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

McCastle, 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 McCastle surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCastle in America

McCastle is the 43438th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCastle surname appeared 497 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 McCastle.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCastle 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 McCastle

The surname MCCASTLE is believed to have originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "caisteal" meaning "castle." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked in a castle.

One of the earliest known records of the name dates back to the late 13th century, when a John Maccastel was mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1296. This document was a record of financial transactions and accounts kept by the royal government.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Makcastell and M'Castell, reflecting the phonetic spelling variations common during that time. One notable figure was Sir William Makcastell, a Scottish knight who fought alongside King James IV at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

During the 16th century, the MCCASTLE spelling became more standardized. In 1587, a James McCastell was listed in the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, a record of the proceedings of the Scottish government's administrative body.

One of the most prominent individuals with this surname was Sir James McCastle (1570-1640), a Scottish soldier and diplomat who served under King James VI and I. He was knighted for his military service and later served as the King's representative in the Netherlands.

Another notable figure was John McCastle (1684-1758), a Scottish merchant and landowner who became one of the founders of the city of Philadelphia in the American colonies. He was instrumental in establishing trade routes and promoting the growth of the city.

In the 18th century, the name was also found in Ireland, likely due to Scottish migration. One example is Patrick McCastle (1745-1818), an Irish politician and landowner who served as a member of the Irish House of Commons.

The MCCASTLE surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Castletown in Scotland and Castle Douglas, a town in Kirkcudbrightshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

While the MCCASTLE surname is not among the most common in the modern era, it has a rich history rooted in Scotland's medieval past, with connections to important figures in military, politics, and commerce throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCastle

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!