# Duncan (given name)

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. The final letter n in the Anglicised Duncan seems to be a result of confusion in the Latin form of the name—Duncanus—with the Gaelic word ceann, meaning "head". One opinion is that the Gaelic Donnchadh is composed of the elements donn, meaning "dark or dark-haired man" or "chieftain"; and cath, meaning "battle", together meaning "dark-haired or dark warrior". Another opinion is that the Gaelic Donnchadh is composed of the elements donn, meaning "brown"; and chadh, meaning "chief" or "noble".

## Variations

| Old Irish | Modern Irish | Hiberno-English | Scottish Gaelic | Scottish English |
| Donnchadh | Donncha | Donagh | Donnchadh | Duncan |

## Royalty

* Duncan I of Scotland (died 1040), king of Alba, the inspiration for King Duncan in Shakespeare's play Macbeth
* Duncan II of Scotland (1060–1094) king of Scots

## Sports

* Duncan Atwood (born 1955), American javelin thrower
* Duncan Clark (athlete) (1915–2003), Scottish hammer thrower
* Duncan Edwards (1936–1958), English footballer
* Duncan Ferguson (born 1971), Scottish footballer
* Duncan Goodhew, Olympic swimmer for Great Britain
* Duncan Keith, Canadian ice hockey player
* Duncan Kibet (born 1978), Kenyan long-distance runner
* Duncan Legere (born 1989), Canadian fencer
* Duncan Lindsay (1902–1972), Scottish footballer
* Duncan McClure, (1913–1991), Scottish footballer
* Duncan Ochieng, (born 1978), Kenyan footballer
* Duncan Reid (born 1989), Hong Kong basketball player
* Duncan Robinson (basketball), (born 1994), American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat
* Duncan Weir (born 1991), Scottish rugby union player

## Theatre and movies

* Duncan Brennan, American actor
* Duncan Jones, British-American movie director and writer of Moon and Warcraft
* Duncan Lamont, Scottish actor
* Duncan Pflaster (born 1973), American playwright and actor
* Duncan Regehr, Canadian stage, film and television actor

## Literature

* Duncan Campbell Scott (1862-1947), Canadian poet

## Music

* Duncan Coutts (born 1969), Canadian bassist for Our Lady Peace
* Duncan James (born 1978), British singer
* Duncan Lamont, British jazz saxophone player and composer
* Duncan Laurence (born 1994), Dutch singer
* Duncan Sheik, American singer

## Politics

* Duncan Baird, American politician
* Duncan Hunter, American politician
* Duncan D. Hunter, American politician

## Science

* Duncan A. MacInnes, American chemist
* Duncan Odom, Cancer researcher

## Education

* Duncan Ivison, Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester

## Journalism

* Duncan McCue, Canadian journalist
* Duncan Garner, New Zealand journalist

## Business

* Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish entrepreneur
* Duncan Hines, American entrepreneur
* Duncan Phyfe (originally Duncan Fife, 1770–1854), Scottish-born American cabinetmaker

## Fictional characters

* Duncan, a character in the Total Drama series
* Duncan Quagmire, a character in the A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
* Duncan, a character in The Railway Series and its televised adaptation, Thomas and Friends
* Duncan Dhu, character of the book Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson inspiring the name of the Spanish band
* Duncan Douglas, a character in Freakazoid!
* Duncan Idaho, a character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert
* King Duncan, a character in the William Shakespeare play Macbeth, based on Duncan I of Scotland
* Duncan MacLeod, a character in Highlander: The Series
* Ser Duncan the Tall, a character in Tales of Dunk and Egg, a series of novellas written by George R. R. Martin, set in the same universe as A Song of Ice and Fire
* Duncan P. Anderson, a character in Monsters at Work, a spin-off TV series to the movie Monsters, Inc.