2000
#7,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,044
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.50
Rare Last name
Mccourt
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cuarta," meaning "son of the descendant of the court poet."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,432 Americans carry the last name Mccourt. That puts it at #8,206 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,336 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccourt 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 Mccourt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 77,336
Census rank
#8,206
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,865 bearers of the surname Mccourt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8206th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccourt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccourt
The surname McCourt is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname Mac Cuarta, which translates to "son of Cuarta." The name Cuarta is thought to have been a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "cuarta," meaning "skilled" or "dexterous."
The McCourt surname can be traced back to the 12th century in Ireland, particularly in the counties of Ulster and Connacht. It is believed to have originated among the Uí Briúin dynasty, a powerful family that ruled over regions of Connacht and Ulster during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the McCourt name appears in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the year 1201, the Annals mention a "Gillacuarta Mac Cuarta" as a participant in a battle between rival Irish clans.
In the 16th century, the McCourt surname is found in various Irish records, including the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, which were administrative documents issued by the English Crown in Ireland. One notable McCourt mentioned in these records is Dermot McCourt, who received a pardon from Queen Elizabeth I in 1592.
During the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century, many McCourts were displaced from their ancestral lands and scattered throughout Ireland and beyond. Some McCourts immigrated to the American colonies, with records showing McCourts settling in Pennsylvania and Virginia as early as the late 1700s.
Historically, the McCourt surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Turlough McCourt (c. 1550-1624), an Irish chieftain and leader of the McCourt clan in County Antrim. Another prominent figure was Reverend James McCourt (1680-1753), a Presbyterian minister and co-founder of the College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University.
In more recent times, Frank McCourt (1930-2009) gained worldwide recognition for his memoir "Angela's Ashes," which chronicled his impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1997.
Other notable McCourts throughout history include John McCourt (1768-1853), an Irish-American soldier who served in the Revolutionary War, and Michael McCourt (1914-1998), an Irish playwright and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccourt
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccourt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccourt 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 Mccourt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 3,597
- Two or more races3.0% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 29
- Black or African American0.5% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccourt
Mccourt 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
#7,868
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,206
+162 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 285 places
2020
#8,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,865
-341 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 338 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,583 | 4,044 | 1.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,868 | 4,206 | 1.43 | +162 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 285 places |
| 2020 | #8,206 | 3,865 | 1.29 | -341 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 338 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 Mccourt 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 | #7,868 | #8,206 | -4.3% |
| Count | 4,206 | 3,865 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.29 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccourt bearers went from 4,206 to 3,865 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 338 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,868 to #8,206.
FAQ
Mccourt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccourt?
Name Census estimates that about 4,432 living Americans carry the surname Mccourt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,336 residents.
How common is Mccourt?
Mccourt ranks #8,206 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,865 people with the surname Mccourt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,432), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mccourt.
Has Mccourt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccourt went from 4,206 recorded bearers to 3,865. That is a decrease of 341 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,868 to #8,206.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccourt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccourt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Mccourt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (3,597 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccourt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Mccourt (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 Mccourt mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cuarta," meaning "son of the descendant of the court poet." 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 Mccourt (1.29 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 last name Mccourt?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Mccourt? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.