Duncan

Duncan (m) Gaelic Donnchad, ‘brown warrior.’ The
name of two Scottish kings, one of whom was murdered by his cousin, Macbeth. Shakespeare’s play on that subject has made the name Duncan widely known, but it has never been used very much in the U.S.A. The English and Welsh showed interest in the name in the 1960’s, but they have since abandoned it. Duncan was the 15th most frequently used name in Scotland in 1858, but it had fallen to 51st place by 1958. An unofficial count made in 1975 indicated that it had by then fallen still lower in the ratings. It is also less common as a Scottish surname, ranking 33rd in 1958 but 44th in 1976.

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