How common is the surname McDougall?

6,655 people in the United States had the surname McDougall in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 46,393 Americans. It ranked 5,242nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named McDougall?

John A. McDougall, American physician, followed by James A. McDougall.

Where is the surname McDougall most common?

Wikidata records people named McDougall in the United States.

Is the surname McDougall getting more or less common?

More common. 6,258 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 6,655 in 2010, up 6.3%.

The surname McDougall

A Scottish Gaelic patronymic surname, carried by 6,655 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex M232

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McDougall is more common than 96.8% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill (“son of Dubhghall”), from dubh (“black”) + Gall (“stranger”). Compare Doyle, McDowell.

McDougall is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 6,655 people named McDougall in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 46,393 Americans. That is up 6.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 6,258.

#5,242

rank among US surnames

6,655

people in 2010

2.3

per 100,000 Americans

+6.3%

change since 2000 (was #5,144)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#5,238	Boettcher	6,659	46,365
#5,239	Stowers	6,657	46,379
#5,241	Kieffer	6,656	46,386
#5,242	McDougall	6,655	46,393

Who is named McDougall

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

89% of people named McDougall identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.5% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 89%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.5%
Two or more races 2.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McDougalls

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John A. McDougall
American physician, 1947–2024
James A. McDougall
American politician (1817–1867)
Christopher McDougall
American journalist and writer, born 1962
Helen Mack
American actress (1913-1986)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Dougall

Surnames that sound like McDougall

McDougall has the Soundex code M232, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M232.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname McDougall come from?: Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill (“son of Dubhghall”), from dubh (“black”) + Gall (“stranger”). Compare Doyle, McDowell.
How common is the surname McDougall?: 6,655 people in the United States had the surname McDougall in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 46,393 Americans. It ranked 5,242nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McDougall?: In the 2010 Census, 89% of people named McDougall identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.5% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named McDougall?: John A. McDougall, American physician, followed by James A. McDougall.
Where is the surname McDougall most common?: Wikidata records people named McDougall in the United States.
What type of surname is McDougall?: McDougall is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname McDougall getting more or less common?: More common. 6,258 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 6,655 in 2010, up 6.3%.
What are other spellings of McDougall?: Dougall.