2000
#6,174
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.89
Rare Last name
Mccandless
From the Gaelic "Mac Coinnich," meaning "son of Coinneach," a personal name derived from "caoin" meaning "handsome, fair, or kind."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,626 Americans carry the last name Mccandless. That puts it at #6,620 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 60,923 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccandless 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mccandless with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.6K
1 in 60,923
Census rank
#6,620
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,906 bearers of the surname Mccandless in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6620th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccandless, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccandless
The surname McCandless is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac an Fhilidh" which means "son of the bard" or "son of the poet." This name originated in the Scottish Highlands during the medieval period, likely in the 13th or 14th century.
McCandless is a variant spelling of the original Gaelic name, with the prefix "Mac" meaning "son of" and the root word "Candless" or "Candlish" being an Anglicized version of "an Fhilidh." This name was typically given to the son of a professional poet or bard, who played an important role in Scottish clan culture as storytellers, historians, and advisors.
One of the earliest known references to the McCandless name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the 16th century, which recorded various clan members and their landholdings. The name was particularly prominent in the regions of Argyll and the Western Isles, where many bards and poets were associated with powerful clans.
In the 17th century, several McCandless individuals were recorded in the parish registers of Kilmory, Arran, and other areas of western Scotland. One notable figure was John McCandless, a poet and scholar who lived in the late 16th century and was known for his works in Gaelic and Latin.
During the Scottish Diaspora of the 18th and 19th centuries, many McCandless families emigrated from Scotland to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Some prominent individuals with this surname include:
1. Henry McCandless (1788-1857), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
2. John McCandless (1835-1905), a Canadian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
3. William McCandless (1853-1920), an American businessman and politician who served as the 22nd Governor of Hawaii from 1918 to 1921.
4. Christine McCandless (1945-2015), an American author and environmental activist, best known for her book "Into the Wild," which chronicled the life and death of her son, Christopher McCandless.
5. Bruce McCandless II (1937-2017), a retired United States Navy officer and former NASA astronaut, who famously performed the first untethered spacewalk in 1984.
The McCandless name has retained its Scottish roots and continues to be associated with its historical ties to the bardic tradition and cultural heritage of the Scottish Highlands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccandless
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccandless, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccandless 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 Mccandless surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 4,460
- Two or more races3.5% · 172
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 159
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 54
- Black or African American0.8% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccandless
Mccandless 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
#6,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,149
+39 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.75
Rank movement Down 402 places
2020
#6,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,906
-243 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.64
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,174 | 5,110 | 1.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,576 | 5,149 | 1.75 | +39 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 402 places |
| 2020 | #6,620 | 4,906 | 1.64 | -243 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 44 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 Mccandless 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 | #6,576 | #6,620 | -0.7% |
| Count | 5,149 | 4,906 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.75 | 1.64 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccandless bearers went from 5,149 to 4,906 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,576 to #6,620.
FAQ
Mccandless surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccandless?
Name Census estimates that about 5,626 living Americans carry the surname Mccandless. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 60,923 residents.
How common is Mccandless?
Mccandless ranks #6,620 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,906 people with the surname Mccandless. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,626), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mccandless.
Has Mccandless become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccandless went from 5,149 recorded bearers to 4,906. That is a decrease of 243 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,576 to #6,620.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccandless?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccandless, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Mccandless in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (4,460 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccandless appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Mccandless (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 Mccandless mean?
From the Gaelic "Mac Coinnich," meaning "son of Coinneach," a personal name derived from "caoin" meaning "handsome, fair, or kind." 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 Mccandless (1.64 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 Mccandless?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Mccandless at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.