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

MacTavish, 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 MacTavish surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of MacTavish in America

MacTavish is the 50564th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The MacTavish surname appeared 413 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname MacTavish.

We can also compare 2010 data for MacTavish 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 MacTavish

The surname MacTavish is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Gaelic 'mac Tāmhais' meaning 'son of Thomas'. It originates from the western highlands and islands of Scotland, particularly in Argyll and the Hebrides.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Gillechrist MacTavish, who appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1494 as being from Kintyre. The MacTavish clan was a sept (branch) of the larger Clan Campbell and traditionally held lands on the island of Islay.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name appears frequently in parish records and charters from Argyll and the Inner Hebrides. Spellings such as 'MacTavis', 'MacTaweiss' and 'MacThammais' were common variations.

A notable MacTavish was Dugald MacTavish (c.1617-1686), a Presbyterian minister who served as chaplain to the Marquess of Argyll's regiment during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was later imprisoned for his role in the Argyll Rising against James VII.

John MacTavish (1755-1845) was a fur trader and explorer for the North West Company in Canada during the late 18th century. He established several trading posts in what is now British Columbia and the Yukon.

Other historical figures include Neil MacTavish (1757-1832), a Scottish-born soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War, and Duncan MacTavish (1817-1896), a prominent businessman and politician in colonial New South Wales, Australia.

The MacTavish name also has links to several place names in Scotland, such as Tavish near Campbeltown in Argyll, which may have derived its name from an early bearer of the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name MacTavish

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

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 MacTavish 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 MacTavish 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 MacTavish was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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