Subscribe >
Help
Member Login
Username Password (Forgot?)
Look up another surname
The mcdowell Surname

mcdowell Name Meaning and History

Scottish and Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill ‘son of Dubhghall’, a byname meaning ‘dark stranger’, used among the Gaels to distinguish the darker-haired Danes from fair-haired Norwegians. According to MacLysaght, this is the Irish form of the name of the Scottish clan McDougall, borne by a branch which went to Ireland from the Hebrides as mercenaries. However, Black shows that both forms were current in Scotland.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family

The mcdowell name in History

A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the mcdowell family name as far back in history as possible.

mcdowell Family Facts

Are you a Facebook user? Add mcdowell family facts to your Facebook profile.
Distribution of mcdowell Families in the US in 1920
Number of mcdowell families
 175-348
 59-174		 1-58
 0
Compiled by Ancestry.com from the 1920 US Federal Census records

Click on a state to view mcdowell census records

Year

How is this helpful?

  • You can decide where (in which states) to start searching for mcdowell records.
  • You can see how mcdowell families moved over time by selecting different Census years.

What do I do next?

The information for this map came from Ancestry.com’s US Federal Census Collection.
  • Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, residence and occupation.
  • Click here to search mcdowell census records.

More resources for your mcdowell family history

Start your FREE family tree. We'll start searching.

Enter a few simple facts about your family. We'll use what you enter to try and find more.

Begin your family tree with your name:


Member Connections

More Tools and Resources