2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Macnutt
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac an Uillt" meaning "son of the wolf".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Macnutt. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Macnutt 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.
Bearers in the US
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Macnutt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Macnutt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Macnutt
The surname MACNUTT originated in Scotland in the late 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic "Mac an Oisdeir", which translates to "son of the treasurer" or "son of the steward". This name is believed to have been given to those who held the position of steward or treasurer to a Scottish clan chief or landowner.
The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1292, where it is spelled "Macnoughtan". Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, including MACNUTT, MACNOUGHT, and MACNOUGHTON, among others.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John MACNUTT, a Scottish knight who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Another notable figure was William MACNUTT, a Scottish minister who was born in 1605 and served as the parish minister of Kilwinning in Ayrshire.
In the 16th century, the MACNUTT family held lands in the counties of Argyll and Ayr. The name is also associated with the Isle of Islay, where it is believed some members of the MACNUTT clan settled.
During the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century, many MACNUTT families left Scotland for Ireland, particularly the counties of Antrim and Down. This migration resulted in the name being more widely dispersed throughout Ireland.
One prominent Irish bearer of the name was Sir John MACNUTT, who was born in 1779 and served as the Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1834. Another notable figure was Sir Francis MACNUTT, an Irish lawyer and judge born in 1846, who served as the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1916 to 1924.
Other historical figures with the surname MACNUTT include John MACNUTT, a Scottish-born writer and poet who lived in the late 18th century, and James MACNUTT, a Canadian politician and lawyer who was born in 1858 and served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Macnutt
Among Census respondents with the surname Macnutt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Macnutt 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 Macnutt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 100
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Macnutt
Macnutt 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
-4 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,688 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-15 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,312 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 11,688 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 14,312 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 Macnutt 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 | #137,327 | #151,639 | -10.4% |
| Count | 122 | 107 | -12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Macnutt bearers went from 122 to 107 (-12.3% change). The surname moved down 14,312 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #151,639.
FAQ
Macnutt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Macnutt?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Macnutt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Macnutt?
Macnutt ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Macnutt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Macnutt.
Has Macnutt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Macnutt went from 122 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Macnutt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Macnutt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Macnutt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Macnutt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Macnutt (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 Macnutt mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac an Uillt" meaning "son of the wolf". 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 Macnutt (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 Macnutt?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.