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

McDuffie, 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 McDuffie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McDuffie in America

McDuffie is the 3526th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McDuffie surname appeared 10,125 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname McDuffie.

We can also compare 2010 data for McDuffie 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 McDuffie

The surname McDuffie has its origins in Scotland, deriving from the ancient Scottish Gaelic name MacDhubhshith. This name is composed of the elements "mac," meaning "son of," and "Dubhshith," which is derived from the Gaelic words "dubh" meaning "black" and "sith" meaning "peace" or "fairy mound." The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the late 12th century in the Scottish Highlands.

In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled as MacDhubhshith, MacDuffie, or McDuffee. These variations likely arose due to the challenges of transliterating Gaelic names into written English. Historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries show various spellings such as MacDuffy, MacDuffye, and McDuffy appearing in various Scottish charters and legal documents.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Andrew McDuffie, who was mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1264. Another notable figure was Sir John McDuffie, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.

As the name spread throughout Scotland, it became associated with several notable families and individuals. In the 16th century, John McDuffie (c. 1520-1585) was a respected scholar and poet from Aberdeen. During the Scottish Reformation, James McDuffie (1545-1618) was a prominent minister and supporter of the reformed Presbyterian Church.

In the 17th century, the McDuffie name gained prominence in the Scottish Borders region. William McDuffie (1631-1699) was a influential landowner and local official in Roxburghshire. His son, Robert McDuffie (1668-1732), was a renowned lawyer and judge who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland.

As Scottish emigrants began settling in the Americas in the 18th and 19th centuries, the McDuffie name traveled with them. Notable individuals from this period include George McDuffie (1790-1851), an American politician and Governor of South Carolina, and John McDuffie (1776-1835), a celebrated American naval officer who served in the War of 1812.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McDuffie

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

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

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

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