2000
#11,003
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,651
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Mccay
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Aodha," meaning "son of Aodh" (a personal name meaning "fire").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,898 Americans carry the last name Mccay. That puts it at #11,843 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccay 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 Mccay with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 118,273
Census rank
#11,843
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,527 bearers of the surname Mccay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11843rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccay, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccay
The surname McCay has its origins in Scotland, where it first emerged in the 13th century. The name is derived from the Gaelic Mac Aidh, which means "son of Aedh" or "son of fire." Aedh was a popular personal name among the ancient Scots and Irish.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Scottish records, such as the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which list several individuals bearing variations of the name, including Macay and Mackey. These variations likely arose from regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the time.
The McCay surname is particularly associated with the Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland, where it was common among clans such as the MacKays of Strathnaver. One notable figure from this clan was Iye Du MacKay, also known as the "Black Iye," who led a rebellion against the Earl of Sutherland in the late 16th century.
Another historical figure with the McCay surname was Robert McCay, a Scottish soldier who fought in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. McCay served under General John Burgoyne and was captured by American forces at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
In Ireland, the McCay surname is found predominantly in Ulster, where it is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Mac Aodha. One notable Irish bearer of the name was John McCay, a United Irishman who was executed for his role in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
As the Scottish and Irish diaspora spread throughout the world, the McCay surname traveled with them. In the United States, one notable bearer of the name was Winsor McCay, a pioneering cartoonist and animator born in 1867. McCay is credited with creating the iconic comic strip "Little Nemo in Slumberland" and is considered a founding father of the art of animation.
Other notable individuals with the McCay surname include John McCay, a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the late 19th century, and Robert McCay, a British poet and literary critic who was born in 1914 and is known for his works on the Romantic poets.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccay
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccay, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccay 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 Mccay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 2,191
- Two or more races4.6% · 115
- Black or African American4.4% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccay
Mccay 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
#11,982
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,607
-44 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 979 places
2020
#11,843
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,527
-80 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 139 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,003 | 2,651 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,982 | 2,607 | 0.88 | -44 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 979 places |
| 2020 | #11,843 | 2,527 | 0.85 | -80 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 139 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 Mccay 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 | #11,982 | #11,843 | 1.2% |
| Count | 2,607 | 2,527 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.85 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccay bearers went from 2,607 to 2,527 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 139 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,982 to #11,843.
FAQ
Mccay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccay?
Name Census estimates that about 2,898 living Americans carry the surname Mccay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,273 residents.
How common is Mccay?
Mccay ranks #11,843 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,527 people with the surname Mccay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,898), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mccay.
Has Mccay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccay went from 2,607 recorded bearers to 2,527. That is a decrease of 80 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,982 to #11,843.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccay, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (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 Mccay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (2,191 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Black (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 Mccay (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 Mccay mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Aodha," meaning "son of Aodh" (a personal name meaning "fire"). 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 Mccay (0.85 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 Mccay?
See how many people are called Mccay on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.