2000
#4,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,011
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Mcdougal
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "MacDhùghaill," meaning "son of Dougal," a personal name meaning "dark stranger."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,654 Americans carry the last name Mcdougal. That puts it at #5,090 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,781 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcdougal surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mcdougal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,781
Census rank
#5,090
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,675 bearers of the surname Mcdougal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5090th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdougal, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcdougal
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdougal, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcdougal bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mcdougal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 4,932
- Black or African American17.5% · 1,171
- Two or more races3.6% · 243
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 220
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 49
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcdougal
Mcdougal appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,139
+128 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Down 305 places
2020
#5,090
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,675
-464 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Down 160 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,625 | 7,011 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,930 | 7,139 | 2.42 | +128 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 305 places |
| 2020 | #5,090 | 6,675 | 2.23 | -464 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 160 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mcdougal surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,930 | #5,090 | -3.2% |
| Count | 7,139 | 6,675 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.42 | 2.23 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcdougal bearers went from 7,139 to 6,675 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 160 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,930 to #5,090.
FAQ
Mcdougal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcdougal?
Name Census estimates that about 7,654 living Americans carry the surname Mcdougal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,781 residents.
How common is Mcdougal?
Mcdougal ranks #5,090 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,675 people with the surname Mcdougal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,654), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mcdougal.
Has Mcdougal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcdougal went from 7,139 recorded bearers to 6,675. That is a decrease of 464 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,930 to #5,090.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcdougal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdougal, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mcdougal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (4,932 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcdougal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.9%), Black (17.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mcdougal (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mcdougal mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "MacDhùghaill," meaning "son of Dougal," a personal name meaning "dark stranger." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mcdougal (2.23 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Mcdougal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.