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

McCarley, 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 McCarley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCarley in America

McCarley is the 8072nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCarley surname appeared 4,106 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 McCarley.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCarley 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 McCarley

The surname McCarley is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Gaelic phrase "mac Thearlaich," which translates to "son of Charles." The name was likely derived from the personal name Charles, which was a popular name among Scottish nobility during that time period.

The earliest recorded instances of the McCarley surname can be found in parish records from the Scottish Highlands, particularly in the regions of Argyll and Inverness-shire. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include John McCarley, who was born in Inveraray, Argyll, in 1612, and William McCarley, who was born in Inverness in 1624.

In the late 17th century, the name began to appear in historical records outside of Scotland, as Scottish settlers migrated to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to the Americas. One notable figure was James McCarley, a Scottish soldier who served in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Nova Scotia, Canada, in the late 18th century.

Another significant figure in the history of the McCarley name was Sir Robert McCarley (1776-1846), a Scottish businessman and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Gatton in Surrey, England, from 1820 to 1826. He was also a successful merchant and landowner, with estates in both Scotland and England.

The McCarley surname has also been associated with several notable figures in the United States. One example is James McCarley (1834-1900), an Irish-American politician who served as the Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1887 to 1891. Another notable American with this surname was John McCarley (1892-1959), a professional baseball player who played for the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 20th century.

In more recent times, the name has been carried by individuals such as David McCarley (born 1952), an American film director and screenwriter best known for his work on the animated movie "The Polar Express," and Kathleen McCarley (born 1948), an American artist and educator known for her abstract paintings and mixed media works.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCarley

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McCarley, please contact us.

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