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

McClough, 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 McClough surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McClough in America

McClough is the 71886th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McClough surname appeared 271 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 McClough.

We can also compare 2010 data for McClough 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 McClough

The surname MCCLOUGH originated in Scotland during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "lugh" which was an ancient Celtic god of light and the sun. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a place associated with this deity or a location that had a name incorporating these root words.

The earliest recorded spelling variations of the name include McClugie, McGluchy, and McClughie. These were found in parish records and charters from the 13th to 15th centuries in the areas around Glasgow, Lanarkshire, and Ayrshire. Similar place names like Lughton and Lugton also existed, potentially tying the surname to these locations.

One of the first documented instances of the name was John McGluchy, a merchant in Aberdeen in 1436. A few centuries later, Alexander McClughe served as a church elder in Stirling in 1642. Robert McClugh fought for the Scottish Covenanters in the 17th century conflicts with England.

During the 1600s, many McCloughs migrated to Ulster in Northern Ireland. One notable bearer was Patrick McGloughane (1668-1741), an Irish surgeon who published works on anatomy and medicinal practices of his era. Closer to modern times, Sir John McGlough (1819-1900) was a wealthy industrialist in Glasgow who funded housing projects for workers.

Other scattered records show people like Janet McClughe who owned land in Perthshire in 1506, as well as Alexander McGluchie who witnessed a sale of property in Edinburgh in 1731. While not a common surname compared to some others, the name has persisted over the centuries with various localized spellings in Scotland and areas of Irish settlement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McClough

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

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

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

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