McDowill Surname

11,742,229th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Belgium
Highest density in:
Belgium

McDowill 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.

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McDowill 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
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
England11:55,718,059489,080
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland71:632,83819,259
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England11:24,375,369195,128
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States101:5,021,868210,693

McDowill (2) may also be a first name.

McDowill 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)

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:
  • Religious Adherence in:
    Ireland

McDowill Demographics

McDowill Religious Adherence
in Ireland

Sample size: 7 (1901)

Religious Adherence
in Ireland

View the most religious surnames in Ireland

McDowill Last Name Facts

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

The last name McDowill is more commonly found in Belgium than any other country or territory. It can be found as:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name McDowill? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 11,742,229th most commonly occurring last name world-wide. It is borne by around 1 in 2,147,483,647 people. The surname McDowill occurs mostly in Europe, where 100 percent of McDowill reside; 50 percent reside in North America and 50 percent reside in Anglo-North America. It is also the 9,404,674th most commonly occurring first name at a global level, borne by 2 people.

This surname is most commonly held in Belgium, where it is borne by 1 people, or 1 in 11,496,644. In Belgium it is most frequent in: Flemish Region, where 100 percent live. Without taking into account Belgium this surname is found in 2 countries. It is also common in England, where 50 percent live and The United States, where 50 percent live.

McDowill Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of McDowill has changed over time. In The United States it decreased 90 percent between 1880 and 2014.

McDowill Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the McDowill last name is predominantly Presbyterian (86%) in Ireland.

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
McDowell8873,865/
McDowall888,081/
MacDowll881/
MacDowell822,594/
Macdawill821/
Mc'dowell821/
McDouwall821/
McDowel80148/
MacDowl800/
Mackdawill781/
MacDowel7570/
Macdawell712/
MacKdowel710/
Macdobel631/
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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 McDowill
  • 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