It's hard to imagine Doug as being about anyone except, well, Doug, but creator Jim Jinkins originally had another moniker in mind while doodling away at his two-dimensional creation. In 2012, Jinkins told Splitsider that since the character was supposed to have a very "any guy" aesthetic, he wanted to name him something completely blasé. "At the beginning, I was calling him 'Brian.' It was sort of just a generic name. I was trying to find the most flat, neutral name," he explained. "If this were the 1940s, I would've called him 'Joe.' And I thought that 'Doug' had that feeling and that sound about it. It was a conscious choice because I wanted him to be this very neutral, middle-of-the-road guy."
Doug's middle name, Yancey, also had some interesting significance for Jinkins, as it was shared with own his grandfather, and the character's embarrassment over it stemmed from a very real place, as he had a childhood friend who also hated his own name growing up, much to Jinkins' amusement. Of course, it would be quite a few years before Doug as kids grew to know him really came to life onscreen.
