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The western coast of Scotland and the desolate Hebrides islands are the ancient home of the McDoougall family. Their name is derived from the personal name Dougal. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Dhughaill and literally means son of Dougal.
The surname McDoougall 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 McDoougall research. Another 154 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1175, 1244 and 1316 are included under the topic Early McDoougall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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. McDoougall has appeared in various documents spelled MacDougall, MacDowall, MacDowell, MacDugald, MacDill and many more.
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McDoougall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The descendants of the Dalriadan families who made the great crossing of the Atlantic still dot communities along the east coast of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many of the settlers traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Clan societies and highland games have allowed Canadian and American families of Scottish descent to recover much of their lost heritage. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name McDoougall or a variant listed above include: Ralph, Patrick and Mary MacDougal settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1767; Dougal and Hugh MacDougal settled in Charles Town in 1767.