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

McCartney, 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 McCartney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCartney in America

McCartney is the 2645th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCartney surname appeared 13,615 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname McCartney.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCartney 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 McCartney

The surname McCartney originated in Scotland and is derived from the Gaelic personal name MacCartáin or MacArtan, meaning "son of Artan". Artan itself stems from the Old Norse Arnthor or Celtic Artán, meaning "bear-man" or "bear-warrior".

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the late 12th century in the regions of Argyll and Ayrshire in western Scotland. Variations of the spelling included MacCartan, M'Cartan, and MacKerton. Records indicate the name was particularly prominent in Kintyre, a peninsula in Argyll.

In the 16th century, the MacCartney clan was recorded as one of the principal families in the parish of Kilcalmonell in Kintyre. A notable member was Sir Thomas MacCartney (born around 1535), a Scottish diplomat and scholar who served as Secretary to Queen Mary of Scotland.

The name appears in various historical manuscripts and charters in Scotland from the 13th to 15th centuries, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England during his conquest of Scotland.

During the 17th century, many McCarthys migrated from Scotland to Ulster in Northern Ireland, where the name became more common and often anglicized to McCartney or McCarthy. One prominent individual was George McCartney (1690-1760), an Irish-born Anglican bishop who served as Bishop of Raphoe in County Donegal.

Other notable McCarthys throughout history include Edmund McCartney (1811-1885), an Irish-born American architect who designed numerous buildings in New York City, and James McCartney (1835-1918), an Irish-born American businessman and founder of the McCartney Woollen Mills in New York.

In more recent times, the name gained global recognition with Sir Paul McCartney (born 1942), the legendary English singer, songwriter, and member of the iconic rock band The Beatles. Other famous McCarthys include writer and activist Mary McCartney (born 1969), Paul McCartney's daughter.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCartney

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

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

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

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