2000
#109,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Mccaughin
An Irish surname derived from Mac Aogháin meaning "descendant of Aoghan".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Mccaughin. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccaughin 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.
Bearers in the US
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Mccaughin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccaughin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccaughin
The surname MCCAUGHIN is of Scottish origin, with the name first appearing in records from the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic personal name "Cuathan" or "Cughain", possibly meaning "little stranger" or "foreigner". The prefix "Mc" or "Mac" means "son of" in Gaelic.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland in 1593, where a John McCaughin is mentioned. The name also appears in various parish records from the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Ayr and Lanark, during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The MCCAUGHIN surname is closely related to other Scottish names like McCaughrin, McCaughan, and McCaughen, which are considered variant spellings of the same root name. These variations likely arose due to the translation of Gaelic names into English and the inconsistencies in spelling during that time.
One notable bearer of the MCCAUGHIN name was John McCaughin (1742-1818), a Scottish-born merchant and landowner who immigrated to the United States in the late 18th century and settled in Pennsylvania. Another early American bearer was Robert McCaughin (1769-1827), a Scottish immigrant who became a successful businessman in Baltimore, Maryland.
In Ireland, the name is sometimes found spelled as McCaughan or McCaughen, particularly in the counties of Antrim and Down. A notable Irish bearer was James McCaughen (1811-1865), a Presbyterian minister and author from County Antrim.
Other notable individuals with the MCCAUGHIN surname include:
1. William McCaughin (1803-1879), a Scottish-born businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada.
2. John McCaughin (1820-1901), a Scottish-born engineer and inventor who worked on early railway systems in Scotland and England.
3. Robert McCaughin (1850-1923), a Scottish-born architect and designer who worked in the United States and Canada.
4. James McCaughin (1857-1935), a Scottish-born businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the coal industry in the United States.
5. William McCaughin (1876-1948), a Scottish-born journalist and author who wrote extensively on Scottish history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccaughin
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccaughin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccaughin 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 Mccaughin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccaughin
Mccaughin 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
-18 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,910 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-12 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,963 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #109,915 | 149 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 19,910 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 12,963 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 Mccaughin 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 | #129,825 | #142,788 | -10.0% |
| Count | 131 | 119 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccaughin bearers went from 131 to 119 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 12,963 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #142,788.
FAQ
Mccaughin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccaughin?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Mccaughin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Mccaughin?
Mccaughin ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Mccaughin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Mccaughin.
Has Mccaughin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccaughin went from 131 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccaughin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccaughin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Mccaughin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccaughin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (5.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Mccaughin (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 Mccaughin mean?
An Irish surname derived from Mac Aogháin meaning "descendant of Aoghan". 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 Mccaughin (0.04 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 common is the surname Mccaughin?
You can see how common the surname Mccaughin is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.