Meaning and background
The story behind Mcdougal
McDougal is one of the spelling variants of the Scottish surname McDougall. The earlier Gaelic patronymic Mac Dubhghaill means “son of Dubhghall”, whose elements refer to “dark” and “stranger” in an older Norse-Gaelic context. That is a description from naming history, not a dog's imagined nature. The modern spelling can suggest a comic surname, but it belongs to a genuine Scottish family-name tradition.
- Origin
- Scottish variant of McDougall, anglicised from Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill, “son of Dubhghall”. Source
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About Mcdougal
Recorded as a dog’s name
Mcdougal appears in 2 dog licence records in the 2024 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/məkduɡəl/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the second syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/məkduɡəl/ · primary stress on syllable 2M AH0 K D UW1 G AH0 L
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.