2000
#3,666
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,906
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.30
Rare Last name
Mcclintock
A Scottish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of clocks or timepieces.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,754 Americans carry the last name Mcclintock. That puts it at #4,056 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,140 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcclintock 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 Mcclintock with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.8K
1 in 35,140
Census rank
#4,056
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,506 bearers of the surname Mcclintock in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4056th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclintock, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcclintock
The surname McClintock is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Gille Naomhóg, meaning "son of the servant of the Lord." It is thought to have emerged in the 13th century in the Scottish Highlands. The name may be related to the placename Clintog in Ayrshire, which appears in records from the early 14th century.
Early recorded references to the name include William McClintock, who received a grant of land in County Louth, Ireland, in the 16th century. Another early record is of James McClintock, a merchant in Glasgow in the late 17th century.
One of the most notable individuals with this surname was Sir Francis Leopold McClintock (1819-1907), a renowned Arctic explorer who led the expedition that discovered the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition. He was knighted in 1857 for his achievements.
Another significant figure was Sir Ivor McClintock Bunbury (1908-1998), a British Army officer who served in World War II and later became a Conservative Member of Parliament for Battersea South from 1950 to 1964.
In the United States, Benjamin McClintock (1739-1805) was a prominent figure, serving as a major in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He later became a judge in New Hampshire.
John McClintock (1814-1870) was an American Methodist minister and author, known for his work on the Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, a comprehensive reference work published in the 19th century.
Sara McClintock Symms (1864-1952) was an American artist and illustrator, notable for her work in the Arts and Crafts movement. Her illustrations appeared in various magazines and books in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcclintock
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclintock, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcclintock 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 Mcclintock surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 7,530
- Black or African American3.8% · 327
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 289
- Two or more races3.1% · 267
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcclintock
Mcclintock 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
#3,879
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,141
+235 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 3.10
Rank movement Down 213 places
2020
#4,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,506
-635 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 2.85
Rank movement Down 177 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,666 | 8,906 | 3.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,879 | 9,141 | 3.10 | +235 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 213 places |
| 2020 | #4,056 | 8,506 | 2.85 | -635 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 177 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 Mcclintock 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 | #3,879 | #4,056 | -4.6% |
| Count | 9,141 | 8,506 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.10 | 2.85 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcclintock bearers went from 9,141 to 8,506 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 177 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,879 to #4,056.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mcclintock
FAQ
Mcclintock surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcclintock?
Name Census estimates that about 9,754 living Americans carry the surname Mcclintock. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,140 residents.
How common is Mcclintock?
Mcclintock ranks #4,056 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,506 people with the surname Mcclintock. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,754), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mcclintock.
Has Mcclintock become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcclintock went from 9,141 recorded bearers to 8,506. That is a decrease of 635 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,879 to #4,056.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcclintock?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcclintock, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Mcclintock in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (7,530 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcclintock appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Black (3.8%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Mcclintock (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 Mcclintock mean?
A Scottish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of clocks or timepieces. 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 Mcclintock (2.85 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 are called Mcclintock?
If you just want to know how many people are called Mcclintock, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.