Contents [hide]

Dougall History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Dougall History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The Dougall family comes from the ancient Scottish Dalriadan clans of the mountainous west coast of Scotland. The name Dougall is derived from the personal name Dougal. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Dhughaill and literally means son of Dougal.

Early Origins of the Dougall family

The surname Dougall was first found in Galloway (Gaelic: Gall-ghaidhealaibh), an area of southwestern Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Dumfries and Galloway, that formerly consisted of the counties of Wigtown (West Galloway) and Kirkcudbright (East Galloway), where they were descended from Dugall eldest son of Somerled, first Lord of the Isles, and his son Duncan who received the lands of Lorn. The Clan was a bitter foe of Robert the Bruce, who made a narrow escape during one battle with the MacDougals only by discarding his cloak. The brooch of this cloak, now known as the Brooch of Lorn, is a treasured possession of the Chief of the Clan. The Clan faced heavy retaliation and was stripped of their lands once Robert the Bruce secured the Scottish throne. The lands were restored to the Clan upon the death of the king, but passed to the Stewarts in 1388 when the last member of the senior branch of MacDougals died without issue.

Early History of the Dougall family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dougall research. Another 154 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1175, 1244 and 1316 are included under the topic Early Dougall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dougall Spelling Variations

Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Dougall has appeared in various documents spelled MacDougall, MacDowall, MacDowell, MacDugald, MacDill and many more.

Early Notables of the Dougall family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was

Donnchadh of Argyll or Donnchadh mac Dubhghaill (c. 1175-1244), Scottish noble, the first of the MacDougall lords of Argyll to take the title de Argadia

Migration of the Dougall family to Ireland

Some of the Dougall family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dougall migration to the United States +

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Dougall or a variant listed above:

Dougall Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Dougall, who arrived in New England in 1651-1652 1

Dougall Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Walter Dougall, aged 17, who arrived in New York in 1774 1

Dougall Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Dougall, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1812 1

Dougall migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Dougall Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Dougall, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Dauntless" in 1840 2
Miss Mary Dougall, Scottish convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3

Dougall migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Dougall Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

David Dougall, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of the Avon" in 1859
Mr. James Dougall, Scottish settler travelling from Leith aboard the ship 'Melbourne' arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 18th March 1861 4
Mrs. Mary Dougall, (b. 1827), aged 35, British dressmaker travelling from London aboard the ship "Echunga" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 24th December 1862 4
Mr. John Dougall, (b. 1852), aged 10, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Echunga" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 24th December 1862 4
Mr. Alexander Dougall, (b. 1854), aged 8, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Echunga" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 24th December 1862 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Dougall (post 1700) +

William Dougall, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Antigua, 1884
William Dougall, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Joliet, Illinois, 1879-83 5
A. K. Dougall, American politician, Mayor of Arroyo Grande, California, 1998
Clarissa Maria Young Dougall (1849-1935), American suffragist, member of the general presidency of the Young Women organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
William "Billy" Dougall (1895-1966), Scottish association football player and manager
John Dougall (1867-1960), Scottish mathematician, "one of Scotland's leading mathematicians", known for Dougall's formula
Neil Dougall (1776-1862), Scottish poet and musical composer, born in Greenock 9 Dec. 1776
Kenneth William "Kenny" Dougall (b. 1993), Australian footballer, member of the Australia U23 National Team
James Dougall (1810-1888), Scottish-born, Canadian politician, merchant and a horticulturalist, eponym of Dougall Avenue and Dougall Parkway, Windsor, Ontario
Rose Elinor Dougall (b. 1986), English singer, songwriter and musician
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dougall family +

HMS Cornwall

Allan Thomas Dougall, British Sub Lieutenant Engineer aboard the HMS Cornwall (1942) when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he survived the sinking 6

RMS Lusitania

Miss Catherine Dougall, English 1st Class Passenger residing in Quebec, Quebec, Canada going to South Africa via Liverpool, England, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 7

Winter Quarters coal mine

Mr. William Bernard Dougall (b. 1872), American mine worker from Springville, Utah who worked in the Winter Quarters coal mine on 1st May 1900, when 10 of the 25lb kegs of black powder exploded; he died in the explosion 8

The Dougall Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Buaidh no bàs
Motto Translation: Victory or death

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAUNTLESS 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Dauntless.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, September 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Miners killed in Winter Quarters (retrieved 28th July 2021). Retrieved from http://www.carbon-utgenweb.com/miners.html