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

McCullar, 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 McCullar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCullar in America

McCullar is the 12789th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCullar surname appeared 2,412 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 McCullar.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCullar 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 McCullar

The surname McCullar has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word "Mac Uilleathair," which translates to "son of the woolly-haired one." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with curly or wooly hair.

The earliest recorded instances of the McCullar surname can be found in the Parish registers of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, Scotland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John McCullar, who was born in Ayr in 1587. Another notable early McCullar was Robert McCullar, a merchant from Glasgow, who was mentioned in the Burgh Records of the city in 1612.

The name has also been found in various spellings throughout history, including McCulloch, McCullough, and McCullock. These variations likely arose due to the inconsistencies in record-keeping and the phonetic transcription of the name by scribes and clerks.

In the 17th century, the McCullar name appeared in the Bute Baronetcy, a Scottish feudal baronial title. Sir Dugald McCullar of Arnol was the first to hold this title, and it remained in the family until the early 19th century.

As the McCullar clan spread throughout Scotland and beyond, the name can be found in various historical records. One notable figure was James McCullar, a Scottish Covenanter who was executed in Edinburgh in 1684 for his religious beliefs during the Killing Times.

Another prominent McCullar was John McCullar, a Scottish-born merchant and landowner who settled in Virginia in the late 17th century. He played a significant role in the establishment of the tobacco trade in the colony and was granted large tracts of land for his contributions.

In the 19th century, Alexander McCullar, a Scottish businessman, gained fame for his involvement in the development of the textile industry in Paisley, Scotland. He was also a philanthropist and contributed to the establishment of several educational institutions in the region.

Other notable individuals with the McCullar surname include William McCullar, a Scottish-born soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War, and Robert McCullar, a renowned architect from Edinburgh who designed several notable buildings in the city in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCullar

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

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

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

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