2000
#1,918
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,216
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.38
Uncommon Last name
Mccord
Derived from the Gaelic "Mac Corda," meaning "son of Corda," likely referring to a personal name or nickname.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,458 Americans carry the last name Mccord. That puts it at #2,075 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,615 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccord 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 Mccord with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,615
Census rank
#2,075
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,968 bearers of the surname Mccord in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2075th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccord, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccord
The surname McCord has its origins in the Scottish Highlands, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "cuaird" meaning "circle" or "round." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a circular enclosure or settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls recording those who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. Here, the name appears as "Makcord." Later records from the 16th century show variations such as "Makkord" and "Makcoird."
The McCord name is also associated with several Scottish place names, including McCord's Burn in Ayrshire and McCord's Hill in Lanarkshire. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname McCord who lived or owned land in those areas.
Notable individuals with the surname McCord include:
1. James McCord (c. 1719-1793), a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the first President of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) from 1768 to 1778.
2. James Walter McCord (1845-1930), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 26th Governor of Washington Territory from 1893 to 1897.
3. David McCord (1897-1997), an American poet and teacher who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1956 for his collection "Explorers and Homecomers."
4. Louisa Susannah Cheves McCord (1810-1879), an American novelist and political essayist who was a prominent advocate for slavery and states' rights in the antebellum South.
5. James McCord (1924-2017), an American former CIA officer and Watergate burglar whose testimony helped unravel the Watergate scandal and ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Throughout its history, the McCord surname has been carried by a diverse range of individuals, from educators and politicians to writers and historical figures, reflecting the rich tapestry of the Scottish diaspora and its enduring influence on various aspects of society.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccord
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccord, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccord 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 Mccord surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.3% · 13,110
- Black or African American14.3% · 2,424
- Two or more races3.8% · 637
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 568
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 104
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccord
Mccord 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
#2,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,875
+659 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 6.06
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#2,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,968
-907 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 5.68
Rank movement Down 56 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,918 | 17,216 | 6.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,019 | 17,875 | 6.06 | +659 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #2,075 | 16,968 | 5.68 | -907 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 56 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 Mccord 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 | #2,019 | #2,075 | -2.8% |
| Count | 17,875 | 16,968 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 6.06 | 5.68 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccord bearers went from 17,875 to 16,968 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 56 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,019 to #2,075.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mccord
FAQ
Mccord surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccord?
Name Census estimates that about 19,458 living Americans carry the surname Mccord. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,615 residents.
How common is Mccord?
Mccord ranks #2,075 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,968 people with the surname Mccord. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,458), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Mccord.
Has Mccord become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccord went from 17,875 recorded bearers to 16,968. That is a decrease of 907 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,019 to #2,075.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccord?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccord, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Mccord in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (13,110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccord appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.3%), Black (14.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Mccord (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 Mccord mean?
Derived from the Gaelic "Mac Corda," meaning "son of Corda," likely referring to a personal name or nickname. 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 Mccord (5.68 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 have the surname Mccord?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.