Mc
Scottish surname prefix derived from the Gaelic "Mac" meaning "son of".
Name Census estimates that about 292 living Americans carry the first name Mc. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 52.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Mc today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mc births was 1999 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mc. 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
292
~ 1 in 1,173,816 Americans
Peak year
1999
35 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1999 SSA rank
#8,416
Tracked since 1912
Gender
Gender distribution for Mc
Mc is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 436 total registrations, 227 (52.1%) were male and 209 (47.9%) were female.
Mc as a male name
- Ranked #8,416 in 1999
- 7 male births in 1999
- Peak: 1939 (13 births)
Mc as a female name
- Ranked #18,235 in 2005
- 5 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1999 (28 births)
Popularity
Mc: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mc from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 214 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mc 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 Mc during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mcs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mc
The name Mc has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic languages. It is derived from the Gaelic word "mac," which means "son" or "son of." This name prefix originated in the early medieval period, around the 5th or 6th century AD, and was used to denote patrilineal descent.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mc can be found in the ancient Irish text known as the Annals of Ulster, which dates back to the 15th century. The text mentions individuals with names such as "MacDomhnaill" and "MacCoisdealbhaigh," which later became anglicized as McDonald and Cosgrove, respectively.
In the realm of historical figures, several notable individuals bore the name Mc. Mc Bethad mac Findláich (1005-1057) was the King of Scotland from 1040 to 1057. Mc Lochlainn (1080-1121) was an Irish king who ruled over the northern part of Ireland from 1094 to 1121. Mc Dougall (1180-1244) was a Scottish warrior and chieftain who played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mc became widespread among Scottish and Irish families, particularly those with ties to clans or noble lineages. One famous bearer of the name was Mc Gregor (1570-1623), a Scottish clan chief and outlaw known for his defiance against the King of Scotland.
In the realm of literature, Mc appears in the works of renowned authors. For instance, the character Mc Duff plays a crucial role in William Shakespeare's play "Macbeth," which was written around 1606.
Throughout history, the name Mc has been borne by various influential individuals, including Mc Cauley (1800-1859), an Irish historian and politician, and Mc Carthy (1888-1957), an American politician and Senator who became known for his controversial investigations into alleged communist infiltration during the Cold War era.
People
Mc + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mc 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
Mc: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mc?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 292 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mc 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 1,173,816 US residents.
Is Mc a common name?
We classify Mc as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 436 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mc most popular?
The single biggest year for Mc was 1999, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mc is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mc a male name?
Yes, 52.1% of people registered as Mc 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.
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.