2000
#9,608
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Magruder
An occupational surname referring to the keeper of a granary or storehouse.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,473 Americans carry the last name Magruder. That puts it at #10,142 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,691 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Magruder 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
3.5K
1 in 98,691
Census rank
#10,142
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,029 bearers of the surname Magruder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10142nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Magruder, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Magruder
The surname MAGRUDER has its origins in the Scottish Highlands, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "Magh Rudair," which translates to "field of the red one," referring to the reddish-brown color of the land in the area where the name originated.
The MAGRUDER clan was initially based in Perthshire, Scotland, near the village of Fortingall. They were a prominent family in the region and played a significant role in the local feuds and conflicts that characterized the Highlands during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the MAGRUDER name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, where Gillecrist Macrocar is listed as a Scottish landowner who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. This document provides evidence of the name's existence in the late 13th century.
In the 16th century, the MAGRUDER clan was involved in a long-standing feud with the neighboring Clan Menzies over land disputes. This rivalry resulted in several skirmishes and battles, including the Battle of Callander in 1645, where the MAGRUDERS fought alongside the Marquis of Montrose against the Covenanters.
One of the most notable figures in the MAGRUDER lineage was Alexander Magruder (1614-1676), a Scottish soldier who served in the Royalist army during the English Civil War. After the war, he immigrated to Maryland, where he established the MAGRUDER family in the American colonies.
Another prominent MAGRUDER was James Magruder (1753-1819), an American Revolutionary War veteran and politician who served as a Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In the 19th century, several MAGRUDERS gained recognition, including John Bankhead Magruder (1807-1871), a career U.S. Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War and as a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
Another notable figure was Allan Bowie Magruder (1775-1822), a Kentucky lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative and later as a Justice on the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
The MAGRUDER name has also been associated with various place names, such as Magruder Park in Hyattsville, Maryland, and Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland, both named after Nathaniel Magruder, a wealthy landowner in Montgomery County, Maryland, in the early 19th century.
Throughout history, the MAGRUDER surname has been spelled in various ways, including Magruther, MacRudder, and MacRoyter, reflecting the linguistic evolution of the name over time and across different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Magruder
Among Census respondents with the surname Magruder, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Magruder 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 Magruder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 2,435
- Black or African American13.0% · 394
- Two or more races3.3% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Magruder
Magruder 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
#10,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,119
+15 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 723 places
2020
#10,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,029
-90 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Up 189 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,608 | 3,104 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,331 | 3,119 | 1.06 | +15 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 723 places |
| 2020 | #10,142 | 3,029 | 1.01 | -90 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 189 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 Magruder 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 | #10,331 | #10,142 | 1.8% |
| Count | 3,119 | 3,029 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 1.01 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Magruder bearers went from 3,119 to 3,029 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 189 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,331 to #10,142.
FAQ
Magruder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Magruder?
Name Census estimates that about 3,473 living Americans carry the surname Magruder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,691 residents.
How common is Magruder?
Magruder ranks #10,142 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,029 people with the surname Magruder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,473), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Magruder.
Has Magruder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Magruder went from 3,119 recorded bearers to 3,029. That is a decrease of 90 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,331 to #10,142.
What does the Census say about the background of Magruder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Magruder, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Magruder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (2,435 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Magruder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Black (13.0%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Magruder (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 Magruder mean?
An occupational surname referring to the keeper of a granary or storehouse. 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 Magruder (1.01 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 common is the surname Magruder?
See how many people have the last name Magruder on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.