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

McCready, 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 McCready surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCready in America

McCready is the 7725th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCready surname appeared 4,296 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname McCready.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCready 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 McCready

The surname McCready is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Mac Craidh" or "Mac Creadaidh", meaning "son of the believer" or "son of the devout one". This name can be traced back to the 12th century in the Scottish Highlands.

The earliest recorded instance of the name McCready appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls documenting Scottish nobles swearing allegiance to King Edward I of England. One entry mentions a "Dugal McCredy" from Argyll.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the McCready surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Ayr and Lanark. Variations in spelling included McCreadie, McCredie, and McCreidy. In the 1600s, a branch of the family settled in County Antrim, Ireland, leading to the spread of the name across Ulster.

Notable historical figures with the McCready surname include:

1. James McCready (1768-1835), a Presbyterian minister from North Carolina who played a significant role in the Second Great Awakening religious revival.

2. Robert McCready (1823-1911), an Irish-born American architect who designed several prominent buildings in Philadelphia, including the Masonic Temple and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

3. Sir John McCready (1866-1935), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of Cyprus from 1927 to 1932.

4. John McCready (1920-2004), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the Speaker of the Senate of Canada from 1977 to 1984.

5. William McCready (1937-2021), an American graphic designer and artist renowned for his work on the iconic "I ❤ NY" logo and campaign.

The surname McCready has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as McCready's Linn, a waterfall near Dunfermline, and McCready's Hill in Ayr.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCready

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

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

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

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