Origins of the McDonald surname

What does the name McDonald mean?

The McDonald surname is Scottish and Irish. In both of these countries, it's a patronymic name, an anglicisation of the Gaelic name 'MacDhomhnaill' or 'MacDomhnallach'. This name would be given to those who were the son or descendant of somebody name 'Domhnall' (a name anglicised to 'Donald').

Alternative variations of the name McDonald

McDonald, Macdonald, MacDonell, MacDonall, McDonald

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Delve deeper into the McDonald family's history

OrkneyShetlandHighlandsWestern IslesGrampianTaysideCentralStrathclydeFifeLothianBordersDumfriesNorth East 1540North West 668Isle of Man 33Yorkshire 970East Midlands 114West Midlands 326East 477London 3812South East 670South West 355South Wales 110Mid Wales 12West Wales 1North Wales 61Republic of IrelandNorthern Ireland

In 1921, most McDonalds lived in london

Census records trace your ancestors through each generation, so you can follow where your relatives lived through each decade.

200,000 McDonald Travel & migration records
340,000 McDonalds found in all Census records

Interesting facts about Mcdonald

How common is your surname?

153rd most common surname in the UK

We have for the Mcdonald surname. The oldest one dates back to 1719.

Who were Mcdonalds most likely to marry?

Our tell us which families married Mcdonalds.

What are the most common Mcdonald first names?

John

James

Mary

Margaret

Our tell us the names of Mcdonald family members
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Census records provide incredible detail on names, ages, marital statuses, occupations and more.

Common jobs for Mcdonalds

Men and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.

Common female occupations for Mcdonalds in 1921

Domestic Servant

2,415

F S

1,728

Dressmaker

1,604

Housekeeper

1,332

General Servant

1,265

Common male occupations for Mcdonalds in 1921

Crofter

2,269

Fisherman

2,065

General Labourer

1,833

Farm Servant

1,664

Farmer

1,607

We found over 270,000 family trees with the Mcdonald surname

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