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The west coast of Scotland and the rocky Hebrides islands are the ancient home of the Dowall family. The root of their name is the personal name Dougal. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Dhughaill and literally means son of Dougal.
The surname Dowall 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dowall research. Another 154 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1175, 1244 and 1316 are included under the topic Early Dowall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling and translation were not standardized practices until the last few centuries. Spelling variations are extremely common among early Scottish names. Dowall has been spelled MacDougall, MacDowall, MacDowell, MacDugald, MacDill and many more.
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dowall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Numerous Scottish settlers settled along the east coast of the colonies that would become the United States and Canada. Others traveled to the open country of the west. At the time of the American War of Independence, some remained in the United States, while those who remained loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The highland games and Clan societies that sprang up across North America in the 20th century have helped many Scots to recover parts of their lost traditions. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Dowalls to arrive in North America: