McDowell (surname)

McDowell or MacDowell is a Scottish surname, derived from the Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill, meaning "son of Dubhghall" (i.e. of the same origin as McDougall). Notable people with the surname include:

• Abram Irvin McDowell (1793-1844), mayor of Columbus, Ohio
• Alexander McDowell (1845-1913), congressman from Pennsylvania
• Andie MacDowell (born 1958), American film actress
• Anne Elizabeth McDowell (1826–1901), American newspaper editor
• Charles S. McDowell (1871–1943), interim governor of Alabama
• Charles T. McDowell (born 1921), American academic and military officer
• Derek McDowell (born 1958), Irish politician
• Douglas MacDowell (1931–2010), British classical scholar
• Edward MacDowell (1860–1908), American composer
• Ephraim McDowell (1771–1830), American physician
• Fred McDowell (1904–1972), American blues singer and guitar player
• Graeme McDowell (born 1979), Northern Irish professional golfer
• Harold MacDowell, American construction company executive
• Hugh McDowell (1953–2018), English cellist, member of Electric Light Orchestra
• Irvin McDowell (1818–1885), Union army general
• Jack McDowell (born 1960), former Major League Baseball pitcher
• Jack McDowell (born circa 1922-23), Northern Irish political activist
• James McDowell (1795–1851), politician from Virginia
• James F. McDowell (1825-887), politician from Indiana
• James F. McDowell (born 1862), politician from Wisconsin
• Jay Sidney MacDowell (1919–1992), Philadelphia Eagles, World Champions 1948 & 1949
• João MacDowell, Brazilian musician
• John McDowell (born 1942), South African philosopher
• Johnny McDowell (1915–1952), American Formula One driver
• Joseph "Pleasant Gardens" McDowell (1758-1795), American statesman from North Carolina
• Joseph McDowell Jr. (1756-1801), American statesman
• Joseph J. McDowell (1800-1877), U.S. Congressman from Ohio
• Joseph Nash McDowell (1805-1868), American doctor
• Josh McDowell (born 1939), American Christian apologist and author
• Kelly McDowell (born circa 1953), mayor of El Segundo, California
• Linda McDowell (born 1949), British geographer
• Louis G. MacDowell (died 1986), American USDA researcher
• Louise Sherwood McDowell (1876–1966), American physicist
• Malik McDowell (born 1996), American football player
• Malcolm McDowell (born 1943), English actor
• Mark McDowell (born 1962), Canadian diplomat
• Marty McDowell (born 1987), New Zealand canoeist
• Marian MacDowell (1857–1956), American pianist
• Mary Dagen McDowell (born 1969), American news anchor and analyst
• Matthew McDowell (died 1944), Steamboat owner and builder
• Michael McDowell (born 1964), Northern Irish actor
• Michael McEachern McDowell (1950-1999), American novelist and screenwriter
• Michael McDowell (born 1951), barrister and former Irish politician
• Michael Christopher McDowell (born 1984), American race car driver
• Michael P. Kube-McDowell (born 1954), American science fiction writer
• Neil McDowell (born 1958)

Former England and Gosforth Centre.

• Oddibe McDowell (born 1962), former Major League Baseball
• Patrick MacDowell (1799–1870), Irish sculptor
• Paul McDowell (1905–1962), American rower
• Paul McDowell (1931–2016), English actor and screenwriter
• Robert H. McDowell (1894-1980), American historian and intelligenc officer
• Robert M. McDowell (born 1963), former U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner
• Roger McDowell (born 1960), Major League baseball player and coach
• R. B. McDowell (1913–2011), Professor Emeritus of History, Trinity College Dublin
• Sam McDowell (born 1942), Major League baseball pitcher
• Samuel McDowell (1735-1817), American soldier and politician, father of Dr. Ephraim McDowell
• Samuel Booker McDowell (1928-2014), American herpetologist after whom McDowell's blind snake is named
• Samuel Wallace MacDowell (1846-1908), Brazilian military man, magistrate, politician and journalist
• Thain Wendell MacDowell (1890–1960), Canadian Victoria Cross recipient
• Thomas McDowell (born 1977), convicted murderer
• Thomas Bleakley McDowell (1923-2009), British soldier
• William Fraser McDowell (1858–1937), American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
• William Osborn McDowell (1848-1927), American businessman