2000
#4,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,592
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.44
Rare Last name
Macklin
Son of the servant or devotee of Saint Caillin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,574 Americans carry the last name Macklin. That puts it at #5,125 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,254 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Macklin 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 Macklin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.6K
1 in 45,254
Census rank
#5,125
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,605 bearers of the surname Macklin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5125th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Macklin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.1%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Macklin
The surname Macklin originated in Ireland and Scotland during the medieval era. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning son, and "gille" meaning servant or follower. The name essentially means "son of the servant" or "son of the follower".
Early records indicate the name was concentrated in the northern regions of Ireland and western Scotland, particularly in counties like Donegal, Fermanagh, and Argyll. Variations in spelling included Macklyne, MacGilline, and MacCleyn.
One of the earliest known references to the name appears in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, dating back to the 14th century. It mentions a "Gille Mocculin" who was a leader in County Fermanagh.
The Macklin name can also be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. It lists a "Radulfus filius Maclin" as a landowner in Lincolnshire.
Notable people with the Macklin surname throughout history include Sir Robert Macklin (1523-1587), a Scottish soldier and diplomat who served under Mary, Queen of Scots. There was also John Macklin (1650-1720), an Irish Catholic priest and historian who wrote about the Penal Laws against Catholics in Ireland.
In the 18th century, Charles Macklin (1690-1797) was a renowned Irish actor and dramatist who is credited with reforming theatrical acting styles of the time. Another prominent figure was Samuel Macklin (1755-1840), a British naval captain who served in the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
During the 19th century, Herbert Macklin (1870-1936) was a Canadian artist and illustrator known for his landscape paintings and etchings of the Canadian Rockies. He was a member of the renowned Group of Seven artists.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Macklin
Among Census respondents with the surname Macklin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.1%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Macklin 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 Macklin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.1% · 3,376
- White39.9% · 2,638
- Two or more races5.1% · 338
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 205
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Macklin
Macklin 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
#4,927
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,140
+548 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Down 34 places
2020
#5,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,605
-535 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 2.21
Rank movement Down 198 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,893 | 6,592 | 2.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,927 | 7,140 | 2.42 | +548 bearers (+8.3%) | Down 34 places |
| 2020 | #5,125 | 6,605 | 2.21 | -535 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 198 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 Macklin 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 | #4,927 | #5,125 | -4.0% |
| Count | 7,140 | 6,605 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.42 | 2.21 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Macklin bearers went from 7,140 to 6,605 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 198 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,927 to #5,125.
FAQ
Macklin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Macklin?
Name Census estimates that about 7,574 living Americans carry the surname Macklin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,254 residents.
How common is Macklin?
Macklin ranks #5,125 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,605 people with the surname Macklin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,574), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Macklin.
Has Macklin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Macklin went from 7,140 recorded bearers to 6,605. That is a decrease of 535 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,927 to #5,125.
What does the Census say about the background of Macklin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Macklin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.1%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Macklin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (3,376 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Macklin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (51.1%), White (39.9%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Macklin (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 Macklin mean?
Son of the servant or devotee of Saint Caillin. 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 Macklin (2.21 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 last name Macklin?
You can see how many people have the last name Macklin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.