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

Maginnis, 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 Maginnis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Maginnis in America

Maginnis is the 18529th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Maginnis surname appeared 1,489 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Maginnis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Maginnis 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 Maginnis

The surname Maginnis is of Irish origin, derived from the Irish Gaelic name "Mag Aonghusa" meaning "son of Angus." It is believed to have originated in the 12th century in the Barony of Iveagh, County Down, Northern Ireland.

The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "Mac Aonghusa" in the year 1164. The name is thought to have evolved over time, with various spellings such as "MacGynnis," "McGinnis," and "Magennis" appearing in ancient records.

In the 16th century, the Maginnis clan was prominent in the Barony of Iveagh, and their territory included the town of Rathfriland. The clan's history is intertwined with the turbulent period of the Nine Years' War (1594-1603) and the Plantation of Ulster, during which many Maginnis landholdings were confiscated.

One notable figure from this period was Sir Hugh Maginnis (c. 1570-1629), who served as a member of the Irish Parliament and was knighted by King James I in 1621. Another was Rory Maginnis (c. 1610-1680), a military commander who fought for the Catholic Confederacy during the Irish Confederate Wars.

In the 17th century, the name appears in the Hearth Money Rolls, a tax record kept in Ireland from 1662 to 1665, indicating the widespread distribution of the Maginnis name across various counties.

The name Maginnis has also been associated with several place names in Northern Ireland, such as Maginnis Hill and Maginnis Rock in County Down, reflecting the historical presence of the clan in the region.

Other notable individuals bearing the Maginnis surname include John Maginnis (1807-1889), an Irish-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in New Orleans, and Martin Maginnis (1867-1944), a U.S. politician who served as a Democratic Representative from Montana.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Maginnis

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

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

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

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