Find out how popular the last name McDougal is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named McDougal.

McDougal, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the McDougal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McDougal in America

McDougal is the 4930th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McDougal surname appeared 7,139 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname McDougal.

We can also compare 2010 data for McDougal to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name McDougal

The surname McDougal is of Scottish origin and derives from the Gaelic 'MacDughail', meaning 'son of Dougal'. Dougal itself is an old personal name, a Scottish form of the name Dougal, meaning 'dark stranger' or 'dark foreigner'.

The McDougal name can be traced back to the 13th century in the Scottish Highlands, particularly in areas such as Argyll and the Hebrides. Early records show variations in spelling, including McDougall, McDougill, and McDougald.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Dougal MacDougal, who was a supporter of Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. The McDougals were a prominent clan in the Western Isles, and the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England.

In the 16th century, the McDougals were involved in conflicts with the Campbells, another powerful Scottish clan. In 1644, during the Civil War, Alasdair MacDougall was a colonel in the Royalist army and was killed at the Battle of Marston Moor.

Notable individuals with the surname McDougal include:

1. Alexander McDougall (1732-1786), a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
2. Frances McDougall (1905-1958), an Australian feminist and social worker.
3. Walter A. McDougall (born 1946), an American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner.
4. Dennis McDougal (born 1945), an American author and journalist.
5. Myres McDougal (1906-1998), a legal scholar and professor at Yale Law School.

The McDougal name has also been associated with various place names, such as McDougall's Loch in Argyll, Scotland, and McDougall Hill in Alberta, Canada, reflecting the geographic spread of the name over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McDougal

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname McDougal.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for McDougal was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of McDougal has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name McDougal was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McDougal, please contact us.

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