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
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