McDowall Surname

62,153rd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 8,081 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Scotland
Highest density in:
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

McDowall Surname Definition:

MACDOUAL, Macdouall, Macdowall, Macdowell: G, MacDhughaill, 'son of Dougal ( Dougall )', which see. The claim of the Macdowells of Galloway to be descended from the ancient native lords of Galloway can neither be disproved nor can it be satisfactorily established (Maxwell, Dumfries, p.

Read More About This Surname

McDowall Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland2,5451:2,104385
England1,8661:29,8604,015
Australia1,7021:15,8612,243
United States1,3181:275,00725,731
Canada5901:62,4507,302
New Zealand5831:7,7671,317
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines2931:38578
South Africa881:615,65646,403
Trinidad and Tobago661:20,6662,393
Wales571:54,2904,971
Northern Ireland291:63,6224,809
Guernsey221:2,929767
British Virgin Islands171:1,858249
Switzerland121:684,41046,196
Bermuda121:5,440820
Netherlands121:1,407,26575,423
Barbados111:26,1321,223
Zimbabwe101:1,543,82478,460
Cayman Islands101:6,389805
Norway91:571,36544,190
Sri Lanka91:2,312,0629,186
Anguilla81:1,680152
Thailand71:10,091,192512,203
France61:11,070,454349,096
Bahamas61:65,292848
Malaysia41:7,373,556230,001
Chile41:4,404,11844,633
Brazil41:53,518,583632,670
China41:341,830,39216,990
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
Spain31:15,584,012120,866
Jersey31:33,0674,675
Isle of Man21:42,9113,686
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Peru21:15,892,06251,966
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Antigua and Barbuda11:99,1712,137
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Suriname11:552,6169,664
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Saint Lucia11:178,7813,800
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Germany11:80,505,459560,955
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Show All Nations
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland231:192,6039,322
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland1,4681:2,550451
England3341:72,9808,059
Isle of Man51:10,8541,028
Wales11:1,568,41619,290
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1961:256,21821,129

McDowall Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

MACDOUAL, Macdouall, Macdowall, Macdowell: G, MacDhughaill, 'son of Dougal ( Dougall )', which see. The claim of the Macdowells of Galloway to be descended from the ancient native lords of Galloway can neither be disproved nor can it be satisfactorily established (Maxwell, Dumfries, p. 103-105). Mactheuel witnessed a charter by Uchtredus filius Fergusi of the church of Colmanele in the reign of Malcolm IV (LSC., p. 19). Fergus McDuhile in Wigton was juror on inquest at Berwick, 1296, and in same year as Fergus MacDowilt rendered homage (Bain, II, p. 198,215). He is probably the Fergus MacDowile who witnessed a charter by William, lord of Douglas, 1306-29 (RHM., l, p. 13). In 1307 a pardon was granted Elyas de Vaus at the request of Duncan MacDuel (Bain, II, p. 510), and in same year Dungall MacDouyl, senior, for services rendered, requested for his son Dungal, junior, the marriage of the daughter and heiress of Hugh de Champaigne, deceased, a tenant in capite (ibid., p. 507). Sir Duugal M'Douwille, sheriff of Dumfries and constable of the castle, and his brother, Fergus M'Douwille, are mentioned in 1312 (ibid., III, 278). Dugald McDowille, knight, was witness in Galloway, 1347 and 1354 (Pap. Lett., III, p. 396; Bain, III, 1578), Master Patrick Macduoel was archdeacon of Whiteherne before 1390 (Pap. Pet., I, p. 575), and Gilbert Macduyl was archdeacon of Sodor before 1416 (ibid., p. 605). Vhtred Mcduwell de Dalquheane, notary public, 1515, appears in following year as Wthred Mcduuyll de Dalhowane (REG., 491,492). John McCoull in Overgarrell is mentioned in connection with Douglas of Drumlanrig, 1609, his name in one instance being spelled McOull (RPC., VIII, p. 701). John McQuhoull in Arbrak was summoned to appear before the Privy Council, 1621 (RPC., XII, p. 533). Margaret M'Dull and Janet Makdull appear in Edinburgh, 1602 and 1677 (Edinb. Marr,), and Patrick McDull was skipper in Leith, 1675 (Edin. App.). The late Dr. Trotter in his Galloway gossip: Kirkcudbright shire (p. 218) gives successive changes of this name:

REAL NAMEPRONOUNCEDFAMILIAR USEGENTEEL
Mac DugaldMcDoual Dole Dowell
(McDoughal)McDowall
Mac Dugald McCoull Cole Coles, Coull
McDhugal

M'Douell 1547, Makdoval 1590, M'Dovele 1474, M'Dowele and Makdovele 1473, Makdowale 1545, Makdowelle 1391, M'Dule 1615, M'Gowall 1571. The following spellings are also given in RMS,: McDowale, McDowalle, McDowelle, McDowylle, McDowll, McDoville, McDovylle; and in 1684 (Parish) we have McDole, McDoll, McDouell, McDoul, McDowal, McDual, McDuall, M'Kdowall. In north of Ireland it became Madole.

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

(Irish) The son of the dark foreigner.

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

McDHOIL, McDOWELL: (Gaelic.) The son of Dowell or Dougall, the dark stranger. From dhu, black, and gall, a native of the low country of Scotland; any one ignorant of the Gaelic language; a foreigner, a stranger. The same as McDougall.

— Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock
DNA test information
Display Statistics on:

McDowall Demographics

Average McDowall Salary in
United States

$50,298 USD

Per year
Rank:
397,384 of 1,180,305
Percentage of all salaries earned by bearers:
0.000342648
Rank: 27,149 of 1,181,369
Percentage of national average salary:
116.56%
Sample size: 581 (2014)

Average Salary in
United States

$43,149 USD

Per year
Per month:
$3,596 USD
Per week:
$799 USD
Per day:
$118 USD

View the highest/lowest earning families in The United States

McDowall Last Name Facts

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

McDowall is found most in Scotland. It can occur as:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name McDowall? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 62,153rd most frequent last name throughout the world It is held by approximately 1 in 901,812 people. McDowall occurs mostly in Europe, where 57 percent of McDowall are found; 56 percent are found in Northern Europe and 56 percent are found in British Isles.

This surname is most frequently held in Scotland, where it is held by 2,545 people, or 1 in 2,104. In Scotland it is mostly found in: Glasgow City, where 14 percent are found, South Ayrshire, where 11 percent are found and Dumfries and Galloway, where 11 percent are found. Not including Scotland this surname is found in 52 countries. It is also found in England, where 23 percent are found and Australia, where 21 percent are found.

McDowall Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of McDowall has changed through the years. In Scotland the number of people bearing the McDowall last name rose 173 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it rose 559 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 672 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it rose 5,700 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it declined 96 percent between 1901 and 2014.

McDowall Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the McDowall last name is predominantly Presbyterian (57%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the McDowall last name are 7.14% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 53.91% registered with the political party.

The amount McDowall earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 15.87% less than the national average, earning 291,147 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 43.65% more than the national average, earning R 341,364 per year; in United States they earn 16.57% more than the national average, earning $50,298 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.57% more than the national average, earning $55,429 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
MacDowall94720/
McDouwall941/
MacDowwall891/
McDowell8873,865/
MacDowal882/
McDowill882/
MacDowell822,594/
MacDowald822/
Mc'dowell821/
McDowel80148/
MacDouvall784/
MacDowel7570/
Magdowal751/
McDole712,152/
MacDouell7125/
Macdovell713/
Macdawell712/
Macdovald712/
Macdawill711/
MacKdowel710/
MacDael671/
MacDail671/
Mackdawill671/
McDouel670/
Macdovel631/
MacDoyle631/
Macdouel631/
Makdauell596/
Magdael531,330/
Magdoul53466/
Magdail5316/
Makdoul5310/
Magdeal532/
Macdiel532/
MacDeiville530/
MacDiehl504/
Makdauel502/
Magdiell501/
Moghdoul501/
Makcdiel501/
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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 McDowall
  • 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