2000
#9,662
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,086
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.14
Rare Last name
Mccarroll
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cearbhaill," meaning "son of Cearbhall," a personal name of uncertain meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,553 Americans carry the last name Mccarroll. That puts it at #9,948 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,469 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccarroll 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 Mccarroll with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 96,469
Census rank
#9,948
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,098 bearers of the surname Mccarroll in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9948th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarroll, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccarroll
The surname McCarroll is of Irish origin, stemming from the 17th century. It is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic name Mac Arail, which means "son of Arail." The name Arail is a diminutive form of the Irish name Arul, derived from the Old Norse name Arndill, meaning "eagle power."
McCarroll is considered a variant spelling of the more common Irish surnames McCarrell and McCarrol. These names were primarily found in County Down, particularly in the baronies of Iveagh and Kinelearty. In the 16th and 17th centuries, records show the McCarroll surname concentrated in the areas around Downpatrick and Newry.
One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1663, which list several McCarroll households in County Down. The 1659 Census of Ireland also includes entries for families with this surname.
Notable individuals with the McCarroll surname include John McCarroll (1718-1810), an Irish-born merchant and landowner in Pennsylvania. Another prominent figure was Reverend James McCarroll (1799-1874), an Irish Presbyterian minister who emigrated to the United States and became the second president of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.
In the 19th century, William McCarroll (1815-1890) was a successful businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada, serving as a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Meanwhile, John McCarroll (1826-1898) was an American Catholic priest and author from Philadelphia.
Moving into the 20th century, Kathleen McCarroll (1919-2001) was a British actress and theater director, best known for her work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. More recently, Thomas McCarroll (born 1945) is an American author and educator who has written extensively on Irish literature and culture.
Throughout history, the McCarroll surname has undergone various spelling variations, including MacCarroll, McCarrole, McCarrold, and McArrol, reflecting the differences in pronunciation and transcription across regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccarroll
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarroll, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccarroll 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 Mccarroll surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.6% · 2,124
- Black or African American21.0% · 651
- Two or more races5.9% · 182
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 97
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccarroll
Mccarroll 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
#9,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,246
+160 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 278 places
2020
#9,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,098
-148 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,662 | 3,086 | 1.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,940 | 3,246 | 1.10 | +160 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 278 places |
| 2020 | #9,948 | 3,098 | 1.04 | -148 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 8 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 Mccarroll 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 | #9,940 | #9,948 | -0.1% |
| Count | 3,246 | 3,098 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 1.04 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccarroll bearers went from 3,246 to 3,098 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,940 to #9,948.
FAQ
Mccarroll surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccarroll?
Name Census estimates that about 3,553 living Americans carry the surname Mccarroll. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,469 residents.
How common is Mccarroll?
Mccarroll ranks #9,948 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 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 3,098 people with the surname Mccarroll. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,553), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 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 Mccarroll.
Has Mccarroll become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccarroll went from 3,246 recorded bearers to 3,098. That is a decrease of 148 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,940 to #9,948.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccarroll?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarroll, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Mccarroll in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.6% (2,124 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccarroll appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.6%), Black (21.0%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Mccarroll (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 Mccarroll mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cearbhaill," meaning "son of Cearbhall," a personal name of uncertain meaning. 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 Mccarroll (1.04 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 many people are called Mccarroll?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Mccarroll at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.