2000
#140,756
National surname rank
First available Census row
Son of a soldier from County Monaghan, Ireland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Mcclarney. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcclarney 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Mcclarney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclarney, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
The surname McCLARNEY is of Irish origin, originating from the Gaelic Mac Fhloirchinnéidh, which means "son of Floirchinnéidh." This name is a compound of the elements "floirch" meaning "ruddy" or "reddish-complexioned," and "éidh" meaning "fire." The name likely referred to someone with a reddish or fiery complexion.
The McCLARNEY surname is most commonly found in County Donegal, Ireland, particularly in the Barony of Boylagh and the Barony of Raphoe. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century in this region.
One of the earliest recorded McCLARNEYs was Fergus McCLARNEY, who was listed in the Hearth Money Rolls for County Donegal in 1663. These rolls were a form of census and tax collection in Ireland during this time period.
In the 18th century, there are records of a McCLARNEY family residing in the townland of Gortnavarnoge, near Letterkenny, County Donegal. The head of this family was Patrick McCLARNEY, who was born around 1720.
Another notable McCLARNEY was Randal McCLARNEY, a Catholic priest who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He served as the Parish Priest of Killaghtee, County Donegal, from 1790 until his death in 1828.
In the 19th century, the name McCLARNEY was also found in the nearby counties of Tyrone and Derry. One example is James McCLARNEY, a farmer from County Tyrone who was born around 1820.
A prominent member of the McCLARNEY family was John McCLARNEY, a businessman and politician from County Donegal who lived from 1846 to 1923. He served as a Member of Parliament for the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1892 to 1918.
Demographics
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclarney, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcclarney 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 Mcclarney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
Timeline
Mcclarney 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.
2000
National surname rank
First available Census row
2010
National surname rank
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
2020
National surname rank
+4 bearers (+3.8%)
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 13,013 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.8%) | Up 4,323 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
How has the Mcclarney surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #153,769 | #149,446 | 2.8% |
| Count | 106 | 110 | 3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcclarney bearers went from 106 to 110 (+3.8% change). The surname moved up 4,323 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #149,446.
FAQ
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Mcclarney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
Mcclarney ranks #149,446 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.
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Mcclarney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
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 Mcclarney.
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcclarney went from 106 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 4 (+3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #149,446.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclarney, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mcclarney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (104 people in the source table).
Mcclarney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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.
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 Mcclarney (2000, 2010, 2020).
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.
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.
Son of a soldier from County Monaghan, Ireland. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
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.
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 Mcclarney (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.
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.