The Duncan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 135,187 people carried this name — #212 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,180 people counted. That is up 4% from 130,419 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Duncan surname

A Scottish surname originating as a patronymic.

As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, from Donnchadh, a name composed of donn (“brown”) + cath (“battle”). Also spelled as Donagh and Donaghue, Donahue.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Duncan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley explains it as ‘the son of Duncan’.

An early record he cites: Willelmus Dunkan, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 257 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 41 births for the Duncan name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 6 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Tyrone.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 25
Leinster 8
Connacht 7
Munster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 67 people named Duncan live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Santa Fe.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Santa Fe 26
City of Buenos Aires 25
Buenos Aires Province 16

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

63 people named Duncan live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 18
Zurich 13
Geneva 12
Bern 7
Obwalden 5
Lucerne 4
Valais 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 49 people named Duncan.

Most of them — 33 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 33
Paris 8
Maine-et-Loire 3
Seine-Saint-Denis 3
Pas-de-Calais 1
Guadeloupe 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

51 people named Duncan is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 51

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland, 1880s

Duncan was 50 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 200. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Mostly north of the Forth and the Clyde.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 588 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Duncan was recorded 443 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 34th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 778. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

249 families named Duncan, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,459 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 76
North Carolina 41
South Carolina 41
Maryland 19
New York 18
New Hampshire 17
Virginia 16
Massachusetts 8
Vermont 6
Connecticut 4
Maine 2
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 238 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Duncan in American newspapers,
1920.

Newspaper page from The Southern Herald carrying the name Duncan
The Southern Herald 1920-02-06
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Duncan
Daily Kennebec Journal 1920-05-04
Newspaper page from The Ronan Pioneer carrying the name Duncan
The Ronan Pioneer 1920-01-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 30,457 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Duncan in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.

330,155 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Duncan. The most, 58,866, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 94,385
Victoria 84,713
Queensland 62,919
South Australia 50,210
Western Australia 19,505
Tasmania 15,450
ACT (Canberra) 2,224
Northern Territory 182

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Duncan.

Who carried it

People named Duncan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Martijn Duncan
    Martijn Duncan 1505–1590 · writer
  • Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan
    Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan 1731–1804 · politician
  • Henry Duncan
    Henry Duncan 1774–1846 · geologist
  • Stephen Duncan
    Stephen Duncan 1787–1867 · banker
  • James H. Duncan
    James H. Duncan 1793–1869 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 173 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Duncan,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States11,011 records

11,011 records of the Duncan name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 4,472
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,878
  • Other U.S. records 4,661
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Andrew McArthur Duncan

    Born 1942; from Detroit, Michigan. U.S. Army, watch repairman; died in an accident 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Westlawn Cemetery, Wayne, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Wynn C. Duncan

    Born 1918 in Missouri. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; office clerk from Sullivan County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1992, buried at Springfield National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Raymond E. Duncan

    Born 1932; from Hartford County, Connecticut. U.S. Army; killed in action 1950 in South Korea. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 11,011 records for Duncan in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia6,159 records

6,159 records of the Duncan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 3,348
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1,035
  • Other Australian records 1,776
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Henry Duncan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Maria Somes, sailing from London in 1844. Native of Worcester, Worcestershire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848. Married 1848 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 29.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Duncan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Ratcliffe, sailing from Spithead in 1848. Native of Liverpool, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1852. Married 1852 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Duncan

    Died 1902 in Stone Street, Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1902.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6,159 records for Duncan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada1,069 records

1,069 records of the Duncan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 524
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 135
  • Other Canadian records 410
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Frank Henry Duncan

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, corporal; of Cayuga, Ontario.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alex Duncan

    Came to Ontario in 1878 aboard the Moravian, landing at Quebec, bound for Brampton, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William L. Duncan

    Buried in 1977 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 91.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 1,069 records for Duncan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom505 records

505 records of the Duncan name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 219
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 151
  • Other British records 135
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record James Duncan

    Born 1894 at Rosieburn; farmer. Died 1917. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918 (Seaforth Highlanders).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain); National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Paterson Duncan

    Born 1892 at Forres. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918 (Army Veterinary Corps).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain); National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record William George Duncan

    Born 1875 at Urquhart; gamekeeper. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 505 records for Duncan in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand212 records

212 records of the Duncan name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 172
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 22
  • Other New Zealand records 18
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dorothea Karoline Duncan

    Died 1981, aged 77; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Andrew Duncan

    Buried in 1935 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 43.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Duncan

    Died 1978, aged 67; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 212 records for Duncan in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands72 records

72 records of the Duncan name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 30
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 25
  • Dutch population registers 17
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jacobus Antonius Duncan

    Born 1842 in 's-Hertogenbosch. Died 1843 in 's-Hertogenbosch.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Anna Maria Duncan

    Born 1840 in 's-Hertogenbosch. Married in 1859 in 's-Hertogenbosch.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 72 records for Duncan in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France10 records

10 records of the Duncan name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Anne-Marie Isabelle Duncan

    Born 1950 in Montfermeil (Seine-Saint-Denis); died 1999 in Orthez (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 10 records for Duncan in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Duncan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Duncan is.
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