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

McCormick, 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 McCormick surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCormick in America

McCormick is the 532nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCormick surname appeared 63,649 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 22 people would have the surname McCormick.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCormick 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 McCormick

The surname McCormick is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Cormaic, which means "son of Cormac." Cormac is an ancient Gaelic personal name believed to be derived from the words "cor," meaning "charioteer," and "macc," meaning "son." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to the occupation of a charioteer or someone who worked with chariots.

The McCormick surname first appeared in records in the 12th century, particularly in the regions of Argyll and the Western Isles of Scotland. It is believed to be one of the oldest Scottish surnames, with the earliest recorded bearers being descendants of the Dalriadic kingdom, which spanned parts of western Scotland and northeastern Ireland.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which were administrative records of the Scottish Crown. This suggests that the McCormicks held positions of importance during that time. The name was also mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of acts of homage rendered to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landholders.

One of the earliest notable McCormicks was Cormac Mac Cormaic, a 13th-century chief of the Clan MacCormick, who was recorded in the Chronicles of the Kings of Man and the Isles. In the 16th century, Gilbride McCormick was a prominent Scottish clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Armagh from 1532 to 1551.

Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Michael McCormick (1800-1879), an Irish-born businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. He was instrumental in the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

In the field of literature, Robert McCormick (1800-1890) was a Scottish-born American newspaper publisher and businessman who founded the Chicago Tribune. His grandson, Robert R. McCormick (1880-1955), continued the family tradition and served as the publisher and editor of the Chicago Tribune for many years.

Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809-1884) was an American inventor and entrepreneur who revolutionized agriculture with his mechanical reaper. He founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the McCormick surname throughout history, reflecting the name's Scottish roots and its spread to various parts of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCormick

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

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

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

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