2000
#5,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,622
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.08
Rare Last name
Mcclary
A Scottish or Irish surname derived from a place name meaning "plain of the cleric."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,388 Americans carry the last name Mcclary. That puts it at #5,952 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,656 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcclary 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
6.4K
1 in 53,656
Census rank
#5,952
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,571 bearers of the surname Mcclary in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5952nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclary, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Black (38.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcclary
The surname McClary is believed to have originated in Scotland, specifically in the Scottish Highlands. It is derived from the Gaelic mac Labhruinn, meaning "son of the talkative one" or "son of the babbler." The name's earliest recorded spelling dates back to the late 12th century.
In the early 13th century, a charter from the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland (1198-1249) mentions a "Malcolm M'Clarene." This is thought to be one of the earliest written references to the McClary name.
The McClary name has also been found in various ancient Scottish records, including the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the late 13th and early 14th centuries. These rolls document tax payments made by individuals with the surname, indicating their presence in different regions of Scotland during that time.
One notable individual with the McClary surname was Sir Robert McClary, who lived in the 15th century. He was a Scottish knight and landowner, and his name appears in several charters and legal documents from that period.
In the 16th century, a John McClary (born around 1530) was a prominent merchant and burgess (a citizen of a burgh or town) in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is mentioned in various town records and is believed to have been a successful and influential figure in the local community.
Another noteworthy McClary was William McClary (1734-1801), a Scottish-born American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He served as a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army and participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Bunker Hill.
In the 19th century, Sir Thomas McClary (1817-1892) was a Scottish businessman and politician who served as Lord Provost (mayor) of Edinburgh from 1874 to 1877. He was also involved in various charitable organizations and was knighted for his services to the city.
The McClary surname has also been found in various place names throughout Scotland, such as McClary's Burn (a small stream) in Ayrshire and McClary's Hill in Aberdeenshire. These place names likely originated from individuals with the McClary surname who lived or owned land in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcclary
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclary, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Black (38.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcclary 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 Mcclary surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.6% · 2,986
- Black or African American38.9% · 2,165
- Two or more races4.1% · 230
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 143
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcclary
Mcclary 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
#5,713
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,070
+448 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 2.06
Rank movement Down 54 places
2020
#5,952
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,571
-499 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Down 239 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,659 | 5,622 | 2.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,713 | 6,070 | 2.06 | +448 bearers (+8.0%) | Down 54 places |
| 2020 | #5,952 | 5,571 | 1.86 | -499 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 239 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 Mcclary 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 | #5,713 | #5,952 | -4.2% |
| Count | 6,070 | 5,571 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.06 | 1.86 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcclary bearers went from 6,070 to 5,571 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 239 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,713 to #5,952.
FAQ
Mcclary surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcclary?
Name Census estimates that about 6,388 living Americans carry the surname Mcclary. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,656 residents.
How common is Mcclary?
Mcclary ranks #5,952 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,571 people with the surname Mcclary. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,388), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mcclary.
Has Mcclary become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcclary went from 6,070 recorded bearers to 5,571. That is a decrease of 499 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,713 to #5,952.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcclary?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclary, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Black (38.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Mcclary in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.6% (2,986 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcclary appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.6%), Black (38.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Mcclary (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 Mcclary mean?
A Scottish or Irish surname derived from a place name meaning "plain of the cleric." 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 Mcclary (1.86 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 Mcclary?
See how many people are called Mcclary on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.