Mckoy
Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic surname Mac Aoidh meaning "son of fire".
Name Census estimates that about 261 living Americans carry the first name Mckoy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mckoy today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mckoy births was 2016 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mckoy. 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
261
~ 1 in 1,313,235 Americans
Peak year
2016
22 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,533
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Mckoy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mckoy 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 138 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mckoy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mckoy 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 Mckoy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mckoys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mckoy
The name Mckoy is a modern anglicized version of the Scottish Gaelic name MacAoidh, which originated in the Scottish Highlands. It is a patronymic surname derived from the personal name Aoidh, an ancient Celtic name meaning "fire" or "flame." The prefix "Mac" is a Gaelic term meaning "son of."
The earliest recorded use of the name Mckoy dates back to the 16th century, when it was primarily found in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. During this time period, the name was associated with various Highland clans, including the Clan MacAoidh and the Clan Mackay.
In the 17th century, the name Mckoy began to appear in historical records and documents related to the Scottish diaspora, as many Scots emigrated to various parts of the British Empire, including North America and the Caribbean. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Mckoy Mackay (1620-1692), a Scottish soldier and explorer who served in the British Army and played a role in the settlement of Jamaica.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Mckoy continued to be found among Scottish immigrants and their descendants in various parts of the world. One prominent figure bearing this name was Mckoy Campbell (1780-1857), a Scottish-born merchant and landowner who settled in Jamaica and became a prominent figure in the island's sugar industry.
In the 20th century, the name Mckoy gained wider recognition and usage outside of its Scottish origins. One notable bearer of the name was Mckoy Everett (1901-1988), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Everett Corporation, a successful construction company based in Florida.
Another notable figure was Mckoy Wilson (1920-2005), a Jamaican-born artist and sculptor who gained international acclaim for his contributions to the contemporary art scene in the Caribbean and beyond. His works are featured in various museums and collections around the world.
While the name Mckoy may have evolved from its Scottish Gaelic roots, it has since transcended its cultural origins and has been adopted by individuals of various backgrounds and nationalities, reflecting the global reach and influence of the Scottish diaspora.
People
Mckoy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mckoy 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
Mckoy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mckoy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mckoy 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 1,313,235 US residents.
Is Mckoy a common name?
We classify Mckoy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 263 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mckoy most popular?
The single biggest year for Mckoy was 2016, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mckoy is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mckoy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mckoy 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.