McDowell

English

Alternative forms

• (Irish surname): Madole

Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic MacDubhghaill (“son of the dark stranger”), equivalent to mac + Dubhghall.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):

  (file)

Proper noun

McDowell (countable and uncountable, plural McDowells)

1. (countable) A surname.
   1. A surname from Irish.
   2. A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
2. A placename
   1. An unincorporated community in Floyd County, Kentucky, United States.
   2. An unincorporated community in Barry County, Missouri, United States.
   3. Ellipsis of McDowell County.

Derived terms

• McDowell County
• McDowellian
• McDowell line

 

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, McDowell is the 702^nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 49217 individuals. McDowell is most common among White (69.7%) and Black/African American (24.86%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “McDowell”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 551.