# Duncan

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈdʌŋkən/ · frequency rank #6,897

## Definitions
1. A male given name from Scottish Gaelic anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Donnchadh; the name of two early saints and of two kings of Scotland.
2. A Scottish surname originating as a patronymic.
3. A surname from Irish, a variant of Dinkin.
4. An Irish surname, a variant of Donegan.
5. An Irish surname, a variant of Dunican.
6. An Irish surname, adopted as an anglicization of Ó Donnchadha (whence Donoghue).
7. A locality in Kangaroo Island council area, South Australia; named for politician John Duncan.
8. A city in the Regional District of Cowichan Valley, British Columbia, Canada; named for early settler William Chalmers Duncan.
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23. A river in British Columbia, Canada; running 206 km near Mount Dawson into the Kootenay Lake; named for prospector John Duncan.
24. A short river in the Southern Alps, West Coast Region, New Zealand.

## Etymology
* As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, from Donnchadh, a name composed of donn (“brown”) + cath (“battle”). Also spelled as Donagh and Donaghue, Donahue.
* Also as an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Duinnchinn, from donn (“brown”) + ceann (“head”).

## Easily confused with
- **Dunn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-dunn)
- **Duran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-duran)
- **Dunham** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-dunham)
- **Durban** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-durban)
- **Dundas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-dundas)
- **Dunlap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-dunlap)
- **durian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-durian)
- **Dunstan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duncan-vs-dunstan)
- **Dugan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dugan-vs-duncan)
- **Dunbar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dunbar-vs-duncan)
- **Duggan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duggan-vs-duncan)
- **Deccan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deccan-vs-duncan)

## Common misspellings (9)
`dduncan`, `dnucan`, `ducnan`, `dunacn`, `duncann`, `dunccan`, `duncna`, `dunncan`, `udncan`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/duncan