MacDowell

/məkˈdaʊ.əl/

//məkˈdaʊ.əl// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"macdowell" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“MacDowell” is uncommon English (frequency #70,855 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,855
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname.

Corpus desk

Index EN-macdowell · MacDowell · English

MacDowell · rank #70,855 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,855
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Maccabi

Nearest frequency peer: Maccabi (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “MacDowell”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “MacDowell” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for MacDowell
PropertyValue
HeadwordMacDowell
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/məkˈdaʊ.əl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#70,855
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “MacDowell” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).MacDowellfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Maccabi” (#70,854), “machinima” (#70,856), “Lytham” (#70,851). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “MacDowell” is #70,855. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

MacDowell is uncommon English at frequency #70,855 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /məkˈdaʊ.əl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A surname.".

MacDowell has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Scottish Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill (literally “son of Dougal”). The correct English form is MacDowell, spelled M-A-C-D-O-W-E-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname.

Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill (literally “son of Dougal”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "MacDowell"?
"MacDowell" is spelled M-A-C-D-O-W-E-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /məkˈdaʊ.əl/.
What does "MacDowell" mean?
As a proper noun, "MacDowell" means: A surname.
How do you pronounce "MacDowell"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "MacDowell" is /məkˈdaʊ.əl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "MacDowell"?
From Scottish Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill (literally “son of Dougal”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "MacDowell", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

machinima#70,856lunchroom#70,849lorazepam#70,845manticore#70,871

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list