGHTY. Strong, brave, noble. DOUGLASS. (Gaelic.) Local. The dark green river, from Dhu, black, dark, and glass, green. A river of Scotland which flows into the Clyde. A town of Lanarkshire. The tradition of the origin of the name is this : in the year 770, a man of rank and figure came seasonably to the…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names