2000
#1,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,718
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.02
Uncommon Last name
Mackey
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Aodha," meaning "son of Aodh" (a personal name meaning "fire").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 33,373 Americans carry the last name Mackey. That puts it at #1,185 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,270 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mackey surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mackey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
33K
1 in 10,270
Census rank
#1,185
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
29K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,103 bearers of the surname Mackey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1185th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mackey, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mackey
The surname MACKEY is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic mac Cedaigh, meaning "son of Cedach." Cedach was an Irish personal name derived from the word "cead," meaning "hundred." The name is thought to have originated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in the early medieval period.
The name MACKEY is first recorded in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, in the year 1164. It appears as "MacCedaigh," referring to a member of a prominent Irish family from the area around Glenariffe, County Antrim.
In the 13th century, the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Cumbria, England, where it is spelled "Makcedy." This suggests that branches of the family had migrated to England during the Norman period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name MACKEY was Eoghan MacCedaigh, a 14th-century Irish chieftain and poet from County Antrim. He was renowned for his compositions in the traditional Irish bardic style.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name MACKEY became more widespread in Ireland, particularly in Counties Antrim, Down, and Armagh. In the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a record of official documents from the Tudor period, the name appears as "MacKee," "MacKy," and "MacKey."
A notable figure from this period was Sir James MACKEY (c. 1570-1640), an Irish soldier and landowner who served in the Nine Years' War and the Spanish Army of Flanders. He was granted lands in County Antrim for his military service.
In the 18th century, the name MACKEY was also found in Scotland, where it was anglicized from the Gaelic "MacCaidh." One prominent Scottish bearer was James MACKEY (1718-1770), a merchant and landowner from Edinburgh.
As the MACKEY surname spread throughout the English-speaking world, it took on various spellings, including MacKey, McKee, McKay, and Mackie. Notable individuals with these variations include William McKee (1783-1851), an Irish-born American politician and judge, and Ian McKay (1953-2022), a Canadian historian and author.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mackey
Among Census respondents with the surname Mackey, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mackey bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mackey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 19,419
- Black or African American23.6% · 6,882
- Two or more races4.9% · 1,419
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 985
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 216
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 182
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mackey
Mackey appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,143
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,749
+1,031 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 10.42
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#1,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,103
-1,646 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 9.74
Rank movement Down 42 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,075 | 29,718 | 11.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,143 | 30,749 | 10.42 | +1,031 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #1,185 | 29,103 | 9.74 | -1,646 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 42 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mackey surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,143 | #1,185 | -3.7% |
| Count | 30,749 | 29,103 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 10.42 | 9.74 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mackey bearers went from 30,749 to 29,103 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 42 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,143 to #1,185.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mackey
FAQ
Mackey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mackey?
Name Census estimates that about 33,373 living Americans carry the surname Mackey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,270 residents.
How common is Mackey?
Mackey ranks #1,185 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,103 people with the surname Mackey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (33,373), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Mackey.
Has Mackey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mackey went from 30,749 recorded bearers to 29,103. That is a decrease of 1,646 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,143 to #1,185.
What does the Census say about the background of Mackey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mackey, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mackey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (19,419 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mackey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.7%), Black (23.6%), Two or More Races (4.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mackey (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mackey mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Aodha," meaning "son of Aodh" (a personal name meaning "fire"). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mackey (9.74 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Mackey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.