2000
#31,884
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 684
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Very Rare Last name
Mccartan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic surname "Mac Artáin" meaning "son of Artán".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 800 Americans carry the last name Mccartan. That puts it at #34,864 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 428,443 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccartan 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 Mccartan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
800
1 in 428,443
Census rank
#34,864
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
698
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 698 bearers of the surname Mccartan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 34864th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccartan, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccartan
The surname McCartan is of Irish origin, originating in the ancient region of Ulster in the northern part of Ireland. It is believed to have first emerged in the 11th or 12th century.
The name is an Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic name "Mac Artan" or "Mac Artáin", which means "son of Artan". Artan was a personal name derived from the Irish word "art", meaning bear or supernatural being.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention a "Gilla Críst Mac Artáin" who was killed in 1099 during a conflict between rival Irish clans.
In the 13th century, a branch of the McCartan clan established itself in County Down, where they held lands and built castles near the town of Newry. A notable figure from this era was Sir Rory McCartan, who fought alongside King Edward Bruce of Scotland during the Irish campaigns of the Scottish War of Independence in the early 14th century.
Another early record of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, which mention a "Donnchadh Mac Artain" who was a distinguished Irish poet and scholar in the 15th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the McCartans were among the many Irish families who lost their lands during the Plantation of Ulster, a colonial policy implemented by the English Crown to settle Protestant settlers from Great Britain in Ireland. Some McCartans were forced to seek refuge in other parts of Ireland or abroad.
In more recent history, notable individuals with the surname McCartan include:
1. Patrick McCartan (1878-1963), an Irish politician and member of the British Parliament.
2. Eugene McCartan (1916-1996), an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Down county team.
3. Cormac McCartan (born 1983), a contemporary Irish playwright and screenwriter.
4. Margaret McCartan (1926-2015), an Irish-American nun and advocate for social justice.
5. Michael McCartan (born 1956), an Irish-American businessman and former CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccartan
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccartan, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccartan 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 Mccartan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 655
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 21
- Two or more races2.3% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccartan
Mccartan 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
#32,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 697
+13 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 1,016 places
2020
#34,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 698
+1 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 1,964 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,884 | 684 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,900 | 697 | 0.24 | +13 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 1,016 places |
| 2020 | #34,864 | 698 | 0.23 | +1 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 1,964 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 Mccartan 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 | #32,900 | #34,864 | -6.0% |
| Count | 697 | 698 | 0.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.23 | -2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccartan bearers went from 697 to 698 (+0.1% change). The surname moved down 1,964 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,900 to #34,864.
FAQ
Mccartan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccartan?
Name Census estimates that about 800 living Americans carry the surname Mccartan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 428,443 residents.
How common is Mccartan?
Mccartan ranks #34,864 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 698 people with the surname Mccartan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (800), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mccartan.
Has Mccartan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccartan went from 697 recorded bearers to 698. That is an increase of 1 (+0.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #32,900 to #34,864.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccartan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccartan, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Mccartan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (655 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccartan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Mccartan (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 Mccartan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic surname "Mac Artáin" meaning "son of Artán". 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 Mccartan (0.23 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 Mccartan?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Mccartan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.