Given name & surname
Macdonald
“the son of Donald”
Macdonald is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “the son of Donald.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “the son of Donald.”
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Macdonald through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 154
- 154 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1961
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2002. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 306 as a first name in 2020; 45,126 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Macdonald’s family of names
Macdonald has a related form in McDonald. Macdonald has a related form in MacDomhnall. Macdonald has a related form in Macdonel.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Macdonald has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Donaldvariant
- McDonaldvariant · English, German
- Macdonnellvariant · English
- McDomhnallvariant
- MacDomhnallvariant
- McDonelvariant
- McDonellvariant
- Macdonelvariant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Macdonald
- Macdonald CareyAmerican actor (1913–1994)
- MacDonald Taylor Sr.US Virgin Islands soccer player (born 1957)
- MacDonald Taylor Jr.US Virgin Islands soccer player (born 1992)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Macdonald, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Gilroy
“son of the redhaired lad” · “the son of a red-haired man”
>99% boys