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

McAdoo, 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 McAdoo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McAdoo in America

McAdoo is the 9122nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McAdoo surname appeared 3,580 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 McAdoo.

We can also compare 2010 data for McAdoo 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 McAdoo

The surname McAdoo is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Duibh" which means "son of the black man" or "son of the dark-complexioned man." This surname can be traced back to the 13th century, originating in the Scottish Highlands.

In the early records, the name appeared with various spellings, such as MacAdoo, McAdoo, and Macadoo. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England.

The McAdoo name is associated with several Scottish clans, including the Clan MacKenzie and the Clan MacDougall. These clans had a significant presence in the western Highlands and Islands of Scotland during the medieval and early modern periods.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname McAdoo was Angus McAdoo, a prominent chieftain of the Clan MacDougall. He played a role in the clan conflicts and battles of the time.

Another notable bearer of the name was Sir John McAdoo (1588-1654), a Scottish soldier and landowner who served in the Scottish army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

In the 17th century, a branch of the McAdoo family migrated to Ireland, where the name became anglicized as McAdoo or McAdoo.

During the 18th century, William McAdoo (1720-1798) was a Scottish-born merchant and landowner who settled in Virginia, USA. He was among the earliest bearers of the name in America.

In the 19th century, William Gibbs McAdoo (1863-1941) was a prominent American statesman and lawyer. He served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Woodrow Wilson and was a leading figure in the Democratic Party.

Another notable individual with the surname was Robert McAdoo (1858-1947), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey.

The McAdoo name has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as McAdoo's Cross in Argyll and Bute, and McAdoo's Burn in Dumfries and Galloway.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McAdoo

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McAdoo, 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!