Duncan (surname)
Duncan is a Scottish and Irish 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, 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 composed of the elements donn, meaning "brown-haired man" or "chieftain"; and ceann, meaning "head". The surname Duncan is represented in Scottish Gaelic as MacDhonnchaidh. The surname also originated from the given name Duncan.
Armed forces
- Adam Duncan, British admiral
- Donald B. Duncan, American vice-admiral
- Donald W. Duncan, American soldier and anti-war activist
- Henry Duncan, British naval officer
- Pippa Duncan, British naval officer
- W. G. G. Duncan Smith, World War II air ace
Acting
- Carmen Duncan, Australian actress
- Lindsay Duncan, British actress
- Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor
- Sandy Duncan, American actress
Fiction
- Karen Beecher-Duncan, supporting character of the Teen Titans
- Lily Duncan, a fictional character from Mona the Vampire
- Mal Duncan, supporting character of the Teen Titans
- Tammy & Tommy Duncan, supporting characters from The Mighty Ducks.
Music
- C Duncan, born Christopher Duncan, Scottish composer and musician whose debut album Architect was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Prize
- Gary Duncan, American guitarist and singer
- Johnny Duncan , American singer
- Lesley Duncan, English singer and songwriter
- Molly Duncan, Scottish tenor saxophonist
- Tim Duncan, Southern Gospel singer
- Trevor Duncan, English composer
- Zélia Duncan, Brazilian singer and songwriter
Politics
- Alan Duncan, British politician
- Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education ; politician
- Charles William Duncan, Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Energy
- Jimmy Duncan,, American politician; currently serving in the US House of Representatives as the representative from Tennessee's second House District
- John Duncan Sr.,, American politician, served in US House of Representatives, father of Jimmy Duncan
- Ken Duncan, former Louisiana state treasurer
- Kirsty Duncan, Canadian politician and Minister of Science
- Leslie Samuel Duncan, newspaper editor and politician in South Australia
- Mike Duncan, Former chairman of the Republican National Committee in the United States
- Peter Duncan, Labor representative in South Australian and federal parliaments
- Peter Duncan, Scottish conservative
- Sir Walter Gordon Duncan South Australian pastoralist and MLC
- Walter Hughes Duncan South Australian pastoralist and MHA for Burra
- Walter Leslie Duncan Australian Senator for New South Wales
- William A. Duncan, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania
Sports
- Alex Duncan, former Australian rules footballer with Carlton
- Andy Duncan , American basketball player
- Cecil Duncan, Canadian ice hockey administrator
- Chris Duncan, American baseball player
- Dave Duncan , Major League Baseball player and pitching coach, father of Chris Duncan and Shelley Duncan
- Darryl Duncan, Australian rugby league footballer
- George Duncan , Scottish golfer
- Ian Duncan, Kenyan rally driver
- Jeff Duncan , American baseball player and coach
- John Duncan , Scottish footballer who notably played for Dundee and Tottenham Hotspur
- Johnny Duncan , Scottish international footballer and manager, who was most notably with Leicester City
- Jon Duncan, British orienteer
- Jonathan Duncan , New Zealand swimmer
- Katie Duncan, New Zealand association footballer
- Ken Duncan , American football player
- Mariano Duncan, Dominican baseball player
- Ross Duncan, Australian cricketer
- Scott Duncan , former Scottish football player and manager
- Shelley Duncan, American baseball player
- Tim Duncan, American basketball player
- Vern Duncan, American baseball player
Writers
- Alasdair Duncan, Australian writer
- Dave Duncan , Canadian writer
- Glen Duncan, British author
- Jane Duncan, pseudonym of Scottish writer Elizabeth Jane Cameron
- Lois Duncan, American writer of children's books
- Mary Lundie Duncan, Scottish poet and hymnwriter
Other fields
- Bruce Duncan, Anglican priest and founder of Sarum College
- Carl Porter Duncan, professor of experimental psychology at Northwestern University, US
- Dan Duncan, American businessman
- David Duncan, government witness in the Enron scandal
- David Douglas Duncan, 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
- George Smith Duncan, a tramway and mining engineer
- Graham Duncan, botanist at Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden, South Africa
- Helen Duncan, Scottish medium
- Henry Duncan, founder of the first Trustee Savings Bank
- Iain Duncan Smith, British politician
- Isadora Duncan, American dancer
- Jane Duncan , British architect
- Jonathan Duncan , British advocate of reforming the monetary system
- Jonathan Duncan
- Joseph E. Duncan III, notorious American murderer and sexual predator
- Kath Duncan, Scottish communist activist
- Ken Duncan , Australian photographer
- Leslie Samuel Duncan, newspaper editor and politician in South Australia
- Mike Duncan, U.S. history podcaster and writer
- Pearl Duncan, Australian retired teacher, anthropologist, academic and Aboriginal elder.
- Robert Duncan, U.S. beat poet
- Scott Duncan, American billionaire
- Stephen Duncan, American plantation owner in the Antebellum South
- Stewart Duncan, American philosopher
- Thomas Eric Duncan, first Ebola victim of the 2014 West African outbreak to develop symptoms while in the US
- Walter Duncan, British painter
- Walter Jack Duncan, war artist for the US Army during World War I
- Warren W. Duncan, American jurist
- William Duncan , Scottish natural philosopher and classicist