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

McCoy, 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 McCoy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCoy in America

McCoy is the 278th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCoy surname appeared 110,744 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 38 people would have the surname McCoy.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCoy 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 McCoy

The surname McCoy has its origins in Ireland and Scotland, dating back to the 16th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Cuithigh," which means "son of the queer or peculiar one."

The name is believed to have originated in counties Derry and Donegal in Ulster, Ireland, where it was first recorded as McCoy or McKoy. It later spread to other parts of Ireland and Scotland. Similar spellings include McCoy, McKoy, McQuoy, and McCooey.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where it appears as "Mac Cuithigh" in the 16th century. The name is also found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of letters patent issued by the English Crown, dating back to the late 16th century.

Notable historical figures with the surname McCoy include:

1. James McCoy (1830-1896), an Irish-born American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Iowa.
2. Sarah McCoy (1841-1927), an American educator and suffragist from Kentucky.
3. Angie McCoy (1872-1954), an American actress and vaudeville performer known for her comic roles.
4. John McCoy (1911-1989), an American Major League Baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox.
5. Tim McCoy (1891-1978), an American actor and director who appeared in many Western films and television shows.

The name has also been associated with various place names, such as McCoy's Ferry in Pennsylvania and McCoy's Creek in Ohio, which were named after early settlers with the McCoy surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCoy

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!