2000
#7,666
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,002
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Mccarley
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cearbhaill," meaning "son of Cearbhall" (a personal name).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,172 Americans carry the last name Mccarley. That puts it at #8,655 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,156 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccarley 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 Mccarley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 82,156
Census rank
#8,655
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,638 bearers of the surname Mccarley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8655th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarley, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccarley
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarley, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccarley 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 Mccarley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.0% · 3,019
- Black or African American8.3% · 303
- Two or more races4.1% · 149
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccarley
Mccarley 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
#8,072
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,106
+104 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 406 places
2020
#8,655
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,638
-468 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 583 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,666 | 4,002 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,072 | 4,106 | 1.39 | +104 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 406 places |
| 2020 | #8,655 | 3,638 | 1.22 | -468 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 583 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 Mccarley 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 | #8,072 | #8,655 | -7.2% |
| Count | 4,106 | 3,638 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.22 | -12.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccarley bearers went from 4,106 to 3,638 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 583 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,072 to #8,655.
FAQ
Mccarley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccarley?
Name Census estimates that about 4,172 living Americans carry the surname Mccarley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,156 residents.
How common is Mccarley?
Mccarley ranks #8,655 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.22 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 3,638 people with the surname Mccarley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,172), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.22 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 Mccarley.
Has Mccarley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccarley went from 4,106 recorded bearers to 3,638. That is a decrease of 468 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,072 to #8,655.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccarley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarley, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mccarley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (3,019 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccarley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.0%), Black (8.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Mccarley (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 Mccarley mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cearbhaill," meaning "son of Cearbhall" (a personal name). 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 Mccarley (1.22 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 many people share the surname Mccarley?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.