Mckale
A Scottish surname derived from a place name in Argyll.
Name Census estimates that about 201 living Americans carry the first name Mckale. It is a predominantly male name (97.1% of registrations). The average person named Mckale today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mckale births was 2005 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mckale. 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
201
~ 1 in 1,705,245 Americans
Peak year
2005
16 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,776
Tracked since 1990
Census
Mckale in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 257 people with the first name Mckale, which placed it at #32,623 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
#32,623
National first-name rank
People counted
257
257 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mckale
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mckale is White at 50.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (10.1%). 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 Mckale 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 Mckale at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.6% · 130
- Black or African American29.6% · 76
- Two or more races10.1% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Mckale
Mckale leans heavily male at 97.1% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mckale as a male name
- Ranked #13,580 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 2005 (16 births)
Mckale as a female name
- Ranked #12,776 in 1995
- 6 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1995 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mckale on both sides of the split. Of the 264 people counted with this name, 207 were male (78.4%) and 57 were female (21.6%).
Popularity
Mckale: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mckale from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 117 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Mckale remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mckale 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 Mckale 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 Mckale
The name Mckale has its roots in the Gaelic language and culture, originating in the ancient Celtic regions of Scotland and Ireland. It is believed to be a modern variant or anglicized spelling of the Gaelic name "Mac Cail," which translates to "son of the stranger" or "son of the outsider."
This name likely emerged during the late Middle Ages, when the use of patronymic surnames became prevalent in these regions. The prefix "Mac" or "Mc" signified "son of," while the latter part of the name, "Cail," referred to someone who was perceived as a foreigner or an outsider within a particular community.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Mckale can be traced back to historical records from the 15th and 16th centuries in Scotland. However, it is important to note that spellings and variations of the name may have existed prior to these documented cases, as record-keeping practices were not as consistent during earlier periods.
One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the name Mckale was Angus Mckale, a Scottish warrior and clan leader who lived in the late 15th century. He is mentioned in several historical accounts for his bravery and leadership during conflicts between rival clans in the Highlands.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure named Alasdair Mckale was a respected scholar and poet from the Scottish Highlands. His works, which celebrated the rich cultural heritage and traditions of his people, are still studied and appreciated today.
Moving into the 18th century, Mckale was also the name of a renowned Scottish explorer and cartographer, Duncan Mckale. He was instrumental in mapping uncharted territories in North America and his detailed maps and journals served as invaluable resources for subsequent expeditions.
Another historical figure bearing the name Mckale was Catriona Mckale, a Scottish noblewoman from the 19th century. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her dedication to improving the lives of the underprivileged in her community.
In more recent times, one notable individual with the name Mckale was Ian Mckale, a Scottish actor and playwright who lived from 1932 to 2018. He gained recognition for his contributions to the theatrical arts, both on stage and in film.
While the name Mckale has roots in the Celtic cultures of Scotland and Ireland, it has since been adopted and used in various parts of the world, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. However, its origins can be traced back to the ancient Gaelic language and the rich cultural heritage of the Scottish Highlands.
People
Mckale + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mckale 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
Mckale: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mckale?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 201 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mckale 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 1,705,245 US residents.
Is Mckale a common name?
We classify Mckale as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 204 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mckale most popular?
The single biggest year for Mckale was 2005, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mckale is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mckale in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 257 people with the name Mckale, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,623 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 Mckale 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 Mckale?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mckale on both sides of the split. Of the 264 people counted with this name, 207 were male (78.4%) and 57 were female (21.6%). 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 Mckale?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mckale is White at 50.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (10.1%). 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 Mckale most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mckale in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.6% (130 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 Mckale in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mckale a male name?
Yes, 97.1% of people registered as Mckale 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 Mckale still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mckale 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 Mckale 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 are named Mckale?
Want to know how many Americans are named Mckale? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.