2000
#3,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,479
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.51
Uncommon Last name
Mcduffie
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Dhuibhshíthe," meaning "son of the dark fairy" or "son of the black peace."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,010 Americans carry the last name Mcduffie. That puts it at #3,613 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,131 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcduffie 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.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,131
Census rank
#3,613
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.6K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,601 bearers of the surname Mcduffie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3613th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcduffie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcduffie
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcduffie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcduffie 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 Mcduffie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.7% · 5,057
- White38.4% · 3,690
- Two or more races5.2% · 495
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 285
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcduffie
Mcduffie 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
#3,526
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,125
+646 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 3.43
Rank movement Down 77 places
2020
#3,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,601
-524 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 3.21
Rank movement Down 87 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,449 | 9,479 | 3.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,526 | 10,125 | 3.43 | +646 bearers (+6.8%) | Down 77 places |
| 2020 | #3,613 | 9,601 | 3.21 | -524 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 87 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 Mcduffie 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 | #3,526 | #3,613 | -2.5% |
| Count | 10,125 | 9,601 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.43 | 3.21 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcduffie bearers went from 10,125 to 9,601 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 87 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,526 to #3,613.
FAQ
Mcduffie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcduffie?
Name Census estimates that about 11,010 living Americans carry the surname Mcduffie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,131 residents.
How common is Mcduffie?
Mcduffie ranks #3,613 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,601 people with the surname Mcduffie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,010), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mcduffie.
Has Mcduffie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcduffie went from 10,125 recorded bearers to 9,601. That is a decrease of 524 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,526 to #3,613.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcduffie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcduffie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mcduffie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.7% (5,057 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcduffie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (52.7%), White (38.4%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Mcduffie (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 Mcduffie mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Dhuibhshíthe," meaning "son of the dark fairy" or "son of the black peace." 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 Mcduffie (3.21 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 common is the surname Mcduffie?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Mcduffie at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.