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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • English : from Middle English dole ‘portion of land’ (Old English dāl ‘share’, ‘portion’). The term could denote land within the common field, a boundary mark, or a unit of area; so the name may be of topographic origin or a status name.
  • Irish : reduced and altered Anglicized form of McDowell. Compare McDole.
  • French (Dolé) : nickname for a troubled or anxious person, from Old French dolé, past participle of doler ‘to regret’ (Latin dolere ‘to hurt’).

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