Dougal
/ˈduːɡl̩/
"dougal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Dougal” is an uncommon English word, ranked #57,348 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #57,348
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male given name from Scottish Gaelic.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Dougal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈduːɡl̩/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #57,348 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Dougal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Dougal is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈduːɡl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #57,348 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for Dougal in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Dùghall, from Old Irish dubgall (“Dane, black-haired foreigner”), synchronically from dubh (“black”) + gall (“stranger”). The correct English form is Dougal, spelled D-O-U-G-A-L.
Definition
- 1A male given name from Scottish Gaelic.
- 2A surname from Scottish Gaelic [in turn originating as a patronymic].
Etymology
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Dùghall, from Old Irish dubgall (“Dane, black-haired foreigner”), synchronically from dubh (“black”) + gall (“stranger”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Dougal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-U-G-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈduːɡl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.