MacDougal Surname

280,606th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,376 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Guernsey

MacDougal Surname Definition:

Gaelic MacDhilghaill, 'son of Dougal,' which see. The family of Macdougall of Dunollie is descended from Dugall, eldest son of Somerled of the Isles. The late Dr. Alexander Carmichael described this family as "one of the most unobtrusive and honoured families in Scotland.

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MacDougal Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States8971:404,07935,286
Australia1941:139,15314,991
Canada1601:230,28522,082
England601:928,63447,428
Scotland301:178,4619,900
South Africa71:7,739,672177,858
Nigeria61:29,523,793355,097
Argentina51:8,548,683204,003
Philippines51:20,247,645262,352
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Germany11:80,505,459560,955
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Antigua and Barbuda11:99,1712,137
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland31:1,476,62229,385
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States221:2,282,667111,005

MacDougal (12) may also be a first name.

MacDougal Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Gaelic MacDhilghaill, 'son of Dougal,' which see. The family of Macdougall of Dunollie is descended from Dugall, eldest son of Somerled of the Isles. The late Dr. Alexander Carmichael described this family as "one of the most unobtrusive and honoured families in Scotland." Duncan MacKowle founded the Priory of Ardchattan, Argyllshire, c. 1230, Robert M'Kowele, lord of Karsnelohe, was witness in Ayrshire, c. 137080 (Laing, 64). Fergus Macdowylle had 8 confirmation charter of the barony of Mall kerston, Yetholm and Clifton in 1374 (Stodart, II). In 1443 there is record of the death of Malcolm Mc Dubailwigh aicu, vicar of Kilcalmonell (Pap. Lett., VIII, p. 470), probably a blundering attempt at MacDougall vic Ago. The obit of Duncan M'Cowyll is recorded in 1517 (Chr. Fort.), and Johne MacCoull of Dunnollycht (Dunollie) had a license from Archibald, earl of Argyll, 1557 (BBT., p. 201). Duncan MacCoull of Lorn appears as justice of the peace for Argyllshire, 1610 (RPC., VIII, p. 78), and John Mclnnes vc Cwfll Roy is named rebel, 1625 (ibid., XIII, p. 655). Iain M'duill vc Kemlach and Dougall M'duill vc Ewin alias M'Dougall were among those murdered at Dunaveity, 1647 (HP., II, p. 256), and John M'Dull was burgess of Edinburgh, 1682 (Inquis., 6410). In a list dated 1704 giving the names of clans and the numbers in each to be raised for the elder Pretender the entry 'Mac Dulothes 500 men,' is probably meant for Macdougall. Descendants of a sixteenth-century Macdougal still flourish in Sweden as Duvall and Duwall, and George Julian Gordon Macdougall (1824-94) rose to be a rear-admiral in the Danish service. In Lord Archibald Campbell's Records of Argyll Macchaill is given as a spelling of Macdougall, and Bane M'Chale and Malcolm M'Hale were tenants in Auchinchgalden in 1594 (BBT., p. 287). In Kintyre Macdougall is pronounced 'Ac 'ughaill, the Dean of Lismore (c. 1512) spells it MacKowle, and in BBT. it appears as M'Cowle. M'Awell 1510, VcCoule 1530, McCoulI 1556, McCouyll 1519, McCowell 1520, McCowil 1516, McCuile 1548, Mackdugl 1736, Makquhole 1552; MacCoyle, MacDogall, M'Houl, MacHowell, McKoull, M'Oul, M'Owl, etc.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Son of Dougal(l; v. Dougal(l [Irish and Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish, Irish) The son of Dougal (black stranger).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

The son of Dougall. The family are descended from Dougall, grandson of Somerled Thane of Argyll.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

MACDOGALL: In general derived from Dogall, eldest son of Somerled, a great Highland chief of the XII. cent. Skene.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Macdougal: A clan that descends from Somerled of the Isles. Somerled is a Norse name, and signifies a Viking harrying in the summer. He died in 1164. He married the granddaughter of Godred Crovan, a Norse King of Man. Olaf Bitling, his father, had spent his youth at the Court of Henry I. of England; he married the daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway, a granddaughter of Henry I. Somerled was the Scandinavian Lord of Argyll.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

MacDougal Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name MacDougal Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname MacDougal is found most frequently in The United States. It can be rendered in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name MacDougal? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 280,606th most common last name globally. It is borne by approximately 1 in 5,296,182 people. MacDougal occurs mostly in The Americas, where 77 percent of MacDougal live; 77 percent live in North America and 77 percent live in Anglo-North America. MacDougal is also the 3,306,491st most widely held first name worldwide, held by 12 people.

MacDougal is most frequent in The United States, where it is borne by 897 people, or 1 in 404,079. In The United States it is mostly found in: Nevada, where 29 percent are found, New York, where 18 percent are found and Maine, where 5 percent are found. Besides The United States MacDougal exists in 20 countries. It also occurs in Australia, where 14 percent are found and Canada, where 12 percent are found.

MacDougal Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of MacDougal has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the MacDougal surname rose 4,077 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 67 percent between 1901 and 2014.

MacDougal Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the surname is predominantly Presbyterian (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the MacDougal surname are 6.52% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 53.29% registered to vote for the party.

The amount MacDougal earn in different countries varies markedly. In South Africa they earn 33.82% more than the national average, earning R 318,000 per year; in United States they earn 7.9% more than the national average, earning $46,558 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.5% less than the national average, earning $47,449 CAD per year.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to MacDougal
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis