Duncan is a Scottish and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

surname. For the etymology of the surname ''Duncan'' this web page cites: ''Dictionary of American Family Names''. Another opinion is that the Gaelic ''Donnchadh'' is composed of the elements ''donn'', meaning "brown"; and ''chadh'', meaning "chief" or "noble". In some cases when the surname originates in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

, Ireland, it is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name MacDonough or Mac Donnchadha and ''Ó Duinnchinn'', meaning "descendant of ''Donncheann''". The Gaelic ''Donncheann'' is a

byname An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

composed of the elements ''donn'', meaning "brown-haired man" or "chieftain"; and ''ceann'', meaning "head". For the etymology of the surname ''Duncan'' this web page cites: ''Dictionary of American Family Names''. The surname Duncan is represented in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

as ''MacDhonnchaidh''. The surname also originated from the given name Duncan.

Acting

* Carmen Duncan (1942–2019), Australian actress *

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by Ha ...

(born 1950), British actress *

Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957September 3, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor a ...

(1957–2012), American actor *

Sandy Duncan Sandra Kay Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American actress, comedian, dancer and singer. She is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of ''Peter Pan'' and in the sitcom ''The Hogan Family''. Duncan has been nominated for thr ...

(born 1946), American actress

Art and design

* Charles Stafford Duncan (1892–1952),

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

painter and lithographer. * Edward Duncan (1803–1882), British watercolourist * Jane Duncan (architect) (born 1953), British architect * Jean Duncan (artist) (1933–2018), British artist * Walter Duncan (1848–1932), British painter

Military, armed forces

* Adam Duncan (1731–1804), British admiral * Donald B. Duncan (1896–1975), American vice-admiral *

Donald W. Duncan Master Sergeant Donald Walter Duncan (March 18, 1930 – March 25, 2009) was a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who served during the Vietnam War, helping to establish the guerrilla infiltration force Project DELTA there. Following his return ...

(1930–2009), American soldier and anti-war activist *

Henry Duncan Henry Duncan may refer to: * Henry Duncan (minister) (1774–1846), Scottish minister, geologist and social reformer; founder of the savings bank movement * Henry Duncan (naval officer, born 1735) (1735–1814), Naval captain and Deputy Comptroller ...

(1735–1814), British naval officer * Pippa Duncan, British naval officer * W. G. G. Duncan Smith (1914–1996), British military aviator * Anthony H. Duncan, American Army Military Police Honor Guard Specialist

Music

C Duncan Christopher Duncan (born 29 July 1989) is a Scottish composer and musician. His compositions have been featured on various television programmes, including '' Waterloo Road'', and have been performed by Icebreaker and the Sirens of Titan choir. ...

, born Christopher Duncan, Scottish composer and musician whose debut album ''Architect'' was nominated for the 2015

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

Gary Duncan Gary Duncan (born Eugene Duncan, Jr., adopted at birth and named Gary Ray Grubb, September 4, 1946 – June 29, 2019) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was guitarist with The Brogues, then most notably with Quicksilver M ...

(1946–2019), American guitarist and singer *

Johnny Duncan (country singer) John Richard Duncan (October 5, 1938 – August 14, 2006) was an American country music singer, best known for a string of hits in the mid- to late 1970s. In his career, he released 14 studio albums, including thirteen on Columbia Records. ...

(1938–2006), American singer *

Lesley Duncan Lesley Cox (née Duncan; 12 August 1943 – 12 March 2010) was an English singer-songwriter, best known for her work during the 1970s. She received much airplay on British radio stations such as BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, but never achieved ...

, English singer and songwriter * Little Arthur Duncan (1934–2008), American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter *

Molly Duncan Malcolm "Molly" Duncan (24 August 1945 – 8 October 2019) was a Scottish tenor saxophonist and founding member of Average White Band. Career Malcolm "Molly" Duncan recorded with Ray Charles, Tom Petty, Buddy Guy, Ben E. King, Dire Straits, Br ...

(1945–2019), Scottish tenor saxophonist * Tim Duncan (singer), Southern Gospel singer * Trevor Duncan, English composer *

Zélia Duncan Zélia Duncan (, 28 October 1964), born Zélia Cristina Gonçalves Moreira, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Biography Duncan was born in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. She moved with her family to Brasília, where she lived for 16 ...

, Brazilian singer and songwriter

Politics

Alan Duncan Sir Alan James Carter Duncan (born 31 March 1957) is a British former Conservative Party politician who served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014 and as Minister of State for Europe and the Americas from 201 ...

(born 1957), British politician * Arne Duncan (born 1964), U.S. Secretary of Education (2009–2015) * Charles Duncan Jr. (1926–2022), U.S. Secretary of Energy (1979–1981) * Jimmy Duncan, (born 1947), American politician, U.S. Representative from

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district The 2nd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Tim Burchett since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in East Tennessee and borders Kentucky ...

(1988–2019) *

John Duncan Sr. John James Duncan Sr. (March 24, 1919 – June 21, 1988) was an American attorney and Republican politician who represented Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1965 until his death in 1988.Michael ...

, (1919–1988), American politician, U.S. Representative from Tennessee's 2nd congressional district (1965–1988), father of Jimmy Duncan *

Kirsty Duncan Kirsty Ellen Duncan (born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian politician and medical geographer from Ontario, Canada. Duncan is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North and Duncan serves as deputy leader of the govern ...

(born 1966), Canadian politician and Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons * Leslie Duncan (1880–1952), newspaper editor and politician in South Australia *

Mike Duncan Robert Michael Duncan (born 1951) is a Kentucky Republican who served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2007 to 2009. Throughout his career, he has served on the boards of a variety of public- and private-sector organizat ...

(born 1951), chairman of the

Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service is the governing body of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The board oversees the activities of the Postal Service, while the postmaster general actively manages its day-to-day o ...

and former chairman of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...

in the United States *

Peter Duncan (Australian politician) Peter Duncan (born 1 January 1945) is an Australian Labor Party politician and one of the relatively few members of parliament to have served not only in both a state and national parliament but also as a minister in both cases. Peter Duncan wa ...

(born 1945), Labor representative in South Australian and federal parliaments * Peter Duncan (British politician) (born 1965), Scottish politician,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

from Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (2001–2005) *Sir Walter Gordon Duncan (1885–1963), South Australian pastoralist and MLC * Walter Hughes Duncan (1848–1906), South Australian pastoralist and MHA for Burra *

Walter Leslie Duncan Walter Leslie Duncan (14 February 1883 – 28 May 1947) was an Australian politician. Born in Armidale, New South Wales, he was educated at state schools before becoming a clerk, and was President of the Labor Council of New South Wales in ...

(1883–1947), Australian Senator for New South Wales * Wesley Duncan (b. 1980), American politician, Member of the Nevada Assembly *

William Addison Duncan William Addison Duncan (February 2, 1836 – November 14, 1884) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography William A. Duncan was born in Cashtown, Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools, an ...

(1836–1884), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district (1883–1984)

Sports

* Alex Duncan (1900–1984), former Australian rules footballer with Carlton (1921–1924, 1926–1930) * Andy Duncan (basketball) (1922–2006), American basketball player * Bobby Duncan (born 1945), Scottish footballer *

Cecil Duncan Cecil Charles Duncan (February 1, 1893December 25, 1979) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from 1936 to 1938 and led reforms towards semi-professionalism in ice hoc ...

(1893–1979), Canadian ice hockey administrator *

Chris Duncan Christopher Edwin Duncan (May 5, 1981 – September 6, 2019) was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2005 through 2009. He was the younges ...

(1981-2019), American baseball player *

Dave Duncan (baseball) David Edwin Duncan (born September 26, 1945) is an American pitching consultant for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is also a former professional baseball catcher and pitching coach. He began his MLB playing career in ...

(born 1945), Major League Baseball player and pitching coach, father of Chris Duncan and Shelley Duncan * Darryl Duncan, Australian rugby league footballer * Eric Duncan (born 1984), American baseball coach *

George Duncan (golfer) George Duncan (16 September 1883 – 15 January 1964) was a Scottish professional golfer. He was also a golf course designer. His much sought-after professional teaching and swing analysis skills lead to him being referred to as "the pro's pro ...

(1883–1964), Scottish golfer * Ian Duncan (born 1961), Kenyan rally driver * Jean Duncan (umpire), Scottish hockey umpire * Jeff Duncan (baseball) (born 1978), American baseball player and coach * John Duncan (footballer) (born 1949), Scottish footballer who notably played for Dundee and Tottenham Hotspur * Johnny Duncan (footballer) (1896–1966), Scottish international footballer and manager, who was most notably with Leicester City * Jon Duncan (born 1975), British orienteer * Jonathan Duncan (swimmer) (born 1982), New Zealand swimmer * Katie Duncan (born 1988), New Zealand association footballer *

Ken Duncan (American football) Ken Duncan is a former punter in the National Football League (NFL). Biography Duncan was born on February 28, 1946, in Rock Island, Illinois. Career Duncan was drafted in the seventeenth round of the 1971 NFL Draft and played that season wit ...

(born 1946), American football player * Mariano Duncan (born 1963), Dominican baseball player * Rick Duncan (born 1941), American football player * Ross Duncan (born 1944), Australian cricketer * Sam Duncan, Westmeath Gaelic footballer * Scott Duncan (footballer) (1888–1976), former Scottish football player and manager *

Shelley Duncan David Shelley Duncan (born September 29, 1979) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a left fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. Duncan played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Cleveland India ...

, American baseball player *

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

(born 1976), American basketball player * Vern Duncan (1890–1954), American baseball player

Writers

* Alasdair Duncan, Australian writer *

Dave Duncan (writer) David John Duncan (30 June 1933 – 29 October 2018) was an award-winning Scottish Canadian fantasy and science fiction author. Biography Duncan was born in Newport-on-Tay, Scotland and was educated at the High School of Dundee before studyin ...

(1933–2018), Canadian writer * Glen Duncan (born 1965), British author * Jane Duncan (1910–1976), pseudonym of Scottish writer Elizabeth Jane Cameron *

Lois Duncan Lois Duncan Steinmetz (April 28, 1934 – June 15, 2016), known as Lois Duncan, was an American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist. She is best known for her young-adult novels, and has been credited by historians as a pioneering figure in t ...

(1934–2016), American writer of children's books * Mary Lundie Duncan (1814–1840), Scottish poet and hymn-writer *

Robert Duncan (poet) Robert Edward Duncan (January 7, 1919 – February 3, 1988) was an American poet and a devotee of Hilda "H.D." Doolittle and the Western esoteric tradition who spent most of his career in and around San Francisco. Though associated with any ...

, U.S. beat poet

Other fields

Bruce Duncan Robert Bruce Duncan (10 October 1928 – 7 May 2005) was an Australian politician. He was the member for Lismore in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1965 to 1988, first as a member of the Country Party and then as an independ ...

(born 1938), British priest and founder *

Carl Porter Duncan Carl Porter Duncan (December 27, 1921 – August 9, 1999) was a professor of experimental psychology at Northwestern University. Carl P. Duncan was born on December 27, 1921, in Presque Isle, Maine. His father, Henry Beecher Duncan, was a farme ...

(1921–1999), professor of experimental psychology at Northwestern University, US * Dan Duncan (1933–2010), American businessman * David Duncan, government witness in the Enron scandal * David Douglas Duncan (1916–2018), American photojournalist * David F. Duncan, epidemiologist and drug policy adviser to former US president Bill Clinton * Donald F. Duncan Sr., American entrepreneur and inventor, most commonly associated with Yo-yos * Gary Duncan, defendant in case Duncan v. Louisiana decided by the US Supreme Court *

George Smith Duncan George Smith Duncan (11 July 1852 – 4 September 1930) was a tramway and mining engineer best known for his work on cable trams, and for his work in the gold mining industry. Duncan was born on 11 July 1852New Zealand Birth Index: 1852/313 ...

, a tramway and mining engineer * Graham Duncan (botanist), botanist at Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden, South Africa *

Helen Duncan Victoria Helen McCrae Duncan (née MacFarlane, 25 November 1897 – 6 December 1956) was a Scottish medium best known as the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735 for fraudulent claims. She was famous for producing ectopla ...

(1897–1956), Scottish medium *

Henry Duncan (minister) Henry Duncan FRSE (8 October 1774 – 12 February 1846) was a Scottish minister, geologist and social reformer. The minister of Ruthwell in Dumfriesshire, he founded the world's first mutual savings bank that would eventually form part of ...

, founder of the first Trustee Savings Bank *

Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was ...

, British politician *

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

, American dancer * Jonathan Duncan (currency reformer) (1799–1865), British advocate of reforming the monetary system *

Jonathan Duncan (Governor of Bombay) The tomb in St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai Jonathan Duncan (15 May 1756 – 11 August 1811) was Governor of Bombay from 27 December 1795 until his death in 1811. He began his career in India in 1772, and in 1784 he was one of the charter member ...

(1756–1811) *

Joseph Edward Duncan Joseph Edward Duncan III (February 25, 1963 – March 28, 2021) was an American convicted serial killer and child molester who was on death row in federal prison in conjunction with the 2005 kidnappings and murders of members of the Groene famil ...

(1963–2021), American convicted serial killer and child molester * Kath Duncan (1888 or 1889 – 1954), Scottish communist activist * Ken Duncan (photographer) (born 1954), Australian photographer * Leslie Duncan (1880–1952), newspaper editor and politician in South Australia * Mary Ellen Duncan (died 2022), American academic administrator and teacher * Mike Duncan (podcaster), U.S. history podcaster and writer *

Pearl Duncan Pearl Maud Duncan Booth (27 April 1933 – 19 July 2022) was an Australian teacher, anthropologist and academic. A Gamilaraay woman, she was the first known tertiary-qualified Indigenous teacher in Australia. She was named a Queensland Great i ...

, Australian retired teacher, anthropologist, academic and Aboriginal elder. * Scott Duncan (businessman), American billionaire *

Stephen Duncan Stephen Duncan (March 4, 1787 – January 29, 1867) was an American planter and banker in Mississippi during the Antebellum South. He was born and studied medicine in Pennsylvania, but moved to Natchez District, Mississippi Territory in 1808 ...

(1787–1867), American plantation owner in the Antebellum South * Stewart Duncan (philosopher), American philosopher * Thomas Eric Duncan (1972–2014), first Ebola victim of the 2014 West African outbreak to develop symptoms while in the US * Vender Duncan (1928–1959), American serial killer * Walter Jack Duncan (1881–1941), war artist for the US Army during World War I * Warren W. Duncan (1857–1938), American jurist * William Duncan (American physician) (1860–1900), American physician and politician * William Duncan (philosopher) (17171760), Scottish natural philosopher and classicist

Fictional characters

* Karen Beecher-Duncan, supporting character (and sometime member) of the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

(

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

) * Lily Duncan, a fictional character from ''Mona the Vampire'' *

Mal Duncan Malcolm Arnold "Mal" Duncan, currently known as Vox (also known as the Guardian, Hornblower, and the Herald), is a fictional character, existing in the DC Universe. Introduced in April 1970, he is DC's first African-American superhero. Publication ...

, supporting character (and sometime member) of the

(

) *Tammy & Tommy Duncan, supporting characters from '' The Mighty Ducks''. *

Tyler Duncan Tyler Duncan (born July 13, 1989) is an American professional golfer. Amateur career Duncan played his college golf for the Purdue Boilermakers. Professional career Duncan played on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica in 2014 where his best finish was ...

and Mrs. Duncan are secondary characters in ''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood misa ...

'' * Veronica Duncan, supporting character in ''

Young Sheldon ''Young Sheldon'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro for CBS. The series, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is a spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' and begins with the ...

'' * Ian Duncan, a character in the TV series ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

'', played by actor

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

King Duncan King Duncan is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Macbeth.'' He is the father of two youthful sons ( Malcolm and Donalbain), and the victim of a well-plotted regicide in a power grab by his trusted captain Macbeth. The origin of the c ...

, of Shakespeare's '' Macbeth'' *Duncan, (Walter Sparrow) Robin of Locksley's companion in the 1991 film Robinhood Prince of Thieves. *

Duncan Idaho Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's '' Dune'', he became a breakout character and was revived in 1969's '' Dune Messiah''. He is the only ...

, a Mentat from Frank Herbert's '' Dune'' *Tara Duncan, the titular character of the French fourteenth-book series by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian. Unfortunately, only the first two have been translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

References

{{surname English-language surnames Scottish surnames Scottish Gaelic-language surnames