The Dowdell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,976 people carried this name — #6,777 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 59,200 people counted. That is up 6% from 4,690 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dowdell surname

Variant of Dowdall.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dowdell» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Dowdale’.

An early record he cites: Nicholaus de Dodale, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Dowdall, Dowdle and Dowdell.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 250 · public domain.

In print

Dowdell in American newspapers,
1903.

Newspaper page from The Billings Gazette carrying the name Dowdell
The Billings Gazette 1903-03-27
Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name Dowdell
The Butte Inter Mountain 1903-03-26
Newspaper page from The Kalispell Bee carrying the name Dowdell
The Kalispell Bee 1903-12-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,410 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dowdell in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

5,789 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dowdell. The most, 945, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 3.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,661
South Australia 1,434
Tasmania 1,313
Victoria 546
Western Australia 520
Queensland 296
ACT (Canberra) 7
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dowdell.

Who carried it

People named Dowdell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Ferguson Dowdell
    James Ferguson Dowdell 1818–1871 · lawyer
  • James R. Dowdell 1847–1921 · judge
  • Elizabeth Dowdell 1880–1962
  • Rel Dowdell 1901– · screenwriter
  • Patrick Dowdell 1956–2018 · mechanic

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dowdell,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States592 records

592 records of the Dowdell name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 283
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 143
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 70
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 27
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 26
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 23
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 16
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Marvin Dowdell

    Born 1946; from Cordele, Georgia. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Andersonville National Cemetery, Georgia.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles J. Dowdell

    Born 1925 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1944 at New York City, from Bronx County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret Dowdell

    Arrived at New York in 1865 aboard the M. Nottenbohn from Liverpool, aged 20; domestic. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 592 records for Dowdell in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia141 records

141 records of the Dowdell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 67
  • Tasmanian Names Index 43
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 12
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 10
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 8
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Louisa Madeline Dowdell

    Born 1856 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1879 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Ann Dowdell

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Pyramus, arriving 1832; certificate of freedom 1838.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Florence Dowdell

    Arrived in Queensland in 1912 aboard the Rimutaka, aged 28.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 141 records for Dowdell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada14 records

14 records of the Dowdell name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 5
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Dowdell

    Came to Ontario in 1877 aboard the Polynesian, landing at Quebec, bound for Kingston, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Donald Joseph Dowdell

    Buried in 1991 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 55.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Stanley Geddes Dowdell

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 14 records for Dowdell in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Dowdell name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. G. M.C. Dowdell

    Second Lieutenant. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dowdell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dowdell is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Dowdell volume
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