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

McCool, 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 McCool surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCool in America

McCool is the 4856th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCool surname appeared 7,259 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname McCool.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCool 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 McCool

The surname McCool is of Irish and Scottish origin, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 16th century. This name is believed to have originated from the Gaelic word "mac cuill" or "mac coul," which translates to "son of the wise" or "son of the handsome one."

In Ireland, the name McCool was particularly prevalent in the counties of Antrim, Down, and Armagh. Some of the earliest recorded bearers of this surname can be found in the Fiants of the Irish Chancery for County Antrim, where a John McCool is mentioned in 1598.

The McCool surname also has a strong presence in Scotland, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. One notable Scottish bearer of this name was James McCool, a prominent merchant and shipowner in Glasgow, who lived from 1766 to 1848.

In terms of historical references, the McCool name appears in various 17th and 18th-century records, including parish registers, census records, and legal documents. One such document is the Hearth Money Rolls of 1663, which lists several McCool families in County Antrim.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the McCool surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle compiled in the early 17th century. The annals mention a Niall McCool, who was a prominent Irish chieftain in the late 16th century.

Another notable bearer of the McCool surname was John McCool, an Irish-American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in County Antrim, Ireland, around 1743 and later emigrated to Pennsylvania.

In the realm of literature, the McCool surname is referenced in James Joyce's famous novel "Ulysses," where a character named McCool is mentioned as a member of the Dublin working class.

One of the most famous bearers of the McCool surname in more recent times was Joseph McCool, an American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1837 to 1922. He made his fortune in the coal and steel industries and was a prominent figure in the city of Pittsburgh.

Another notable McCool was David McCool, an Irish-American politician who served as the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, from 1962 to 1964. He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1906 and later immigrated to the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCool

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

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

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

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