NameCensus.

UK surname

Mcdowall

Scottish surname transferred from a place name referring to a hill dweller or someone living by a wall.

In the 1881 census there were 1,770 people recorded with the Mcdowall surname, ranking it #2,444 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,608, ranked #1,880, up from #2,444 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Girvan, Govan Combination and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Maybole, Newton Stewart and Mauchline Rural.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Mcdowall is 3,660 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 103.8%.

1881 census count

1,770

Ranked #2,444

Modern count

3,608

2016, ranked #1,880

Peak year

2010

3,660 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Mcdowall had 1,770 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,444 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,608 in 2016, ranked #1,880.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,555 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Mcdowall surname distribution map

The map shows where the Mcdowall surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Mcdowall surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Mcdowall over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 1,213 #2,352
1861 historical 1,454 #1,949
1881 historical 1,770 #2,444
1891 historical 2,194 #2,132
1901 historical 2,555 #2,152
1911 historical 501 #7,820
1997 modern 3,256 #1,975
1998 modern 3,348 #2,001
1999 modern 3,397 #1,993
2000 modern 3,379 #1,997
2001 modern 3,290 #2,003
2002 modern 3,437 #1,967
2003 modern 3,359 #1,970
2004 modern 3,416 #1,934
2005 modern 3,399 #1,913
2006 modern 3,460 #1,883
2007 modern 3,437 #1,906
2008 modern 3,479 #1,908
2009 modern 3,555 #1,918
2010 modern 3,660 #1,904
2011 modern 3,593 #1,921
2012 modern 3,558 #1,890
2013 modern 3,581 #1,909
2014 modern 3,616 #1,900
2015 modern 3,580 #1,903
2016 modern 3,608 #1,880

Geography

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Where Mcdowalls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Girvan, Govan Combination, Edinburgh, Stranraer and Inch. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Maybole, Newton Stewart, Mauchline Rural, Carrick South and Stranraer South. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Girvan Ayr
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Stranraer Wigtown
5 Inch Wigtown

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Maybole South Ayrshire
2 Newton Stewart Dumfries and Galloway
3 Mauchline Rural East Ayrshire
4 Carrick South South Ayrshire
5 Stranraer South Dumfries and Galloway

Forenames

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First names often paired with Mcdowall

These lists show first names that appear often with the Mcdowall surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Mcdowall

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Mcdowall, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Mcdowall surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Mcdowall household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Mcdowall is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Mcdowall is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Mcdowall falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Mcdowall is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Mcdowall, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Mcdowall

The surname McDowall originated in Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Scottish Gaelic "mac Düghaill," meaning "son of Dougall." Dougall is a Scottish variant of the name Douglas, which itself comes from the Gaelic "dubh-glas," meaning "dark stream."

McDowall is a sept of the Clan Douglas, one of the most powerful families in Scottish history. The name is found primarily in the counties of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and Wigtown in the southwestern region of Scotland. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "MacDugaill" in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.

In the 16th century, the McDowall family held lands in the parish of Kirkcudbright, where they were prominent landowners and supporters of the Scottish Reformation. One notable member of the family was Uchtred McDowall (1517-1582), a Protestant reformer and author of several religious works.

Another early bearer of the name was Sir John McDowall (1576-1647), a Scottish soldier and landowner who served as a Colonel in the army of King Charles I during the English Civil War. He was knighted for his loyalty to the Royalist cause.

In the 18th century, Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830) was a prominent American physician who performed the first successful ovarian surgery in 1809. He is considered a pioneer in the field of abdominal surgery.

James McDowall (1824-1885) was a Scottish-born Australian explorer and surveyor who played a significant role in the exploration and mapping of Western Australia during the 19th century.

Another notable figure was Sir Roderick McDowall (1861-1949), a British civil servant who served as the Governor of British North Borneo (now part of Malaysia) from 1908 to 1915.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Mcdowall families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Mcdowall surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Ayrshire leads with 35 Mcdowalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 33.53x.

County Total Index
Ayrshire 35 33.53x
Middlesex 27 1.94x
Lancashire 17 1.03x
Surrey 14 2.06x
Cumberland 10 8.33x
Dorset 10 10.93x
Lanarkshire 10 2.22x
Suffolk 7 4.12x
Norfolk 4 1.87x
Essex 3 1.09x
Kent 2 0.42x
Yorkshire 2 0.14x
Durham 1 0.24x
Flintshire 1 2.67x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Straiton in Ayrshire leads with 12 Mcdowalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 2033.90x.

Place Total Index
Straiton 12 2033.90x
Girvan 11 419.85x
Lanark 10 275.48x
Everton 9 17.06x
Lambeth 9 7.40x
Hackney London 8 10.23x
Cleator 7 140.00x
Dunlop 7 1076.92x
Mile End Old Town 7 31.80x
Ousden 7 4666.67x
Hornsey 6 34.01x
Fordington 5 253.81x
Poole St James 5 145.35x
Southwark St Saviour 5 69.74x
Heigham 4 34.75x
St George In East 4 42.15x
Ayr 3 60.85x
Bury 3 15.87x
West Ham 3 4.94x
Castleton 2 12.10x
Leysdown 2 2222.22x
West Derby 2 4.13x
Workington 2 29.07x
Bow London 1 5.63x
Clerkenwell London 1 3.04x
Cockermouth 1 39.53x
Craigie 1 344.83x
Hawarden 1 33.90x
Kexborough 1 333.33x
Kilwinning 1 29.67x
Liverpool 1 0.99x
Skipton 1 22.99x
Stanhope 1 23.36x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Mcdowall surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Mcdowall surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
James 8
John 8
Thomas 3
William 3
Andrew 2
Arthur 2
Charles 2
George 2
Hugh 2
Walter 2
Alan 1
Alexander 1
Archibald 1
Donald 1
Edward 1
Ernest 1
Henry 1
Herbert 1
Jno. 1
Joseph 1
Malcolm 1
Mark 1
Peter 1
Samuel 1
Willie 1
Willm. 1
Willm.A. 1

FAQ

Mcdowall surname: questions and answers

How common was the Mcdowall surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,770 people were recorded with the Mcdowall surname. That placed it at #2,444 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Mcdowall surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,608 in 2016. That gives Mcdowall a modern rank of #1,880.

What does the Mcdowall surname mean?

Scottish surname transferred from a place name referring to a hill dweller or someone living by a wall.

What does the Mcdowall map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Mcdowall bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.