Show ContentsMcDowell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

McDowell Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of McDowell

What does the name McDowell mean?

The McDowell family name comes from the personal name Dougal. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Dhughaill and literally means "son of Dougal." The personal name Dougal, meaning "dark stranger."

Early Origins of the McDowell family

The surname McDowell 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 held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the McDowell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McDowell research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1659 is included under the topic Early McDowell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McDowell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacDowall, MacDowell, McDowell, MacDill, McDill and others.

Early Notables of the McDowell family

  • McDowell of County Roscommon

McDowell Ranking

the United States, the name McDowell is the 626th most popular surname with an estimated 47,253 people with that name. 1 However, in New Zealand, the name McDowell is ranked the 631st most popular surname with an estimated 1,127 people with that name. 2

Migration of the McDowell family to Ireland

Some of the McDowell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McDowell migration to the United States +



McDowell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Ephraim McDowell, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1729-1735 3
  • Ephrahim McDowell, who landed in Virginia in 1739 3
  • Margaret McDowell, who landed in Virginia in 1739 3
  • Martha McDowell, who arrived in Virginia in 1739 3
  • Robert McDowell, who landed in Augusta County, Va in 1739 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
McDowell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Thomas McDowell, aged 40, who arrived in South Carolina in 1812 3
  • Hugh McDowell, aged 50, who landed in Louisiana in 1812 3
  • Andrew McDowell, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1813 3
  • Joseph McDowell, who arrived in New York in 1819 3
  • Mr. William McDowell, aged 30, Irish farmer who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina aboard the ship "Prince Leopold"on 15th November 1820
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McDowell migration to Canada +

McDowell Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Hiram McDowell, who arrived in Canada in 1840
  • David McDowell, who landed in Canada in 1840
  • Mr. Owen McDowell, aged 35 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Erin's Queen" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in August 1847 4

McDowell migration to Australia +

McDowell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Fanny McDowell, aged 32, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Rodney" 5
  • Agnes McDowell, aged 20, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Flora" 6
  • Mary McDowell, aged 29, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Flora" 6
  • Annabella McDowell, aged 22, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "North"

McDowell 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:

McDowell Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • John McDOWELL, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
  • Miss Charlotte Jane Mcdowell (Gambel), (b. 1834), aged 13, Irish settler born in Jamaica travelling aboard the ship "Sir Robert Sale" from Gravesend via Cork arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 11th October 1847 7
  • Mr. James McDowell, Scottish settler travelling from Greenock aboard the ship "Philip Laing" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 15th April 1848 7
  • John McDowell, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Nimroud" in 1863
  • Mr. Atkinson Mcdowell, (b. 1844), aged 19, British school master, from Hereford travelling from London aboard the ship "Metropolis" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 16th June 1863 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name McDowell (post 1700) +

  • Gene McDowell (1940-2021), American college football head coach of the UCF Knights (1985–1997)
  • Michael McEachern McDowell (1950-1999), American two-time Hugo Award nominated novelist and screenwriter
  • Irvin McDowell (1818-1885), American Major General, best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run
  • Brigadier-General Rex McKinley McDowell (1893-1984), American Assistant Director Office of the Surgeon General US Army (1939-1945) 9
  • Paul L. McDowell (1905-1962), American Olympic bronze medalist rower at the 1928 Summer Olympics
  • Charles T. McDowell (1921-2007), American academic and military officer
  • Johnny McDowell (1915-1952), American Indy 500 racecar driver
  • Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830), American physician
  • Donald McDowell, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 8½ aerial victories
  • ... (Another 78 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Halifax Explosion
  • Miss Eileen  McDowell (1911-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 10
  • Mr. Albert McDowell (b. 1922), English Ordinary Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 11
  • Robert Earl Mcdowell, American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he was one of the many who were killed in the sinking due to exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning and shark attacks 12

Suggested Readings for the name McDowell +

  • Historic Families of Kentucky by Thomas Marshall Green.
  • McDowells in American by Dorothy Kelly MacDowell.
  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  3. 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)
  4. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 44)
  5. South Australian Register Wednesday 21st February 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Rodney 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/rodney1855.shtml
  6. South Australian Register Monday 9th April 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Flora 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/flora1855.shtml
  7. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  8. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  9. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2013, February 12) Rex McDowell. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/McDowell/Rex_McKinley/USA.html
  10. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
  11. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  12. Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew

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