Macoy
A masculine name of Scottish origin representing one from the clan Mackay.
Name Census estimates that about 524 living Americans carry the first name Macoy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Macoy today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Macoy births was 2020 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Macoy. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
524
~ 1 in 654,111 Americans
Peak year
2020
36 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,328
Tracked since 1996
Census
Macoy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 432 people with the first name Macoy, which placed it at #22,880 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,880
National first-name rank
People counted
432
432 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Macoy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Macoy is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Black (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Macoy described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Macoy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 366
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 20
- Black or African American3.9% · 17
- Two or more races3.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 5
Popularity
Macoy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Macoy from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 242 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Macoy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Macoy by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Macoy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Macoy
The name Macoy is believed to have originated from the Scottish Gaelic language. It is thought to be a diminutive form of the name Muireach, which means "descendant of the sea." This suggests that the name may have been used by Scottish clans or families with a strong maritime heritage or connection to coastal regions.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Macoy can be found in the 16th century Scottish Highlands. A figure named Macoy of Clan MacGregor was mentioned in historical records from this time period, though specific details about this individual are scarce.
In the late 18th century, a man named Macoy Drummond was born in the Scottish Lowlands. He later became a renowned physician and was credited with pioneering medical practices that improved the health and well-being of many communities in his region.
During the 19th century, the name Macoy gained some prominence in the United States. Macoy McDermott, born in 1832 in Virginia, was a notable figure in the American Civil War. He served as a Union Army officer and was recognized for his bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Another noteworthy individual with the name Macoy was Sir Macoy Llewelyn, a Welsh explorer and adventurer who lived from 1867 to 1942. He is renowned for his daring expeditions to remote regions of the world and his contributions to the field of geography and cartography.
In the early 20th century, Macoy Tyner, born in 1938, became a highly acclaimed American jazz pianist and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz, and his innovative playing style has inspired countless musicians.
While the name Macoy is not as common as some other given names, it has a rich history and has been borne by several remarkable individuals throughout the ages. Its origins can be traced back to the Scottish Gaelic language, and it has been associated with themes of maritime heritage, bravery, exploration, and artistic expression.
People
Macoy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Macoy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Macoy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Macoy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 524 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Macoy going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 654,111 US residents.
Is Macoy a common name?
We classify Macoy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 529 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Macoy most popular?
The single biggest year for Macoy was 2020, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Macoy is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Macoy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 432 people with the name Macoy, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,880 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Macoy in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Macoy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Macoy leans strongly male. 408 people counted with this name were male (94.4%), compared with 24 female bearers (5.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Macoy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Macoy is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Black (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Macoy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Macoy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (366 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Macoy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Macoy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Macoy in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Macoy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Macoy in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Macoy can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Macoy?
Want to know how many Americans are named Macoy? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.