2000
#37,043
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 567
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.21
Very Rare Last name
Macmurray
A Scottish surname originating from a place name meaning "son of Muireach."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 686 Americans carry the last name Macmurray. That puts it at #39,643 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 499,642 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Macmurray 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 Macmurray with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
686
1 in 499,642
Census rank
#39,643
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
598
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 598 bearers of the surname Macmurray in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 39643rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Macmurray, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Black (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Macmurray
The surname MacMurray originated in Scotland during the Middle Ages. It is a Scottish Gaelic name derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "Murchadh," which was a personal name meaning "sea-warrior." The name likely referred to an ancestor who was a skilled seafarer or Viking raider.
The MacMurray clan was historically centered in the region of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides islands off the west coast of Scotland. Early records from the 13th and 14th centuries show variations in spelling such as MacMurchy, MacMurrie, and MacMurye.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1264, which mention a "Gillecrist MacMurchy." The name also appears in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland from the late 15th century, suggesting the clan had gained prominence by that time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure was John MacMurray (c. 1570-1622), a Scottish poet and minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Another early bearer of the name was Robert MacMurray (1667-1743), a Scottish Presbyterian minister who emigrated to Ulster and became a prominent figure in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
In the 18th century, John MacMurray (1691-1768) was a Scottish philosopher and professor of moral philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He wrote several influential works on ethics and metaphysics.
During the 19th century, James MacMurray (1827-1889) was a Scottish businessman and shipowner who founded the MacMurray Steamship Company in Liverpool, which operated passenger and cargo services to North America.
Another notable bearer of the name was John Van Arsdall MacMurray (1881-1960), an American philosopher and professor at the University of Southern California. He was a significant figure in the field of process philosophy and wrote extensively on ethics, religion, and social issues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Macmurray
Among Census respondents with the surname Macmurray, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Black (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Macmurray 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 Macmurray surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.6% · 494
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 52
- Black or African American5.2% · 31
- Two or more races2.0% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Macmurray
Macmurray 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
#36,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 607
+40 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Up 255 places
2020
#39,643
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 598
-9 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 2,855 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #37,043 | 567 | 0.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36,788 | 607 | 0.21 | +40 bearers (+7.1%) | Up 255 places |
| 2020 | #39,643 | 598 | 0.20 | -9 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 2,855 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 Macmurray 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 | #36,788 | #39,643 | -7.8% |
| Count | 607 | 598 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.20 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Macmurray bearers went from 607 to 598 (-1.5% change). The surname moved down 2,855 positions in the national ranking, going from #36,788 to #39,643.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Macmurray
FAQ
Macmurray surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Macmurray?
Name Census estimates that about 686 living Americans carry the surname Macmurray. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 499,642 residents.
How common is Macmurray?
Macmurray ranks #39,643 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 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 598 people with the surname Macmurray. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (686), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 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 Macmurray.
Has Macmurray become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Macmurray went from 607 recorded bearers to 598. That is a decrease of 9 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #36,788 to #39,643.
What does the Census say about the background of Macmurray?
Among Census respondents with the surname Macmurray, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Macmurray in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.6% (494 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Macmurray appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.6%), Hispanic (8.7%), Black (5.2%). 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 Macmurray (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 Macmurray mean?
A Scottish surname originating from a place name meaning "son of Muireach." 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 Macmurray (0.20 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 are called Macmurray?
Want to know how many people are called Macmurray? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.