The Macdonald surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 46,717 people carried this name — #744 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,310 people counted. That is up 2% from 45,782 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Macdonald surname
From Scottish Gaelic Mac Dhòmhnaill, equivalent to "son of Donald".
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «MacDonald» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
84 people named Macdonald live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 50 people named Macdonald.
Most of them — 36 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 8 départements, most often Gironde.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 36 people named Macdonald live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
23 people named Macdonald have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 97 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
67 people named Macdonald is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Macdonald in American newspapers,
1885–1924.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 275,544 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Macdonald,
with a public archive behind them.
-
John Macdonald 1779–1849 · civil servant -
Lawrence Macdonald 1799–1878 · sculptor -
Isabella Macdonald 1811–1857 -
Hugh Macdonald 1817–1860 · poet -
John Macdonald 1824–1890 · businessperson
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 291 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Macdonald.
- Macary 166 · U.S. census
- Maccari 130 · U.S. census
- Maccario 152 · U.S. census
- Macchi 550 · U.S. census
- Macchia 1,185 · U.S. census
- Maccio 161 · U.S. census
- Mace 12,222 · U.S. census
- Macedo 8,433 · U.S. census
- Macera 521 · U.S. census
- Mach 5,047 · U.S. census
- Machado 23,170 · U.S. census
- Machain 465 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Macdonald 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.