2000
#34,071
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 630
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.23
Rare Last name
Mcdowall
Scottish surname transferred from a place name referring to a hill dweller or someone living by a wall.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,014 Americans carry the last name Mcdowall. That puts it at #28,656 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 338,022 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcdowall surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mcdowall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.0K
1 in 338,022
Census rank
#28,656
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
884
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 884 bearers of the surname Mcdowall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 28656th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdowall, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcdowall
The surname McDowall originated in Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Scottish Gaelic "mac Düghaill," meaning "son of Dougall." Dougall is a Scottish variant of the name Douglas, which itself comes from the Gaelic "dubh-glas," meaning "dark stream."
McDowall is a sept of the Clan Douglas, one of the most powerful families in Scottish history. The name is found primarily in the counties of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and Wigtown in the southwestern region of Scotland. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "MacDugaill" in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.
In the 16th century, the McDowall family held lands in the parish of Kirkcudbright, where they were prominent landowners and supporters of the Scottish Reformation. One notable member of the family was Uchtred McDowall (1517-1582), a Protestant reformer and author of several religious works.
Another early bearer of the name was Sir John McDowall (1576-1647), a Scottish soldier and landowner who served as a Colonel in the army of King Charles I during the English Civil War. He was knighted for his loyalty to the Royalist cause.
In the 18th century, Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830) was a prominent American physician who performed the first successful ovarian surgery in 1809. He is considered a pioneer in the field of abdominal surgery.
James McDowall (1824-1885) was a Scottish-born Australian explorer and surveyor who played a significant role in the exploration and mapping of Western Australia during the 19th century.
Another notable figure was Sir Roderick McDowall (1861-1949), a British civil servant who served as the Governor of British North Borneo (now part of Malaysia) from 1908 to 1915.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcdowall
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdowall, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcdowall bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mcdowall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.1% · 655
- Black or African American16.9% · 149
- Two or more races4.8% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcdowall
Mcdowall appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#32,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 703
+73 bearers (+11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Up 1,395 places
2020
#28,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 884
+181 bearers (+25.7%)
Per 100,000 0.30
Rank movement Up 4,020 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #34,071 | 630 | 0.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,676 | 703 | 0.24 | +73 bearers (+11.6%) | Up 1,395 places |
| 2020 | #28,656 | 884 | 0.30 | +181 bearers (+25.7%) | Up 4,020 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mcdowall surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #32,676 | #28,656 | 12.3% |
| Count | 703 | 884 | 25.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.30 | 23.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcdowall bearers went from 703 to 884 (+25.7% change). The surname moved up 4,020 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,676 to #28,656.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mcdowall
FAQ
Mcdowall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcdowall?
Name Census estimates that about 1,014 living Americans carry the surname Mcdowall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 338,022 residents.
How common is Mcdowall?
Mcdowall ranks #28,656 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 884 people with the surname Mcdowall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,014), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mcdowall.
Has Mcdowall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcdowall went from 703 recorded bearers to 884. That is an increase of 181 (+25.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #32,676 to #28,656.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcdowall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdowall, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mcdowall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (655 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcdowall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.1%), Black (16.9%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mcdowall (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mcdowall mean?
Scottish surname transferred from a place name referring to a hill dweller or someone living by a wall. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mcdowall (0.30 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Mcdowall?
See how many Americans have the surname Mcdowall on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.