2000
#3,524
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,262
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.43
Uncommon Last name
Mccarter
A Scottish occupational surname referring to the son of a carter or transporter of goods by cart.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,524 Americans carry the last name Mccarter. That puts it at #3,769 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,569 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccarter 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 Mccarter with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 32,569
Census rank
#3,769
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.2K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,177 bearers of the surname Mccarter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3769th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarter, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccarter
The surname McCarter is of Scottish origin, arising from the Gaelic Mac a' Cheartair, meaning "son of the quarrier" or "son of the carter". It first emerged in the 13th century in the regions surrounding Glasgow and Ayrshire, where quarrying and hauling stone were common occupations.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name is Gilcrist McCarter, who appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1328. The name is also found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles swearing fealty to Edward I of England, suggesting the surname's antiquity.
During the 16th century, the McCarters were prominent landowners in the parishes of Dalry and Largs in Ayrshire. In 1546, John McCarter of Largs is mentioned in the Protocol Book of Gavin Ros, a record of legal transactions in the area.
The surname is also associated with the Covenanters, a Scottish Presbyterian movement of the 17th century. In 1684, John McCarter of Craigend was fined for attending conventicles, illegal religious gatherings held in defiance of the established Church of Scotland.
Notable McCarters throughout history include:
1. Robert McCarter (1823-1899), an Irish-born American businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Newark, New Jersey.
2. William McCarter (1816-1891), an American lawyer and politician who served as New Jersey Attorney General and represented the state in the United States Senate.
3. John McCarter (1741-1824), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler of Kentucky.
4. Margaret McCarter (1858-1920), a Scottish-born Canadian educator and women's rights advocate, known for her work promoting access to education for women and girls.
5. John McCarter (1767-1835), an Irish-born American merchant and landowner, who was one of the founders of the city of Newark, Ohio.
The surname McCarter has also given rise to various place names, such as McCarter's Glen, a historic site in Ayrshire, and McCarter Highway, a major road in Newark, New Jersey, named after the former mayor Robert McCarter.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccarter
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarter, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccarter 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 Mccarter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 6,571
- Black or African American19.6% · 1,802
- Two or more races4.4% · 401
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 281
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccarter
Mccarter 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
#3,605
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,849
+587 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 3.34
Rank movement Down 81 places
2020
#3,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,177
-672 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 3.07
Rank movement Down 164 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,524 | 9,262 | 3.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,605 | 9,849 | 3.34 | +587 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 81 places |
| 2020 | #3,769 | 9,177 | 3.07 | -672 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 164 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 Mccarter 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 | #3,605 | #3,769 | -4.5% |
| Count | 9,849 | 9,177 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.34 | 3.07 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccarter bearers went from 9,849 to 9,177 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 164 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,605 to #3,769.
FAQ
Mccarter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccarter?
Name Census estimates that about 10,524 living Americans carry the surname Mccarter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,569 residents.
How common is Mccarter?
Mccarter ranks #3,769 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,177 people with the surname Mccarter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,524), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mccarter.
Has Mccarter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccarter went from 9,849 recorded bearers to 9,177. That is a decrease of 672 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,605 to #3,769.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccarter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccarter, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Mccarter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (6,571 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccarter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.6%), Black (19.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Mccarter (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 Mccarter mean?
A Scottish occupational surname referring to the son of a carter or transporter of goods by cart. 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 Mccarter (3.07 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 have the last name Mccarter?
See how common the surname Mccarter is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.