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

McClaurin, 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 McClaurin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McClaurin in America

McClaurin is the 126765th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McClaurin surname appeared 135 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 McClaurin.

We can also compare 2010 data for McClaurin 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 McClaurin

The surname McClaurin is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 16th century. It originates from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "Lauhrens" which is a variant of the common Scottish name Laurence or Lawrence. The name likely evolved from the Gaelic "Mac Labhruinn" meaning "son of Laurence".

The McClaurin name is closely associated with Argyllshire in western Scotland, particularly the areas around Inveraray and Loch Fyne. The earliest known record of the name appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1612, where a "Johne McClaurin" is mentioned as being from the parish of Kilfinnan in Argyllshire.

In the 17th century, the McClaurin clan played a role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, supporting the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. A notable McClaurin from this period was Sir John McClaurin (c.1595-1664), a Scottish soldier and Royalist who fought for King Charles I and was later captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

As the McClaurin name spread beyond Argyllshire in the 18th and 19th centuries, variations in spelling emerged, including McClaren, McCloren, and McClure. One prominent bearer of the name was John McClaurin (1693-1759), a Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the first president of the College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University.

Other notable McClaurins throughout history include William McClaurin (1810-1872), a Scottish-born politician and judge who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Victoria, Australia in the mid-19th century. Sir Norman McClaurin (1864-1945) was a New Zealand businessman and philanthropist who made significant donations to the University of Auckland.

In the field of literature, Dame Ethel McClaurin (1876-1967) was a Scottish novelist and playwright known for her works depicting rural Scottish life. More recently, John McClaurin (1931-2004) was an African-American mathematician and educator who made important contributions to the field of differential geometry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McClaurin

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

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

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

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