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

Magill, 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 Magill surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Magill in America

Magill is the 6036th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Magill surname appeared 5,692 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 Magill.

We can also compare 2010 data for Magill 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 Magill

The surname Magill originated in Ireland and is believed to have derived from the Gaelic name Mac Gille, meaning "son of the servant" or "son of the devotee." It was a common prefix used in Ireland during the Middle Ages, often attached to a saint's name or a location.

The earliest known record of the name Magill dates back to the 13th century, where it appeared in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The name was initially spelled in various ways, such as MacGill, MacGille, and MacGilla.

In the 16th century, the Magill family was prominent in County Down, Northern Ireland. One notable member was Sir Hugh Magill, who lived from 1567 to 1635 and served as a member of the Irish Parliament.

Another prominent figure with the Magill surname was Robert Magill, a Scottish minister and scholar who lived from 1688 to 1768. He was a professor of Hebrew at the University of Glasgow and published several works on biblical studies.

In the 18th century, the Magill family established themselves in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. One of the most well-known members of this branch was James Magill, who was born in 1738 and became a prominent businessman and landowner.

The Magill name also found its way to North America, with several bearers of the surname participating in the American Revolutionary War. One such individual was Charles Magill, who was born in 1738 in Pennsylvania and served as a captain in the Continental Army.

Another notable figure with the Magill surname was Mary Magill, an Irish-American author and poet who lived from 1828 to 1898. She published several works, including "Poems of Mary Magill" and "The Household Poet," and was known for her contributions to Irish-American literature.

Over time, the name Magill has been associated with various place names, such as Magilligan in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and Magill University in Quebec, Canada, which was named after a prominent benefactor with the Magill surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Magill

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!