2000
#3,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,207
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.04
Rare Last name
Mccorkle
A Scottish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of knives.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,074 Americans carry the last name Mccorkle. That puts it at #4,336 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,773 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccorkle 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.
Bearers in the US
9.1K
1 in 37,773
Census rank
#4,336
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,913 bearers of the surname Mccorkle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4336th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccorkle, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccorkle
The surname McCorkle is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Thorcaill" meaning "son of Thorcall." Thorcall was a personal name derived from the Old Norse "Thorkill," composed of the elements "thor" meaning thunder and "kill" meaning crevice or stream. The surname first appeared in the Scottish Isles and Highlands during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1541, where a John McCorkle is mentioned as a resident of Ayrshire. In the 16th century, the McCorkles were prominent landowners in Galloway, with several branches established in the counties of Kirkcudbright and Wigtown.
During the 17th century, the McCorkles played a significant role in the Scottish Covenanting movement, which sought to uphold Presbyterian values against the efforts of the Stuart monarchs to introduce Episcopalian reforms. Notable figures from this period include Reverend John McCorkle (1623-1688), a leading Covenanter minister who was briefly imprisoned for his beliefs.
As the McCorkles prospered in the following centuries, they spread throughout Scotland and beyond. One notable individual was Sir Adam McCorkle (1734-1811), a Scottish entrepreneur who made his fortune in the West Indies sugar trade. In the 19th century, Robert McCorkle (1798-1872) was a respected clergyman and educator who served as the first president of Davidson College in North Carolina.
Other prominent McCorkles include James McCorkle (1856-1923), a Scottish-American businessman who founded the McCorkle Nurseries in Missouri, and Brigadier General William McCorkle (1886-1971), a highly decorated officer in the United States Army who served in both World Wars.
The McCorkle name has also been associated with various places, such as McCorkle Creek in North Carolina and the McCorkle Plantation in South Carolina, reflecting the family's historical presence and influence in these regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccorkle
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccorkle, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccorkle 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 Mccorkle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.8% · 5,757
- Black or African American19.5% · 1,540
- Two or more races3.6% · 285
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 252
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccorkle
Mccorkle 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
#4,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,529
+322 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 2.89
Rank movement Down 177 places
2020
#4,336
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,913
-616 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 2.65
Rank movement Down 182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,977 | 8,207 | 3.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,154 | 8,529 | 2.89 | +322 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 177 places |
| 2020 | #4,336 | 7,913 | 2.65 | -616 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 182 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 Mccorkle 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 | #4,154 | #4,336 | -4.4% |
| Count | 8,529 | 7,913 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.89 | 2.65 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccorkle bearers went from 8,529 to 7,913 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 182 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,154 to #4,336.
FAQ
Mccorkle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccorkle?
Name Census estimates that about 9,074 living Americans carry the surname Mccorkle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,773 residents.
How common is Mccorkle?
Mccorkle ranks #4,336 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.65 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 7,913 people with the surname Mccorkle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,074), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.65 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 Mccorkle.
Has Mccorkle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccorkle went from 8,529 recorded bearers to 7,913. That is a decrease of 616 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,154 to #4,336.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccorkle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccorkle, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Mccorkle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.8% (5,757 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccorkle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.8%), Black (19.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Mccorkle (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 Mccorkle mean?
A Scottish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of knives. 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 Mccorkle (2.65 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 Mccorkle?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.