Duncan

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Duncan is an Anglicised form of Irish Donnchadh. One of the first people to bear the name was king of Dál Riata Dúnchad mac Dubáin, who was possibly the grandfather of Fiannamail ua Dúnchado-Fiannamail O'Dúnchado.

From Wikipedia

Duncan first appears in the data in 1880 and has been recorded in 144 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1997 with 644 babies (rank #378 that year). In 2024 it was given to 194 boys (rank #1,102). Its popularity has been fairly steady recently.

Numerology of Duncan

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Duncan yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

3Destiny numberThe creativeExpressive, sociable, lifted by playful energy.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
4Soul urgeThe builderPractical, steady, gets results through hard work.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
8PersonalityThe achieverDriven, capable, comfortable wielding influence.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

21,043

Total babies (all years)

144

Years in the data

644

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Famous people named Duncan

Duncan Haldaneuniversity teacher · b. 1951
Duncan Laurencepop singer · b. 1994
Duncan I of Scotlandpolitician · b. 1001
Duncan Edwardsassociation football player · b. 1936
Duncan II of Scotlandsovereign · b. 1060

Share your Duncan story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Duncan in 2024

Other boys' names starting with D

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1880	12	#540
1881	12	#511
1882	12	#550
1883	18	#416
1884	10	#626
1885	14	#507
1886	12	#552
1887	18	#396
1888	15	#511
1889	16	#468
1890	9	#684
1891	10	#612
1892	19	#448
1893	10	#668
1894	10	#685
1895	14	#562
1896	14	#559
1897	8	#804
1898	13	#616
1899	10	#672
1900	17	#607
1901	7	#881
1902	11	#700
1903	16	#557
1904	16	#572
1905	12	#713
1906	11	#771
1907	12	#782
1908	14	#720
1910	14	#830
1911	25	#614
1912	46	#601
1913	47	#653
1914	53	#716
1915	70	#701
1916	66	#754
1917	68	#762
1918	81	#703
1919	72	#762
1920	86	#696
1921	75	#775
1922	82	#723
1923	72	#779
1924	77	#763
1925	86	#698
1926	72	#759
1927	57	#899
1928	89	#665
1929	71	#757
1930	67	#786
1931	64	#785
1932	66	#781
1933	61	#786
1934	53	#866
1935	67	#753
1936	68	#732
1937	71	#715
1938	69	#738
1939	67	#734
1940	87	#643
1941	101	#590
1942	117	#572
1943	106	#613
1944	102	#612
1945	114	#563
1946	120	#586
1947	158	#538
1948	133	#579
1949	140	#568
1950	133	#590
1951	138	#591
1952	141	#589
1953	149	#590
1954	157	#589
1955	145	#616
1956	178	#568
1957	208	#537
1958	282	#470
1959	253	#490
1960	174	#595
1961	145	#651
1962	142	#649
1963	263	#493
1964	154	#626
1965	126	#661
1966	106	#722
1967	84	#795
1968	98	#749
1969	97	#785
1970	134	#713
1971	95	#829
1972	85	#874
1973	121	#728
1974	86	#862
1975	85	#896
1976	83	#915
1977	76	#984
1978	86	#937
1979	85	#960
1980	99	#900
1981	85	#980
1982	94	#924
1983	132	#753
1984	137	#746
1985	164	#690
1986	162	#711
1987	163	#715
1988	170	#721
1989	209	#690
1990	190	#740
1991	235	#661
1992	260	#639
1993	326	#567
1994	388	#512
1995	456	#473
1996	505	#444
1997	644	#378
1998	641	#386
1999	576	#410
2000	530	#447
2001	500	#474
2002	472	#488
2003	421	#543
2004	402	#567
2005	359	#619
2006	351	#656
2007	288	#765
2008	324	#716
2009	318	#735
2010	329	#709
2011	275	#801
2012	263	#831
2013	262	#823
2014	287	#800
2015	294	#790
2016	286	#806
2017	251	#869
2018	235	#916
2019	205	#1,014
2020	217	#982
2021	216	#1,016
2022	252	#918
2023	244	#930
2024	194	#1,102