How do you pronounce Dubhghall?

Dubhghall is pronounced “DOO-gal”. Irish has three main dialect groups (Ulster, Connacht and Munster) and many names are said differently in each. The respellings here give the pronunciation most commonly heard in Irish English; where a well-known variant exists, both are shown.

What does the name Dubhghall mean?

Dubhghall means dubh, 'black', and gall, 'a foreigner'.

Is Dubhghall a boy's or a girl's name?

Dubhghall is traditionally a boy's name in Ireland.

How else is Dubhghall spelled?

Other spellings and equivalents include Dugald, Dougal, Doyle. Irish names were written down by English-speaking clerks for centuries, which is why so many spellings survive for one name.

Boy's name

Dubhghall

“DOO-gal”

dubh, 'black', and gall, 'a foreigner'

DugaldDougalDoyle

Source: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923) ↗

The story behind the name

The name the Irish gave the Danes — the dark foreigners, as against the fair ones. It became a personal name, then the surname Doyle, and survives in Scotland as Dugald.

Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z