Doada (fl. 990–1005)

Scottish princess who was possibly the mother of Macbeth. Name variations: Dovada; (family name) Macalpin. Flourished between 990 and 1005; daughter (or sister) of Malcolm II of Alba (1005–1034), king of Scots (some sources list her as the daughter of Kenneth II); married Findleach of Moray also known as Findlaech Mac Ruaridh (Macrory), mormaer (ruler) of Moray, around 1004; children: possibly Macbeth or Machethad, Machetad, Macbethad, often confused with MacHeth in later sources (c. 1005–1057), king of Scotland (r. 1040–1054, who married Gruoch [Lady Macbeth]).

Macbeth's father was Findlaech Mac Ruaridh, the mormaer (ruler) of Moray, and his mother, whose identity cannot be proven, may have been Doada, a daughter (or sister) of Scotland's King Malcolm II (1005–34). In 1020, Tigernach, an Irish writer, recorded that "Findlaech … mormaer of Moray, was slain by the sons of his brother Maelbrigte," while another source only stated that he was "killed by his own people." Although this unadorned account does not offer any motivation for the killing of Doada's husband, it has been suggested that it represented dissatisfaction with the marriage alliance between Findlaech and Doada and the close ties this marriage entailed between these two royal houses. In any event, in 1032, Gillacomgain, one of Findlaech's nephews who had been involved in his killing and who had assumed the title of mormaer, "was burned, along with fifty of his men," according to the Annals of Ulster, another Irish source. Setting fire to an enemy's residence was then a common means of eliminating one's enemies, and it is possible that Macbeth killed his cousin to avenge his father's death.