2000
#5,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,602
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.08
Rare Last name
Mccants
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "valley of the wild cats" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,977 Americans carry the last name Mccants. That puts it at #5,520 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,126 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccants 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
7.0K
1 in 49,126
Census rank
#5,520
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,084 bearers of the surname Mccants in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5520th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccants, the largest self-reported group is Black at 71.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccants
The surname McCants is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. Its earliest known variant was McCance or McCants, which was derived from the Gaelic "Mac Anus" or "Mac Aonghuis," meaning "son of Angus." The name was most prevalent in the southwestern regions of Scotland, particularly in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.
In the 17th century, the McCants name appeared in several historical records, including the Scots Peerage, which mentioned a John McCance from Ayrshire in 1634. Around the same time, the name was also recorded in the Parish Registers of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, where a family of McCants lived in the late 1600s.
The earliest documented individual with the McCants surname was William McCants, born in Ayr, Scotland, in 1563. He was a merchant and landowner who played a role in the local affairs of his community.
In the 18th century, the name spread to other parts of the British Isles, including Ireland and England. One notable figure was Robert McCants, a Scottish-born merchant who settled in Dublin, Ireland, in the 1720s and established a successful trading company.
As the Industrial Revolution gained momentum, many McCants families migrated to urban centers in search of employment opportunities. One such individual was James McCants, born in Glasgow in 1789, who became a prominent textile manufacturer and philanthropist in Manchester, England.
In the 19th century, the McCants name also found its way to North America, with several individuals bearing this surname arriving as immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. Among them was John McCants, born in 1832 in County Antrim, Ireland, who settled in Virginia and became a respected farmer and community leader.
Another notable figure was Alexander McCants, born in 1828 in Ayrshire, Scotland. He emigrated to Canada in the mid-19th century and became a successful businessman and landowner in Ontario, contributing significantly to the development of the local community.
Throughout history, the McCants surname has been associated with various professions, including merchants, landowners, industrialists, and community leaders, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those who carried this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccants
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccants, the largest self-reported group is Black at 71.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccants 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 Mccants surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.5% · 4,349
- White20.1% · 1,224
- Two or more races5.1% · 311
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 165
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccants
Mccants 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
#5,542
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,270
+668 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 2.13
Rank movement Up 140 places
2020
#5,520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,084
-186 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 2.04
Rank movement Up 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,682 | 5,602 | 2.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,542 | 6,270 | 2.13 | +668 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 140 places |
| 2020 | #5,520 | 6,084 | 2.04 | -186 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 22 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 Mccants 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 | #5,542 | #5,520 | 0.4% |
| Count | 6,270 | 6,084 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.13 | 2.04 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccants bearers went from 6,270 to 6,084 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,542 to #5,520.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mccants
FAQ
Mccants surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccants?
Name Census estimates that about 6,977 living Americans carry the surname Mccants. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,126 residents.
How common is Mccants?
Mccants ranks #5,520 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.04 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 6,084 people with the surname Mccants. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,977), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.04 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 Mccants.
Has Mccants become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccants went from 6,270 recorded bearers to 6,084. That is a decrease of 186 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,542 to #5,520.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccants?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccants, the largest self-reported group is Black at 71.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mccants in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.5% (4,349 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccants appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (71.5%), White (20.1%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Mccants (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 Mccants mean?
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "valley of the wild cats" in Gaelic. 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 Mccants (2.04 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 Mccants?
You can see how many people are called Mccants on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.