Find out how popular the last name MacMillan is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named MacMillan.

MacMillan, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the MacMillan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of MacMillan in America

MacMillan is the 6041st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The MacMillan surname appeared 5,688 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname MacMillan.

We can also compare 2010 data for MacMillan to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name MacMillan

The surname MACMILLAN originated from Scotland, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "Maolmhuaidh" or "Maolmhuire," which are personal names meaning "disciple of St. Moloch" or "disciple of the Virgin Mary." The name likely referred to an early bearer who was a devotee of one of these saints.

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as MacMolochi, MacMolondh, and MacMolundi in various medieval Scottish records and charters. The Clan MacMillan, one of the oldest clans in Argyll, traced their descent from a 13th-century chief named Somhairle, whose son was known as Gillespie MacSomhairle or Gillespie MacMillan.

The MACMILLAN name appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland as early as 1296, when Dougal MacMolodych is mentioned. In 1532, Duncan MacMolcalum of Knap is recorded as a witness to a charter granted by Archibald, Earl of Argyll.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name is Sir Alexander Macmillan, a 15th-century knight who fought alongside William Wallace during the Scottish Wars of Independence. Another notable figure is James Macmillan (1736-1809), a Scottish minister and writer who published several works on religious and philosophical topics.

In the literary world, Daniel Macmillan (1813-1857) was a Scottish publisher who founded the publishing house Macmillan Publishers in 1843. His nephew, Maurice Macmillan (1853-1936), later joined the company and became its chairman.

Other notable individuals with the MACMILLAN surname include British statesman Harold Macmillan (1894-1986), who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963, and Scottish composer Sir James Macmillan (born 1959), best known for his choral and orchestral works.

The MACMILLAN name has been well-established in Scotland for centuries and has spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. It remains a prominent surname with a rich historical background rooted in the Scottish Highlands and the Clan MacMillan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name MacMillan

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname MacMillan.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for MacMillan was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of MacMillan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name MacMillan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of MacMillan, please contact us.

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