MacDougall
MacDougall
14,000
Population
#26
Country Rank
0.0%
of Population
Scottish Names
Culture
Origin & History
From the Scottish Gaelic 'Mac Dubhghaill', meaning 'son of Dubhghall' — where 'Dubhghall' combines 'dubh' (black, dark) and 'gall' (foreigner, stranger), a term originally applied by the Gaels to dark-haired Norse Vikings to distinguish them from fair-haired Norsemen ('Finngall'). Clan Dougall (MacDougall) descends from Dougall, eldest son of Somerled, the twelfth-century Lord of the Isles who drove the Norse from the western seas. They were Lords of Lorn in Argyll and initially opposed Robert the Bruce, famously seizing his brooch at the Battle of Dalrigh (1306); the Brooch of Lorn remains a clan heirloom.