2000
#258
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106,481
First available Census row
Per 100,000 39.47
Common Last name
Mccoy
A Scottish and Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Aodha," meaning "son of Aodh" (a personal name meaning "fire").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123,030 Americans carry the last name Mccoy. That puts it at #287 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 35.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccoy 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 Mccoy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
123K
1 in 2,786
Census rank
#287
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
35.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107,288 bearers of the surname Mccoy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 35.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 287th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccoy, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccoy
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccoy, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccoy 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 Mccoy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.5% · 69,232
- Black or African American25.9% · 27,833
- Two or more races4.5% · 4,849
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 3,875
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 869
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 630
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccoy
Mccoy 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
#278
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110,744
+4,263 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 37.54
Rank movement Down 20 places
2020
#287
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107,288
-3,456 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 35.89
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #258 | 106,481 | 39.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #278 | 110,744 | 37.54 | +4,263 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 20 places |
| 2020 | #287 | 107,288 | 35.89 | -3,456 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 9 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 Mccoy 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 | #278 | #287 | -3.2% |
| Count | 110,744 | 107,288 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 37.54 | 35.89 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccoy bearers went from 110,744 to 107,288 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #278 to #287.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mccoy
FAQ
Mccoy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccoy?
Name Census estimates that about 123,030 living Americans carry the surname Mccoy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786 residents.
How common is Mccoy?
Mccoy ranks #287 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 35.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 36 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107,288 people with the surname Mccoy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123,030), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 35.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 35.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 36 of them to have the surname Mccoy.
Has Mccoy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccoy went from 110,744 recorded bearers to 107,288. That is a decrease of 3,456 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #278 to #287.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccoy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccoy, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Mccoy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.5% (69,232 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccoy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.5%), Black (25.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Mccoy (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 Mccoy mean?
A Scottish and Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Aodha," meaning "son of Aodh" (a personal name meaning "fire"). 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 Mccoy (35.89 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 Mccoy?
See how many people have the last name Mccoy on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.