2000
#14,409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,903
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Mccardle
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Ardghail," meaning "son of Ardghal" (high valor).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,141 Americans carry the last name Mccardle. That puts it at #15,157 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccardle 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 Mccardle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 160,091
Census rank
#15,157
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,867 bearers of the surname Mccardle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15157th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccardle, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccardle
The surname MCCARDLE has its origins in Ireland and Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name "Carrell" or "Cerile", meaning "rough" or "wild". The prefix "Mc" means "son of", indicating that the name originally referred to the son of someone named Carrell or Cerile.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The name appears as "MacCaraill" in an entry from the year 1171, referring to a member of the Uí Briúin sept (a branch of a larger clan) in County Roscommon, Ireland.
The MCCARDLE surname is also found in Scotland, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Galloway. In the 16th century, the name was recorded as "M'Caraill" and "M'Carile" in various Scottish records, such as the Ragman Rolls and the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland.
One notable individual bearing the name MCCARDLE was Father James McCardle (1819-1892), an Irish Catholic priest and educator who founded St. Malachy's College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Another prominent figure was Sir Victor Alexander John McCARDLE (1876-1951), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Governor of British Honduras (now Belize) from 1925 to 1932.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name MCCARDLE can be found in the 1790 census, where a family by the name of McCARDLE was listed as residing in Pennsylvania. In the late 19th century, John McCARDLE (1844-1914) was a notable American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois.
Other notable individuals with the surname MCCARDLE include Sir Richard McCARDLE (1854-1944), an Irish-born Australian politician and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and Molly McCARDLE (1887-1957), an American actress and vaudeville performer who appeared in several Broadway productions in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccardle
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccardle, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccardle 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 Mccardle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 1,698
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 71
- Two or more races2.4% · 45
- Black or African American2.0% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccardle
Mccardle 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
#14,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,047
+144 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 149 places
2020
#15,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,867
-180 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 599 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,409 | 1,903 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,558 | 2,047 | 0.69 | +144 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 149 places |
| 2020 | #15,157 | 1,867 | 0.62 | -180 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 599 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 Mccardle 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 | #14,558 | #15,157 | -4.1% |
| Count | 2,047 | 1,867 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.62 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccardle bearers went from 2,047 to 1,867 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 599 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,558 to #15,157.
FAQ
Mccardle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccardle?
Name Census estimates that about 2,141 living Americans carry the surname Mccardle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,091 residents.
How common is Mccardle?
Mccardle ranks #15,157 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,867 people with the surname Mccardle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,141), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Mccardle.
Has Mccardle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccardle went from 2,047 recorded bearers to 1,867. That is a decrease of 180 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,558 to #15,157.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccardle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccardle, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Mccardle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (1,698 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccardle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Mccardle (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 Mccardle mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Ardghail," meaning "son of Ardghal" (high valor). 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 Mccardle (0.62 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 Mccardle?
See how many people have the last name Mccardle on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.