Mckean
Scottish surname meaning "the son of the handsome man".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Mckean. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mckean today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mckean births was 2002 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mckean. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mckean. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2002
5 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2002 SSA rank
#11,849
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Mckean: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Mckean 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 Mckean during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Mckean
The name Mckean is of Scottish and Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "ian" meaning "little". It is believed to have originated around the 12th century as a surname in the Scottish Highlands and the northern regions of Ireland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle, where it is mentioned in reference to a clan leader named Mckean mac Dhuibhne in the year 1214. This suggests that the name was already in use as a personal name during the medieval period.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mckean was particularly prevalent among Scottish and Irish clans, where it was often given to the sons of clan chieftains or prominent families. It was seen as a way to denote lineage and establish a sense of kinship within these close-knit communities.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Mckean O'Reilly was a prominent Irish soldier and leader who fought in the Nine Years' War against English forces. He played a significant role in the defense of Ulster and is remembered as a brave warrior and defender of Irish sovereignty.
Another historical figure bearing the name Mckean was Thomas McKean, an American lawyer and statesman who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and as the second President of Pennsylvania. Born in 1734, he was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War.
In the realm of literature, Mckean was the name of a character in the famous novel "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819. The character, a Scottish knight, was portrayed as a loyal and courageous warrior, reflecting the strong associations of the name with bravery and honor.
Other notable individuals with the name Mckean include Joseph Mckean, an American artist and engraver born in 1776, and Mckean Buchanan, an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives in the late 19th century.
Throughout its history, the name Mckean has maintained a strong connection to its Scottish and Irish roots, symbolizing strength, resilience, and a sense of kinship within these cultural traditions.
People
Mckean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mckean 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
Mckean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mckean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mckean 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Mckean a common name?
We classify Mckean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mckean most popular?
The single biggest year for Mckean was 2002, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mckean is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Mckean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mckean a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mckean 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 Mckean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mckean 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 Mckean 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Mckean?
See how many Americans are named Mckean on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.