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

McCarn, 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 McCarn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCarn in America

McCarn is the 36286th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCarn surname appeared 617 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname McCarn.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCarn 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 McCarn

The surname MCCARN is of Scottish origin, emerging in the 12th century from the Gaelic Mac Carn meaning "son of Carn". Carn is derived from the Gaelic word "carn", meaning "cairn" or "rocky hill". This suggests the name may have originated with a family residing near a rocky hill or cairn.

Early records show the name appeared as MacCarn, MacCarne, and M'Carn in various Scottish regions such as Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Renfrewshire. One of the earliest documented instances is in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which listed Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to Edward I of England. Among them was Gillecrist M'Carn from the county of Ayr.

In the 16th century, the MCCARN spelling became more prevalent as English conventions influenced Scottish naming practices. An example is John McCarn, born around 1560 in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, who was recorded as a landowner in the Parish Register.

As the name spread across Scotland and into Ulster during the 17th century Plantation of Ulster, it evolved into various forms like McCairn, McCairne, and McCarn. One notable bearer was Robert McCarn, a Presbyterian minister born in 1677 in Ballymoney, County Antrim, who played a role in the founding of the Presbytery of Antrim.

The 18th century saw MCCARN families establish themselves in North America. James McCarn, born in 1725 in Wigtown, Scotland, immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1745 and served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Another remarkable figure was Sir John McCarn, born in 1790 in Glasgow, who became a respected architect and designed several notable buildings in Edinburgh, including the New College and the National Gallery of Scotland. He was knighted in 1841 for his contributions to architecture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCarn

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

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

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

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