2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Maclagan
A Scottish surname referring to someone from the lands of Lagan.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Maclagan. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maclagan 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 Maclagan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Maclagan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maclagan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maclagan
The surname MACLAGAN originated in Scotland and is believed to date back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "Lagan" which may have been a personal name or a place name referring to a hollow or glen.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Scottish charters and documents from the 13th century, with various spellings such as MacLagan, MacLagane, and MacLagyn. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John MacLagan, who was mentioned in a charter from the reign of King Alexander III (1241-1286).
The MACLAGAN surname is closely associated with the Scottish region of Perthshire, where the clan is believed to have originated and held lands. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name appeared in various records and documents related to this area, including legal proceedings and land grants.
A notable early figure was Alexander MacLagan, who was born around 1590 and served as the Minister of Auchtergaven in Perthshire during the mid-17th century. Another prominent MACLAGAN was James MacLagan (1728-1805), a Scottish philosopher and writer who published works on ethics and natural theology.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname spread to other parts of Scotland and beyond as families migrated and settled in different regions. One distinguished bearer of the name was Andrew Douglas Maclagan (1812-1900), a Scottish physician and medical writer who served as the President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Other notable individuals with the MACLAGAN surname include Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan (1879-1951), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of Punjab and the Central Provinces in British India, and William Dalrymple Maclagan (1835-1906), a Scottish religious leader and writer who served as the Archbishop of York from 1891 until his death.
The MACLAGAN surname has a rich history rooted in the Scottish Highlands and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including clergymen, writers, physicians, and civil servants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maclagan
Among Census respondents with the surname Maclagan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Maclagan 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 Maclagan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 95
- Two or more races8.3% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maclagan
Maclagan appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-12 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,707 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 11,707 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 Maclagan 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 | #139,228 | #150,935 | -8.4% |
| Count | 120 | 108 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maclagan bearers went from 120 to 108 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 11,707 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #150,935.
FAQ
Maclagan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maclagan?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Maclagan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Maclagan?
Maclagan ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Maclagan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Maclagan.
Has Maclagan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maclagan went from 120 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Maclagan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maclagan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Maclagan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maclagan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Two or More Races (8.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Maclagan (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 Maclagan mean?
A Scottish surname referring to someone from the lands of Lagan. 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 Maclagan (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Maclagan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.