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

McEvoy, 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 McEvoy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McEvoy in America

McEvoy is the 6020th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McEvoy surname appeared 5,713 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname McEvoy.

We can also compare 2010 data for McEvoy 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 McEvoy

The surname McEvoy is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Eidhigh, meaning "son of Eidheadh." Eidheadh was a personal name derived from the Old Irish word eidh, meaning "guest" or "traveler." The name McEvoy first appeared in County Laois and County Offaly in the Irish Midlands.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the annals, the name appears as Mac Eidhigh or Mac Eididhigh, with various spelling variations. One notable entry from 1418 mentions Diarmaid Mac Eidhigh, a member of the Gaelic nobility in County Laois.

In the 16th century, the Clan McEvoy was prominent in the Leix and Offaly regions, where they held significant landholdings. During the Tudor conquest of Ireland, several members of the clan were involved in the rebellion against English rule, including Rory McEvoy, who was executed in 1577 for his role in the Second Desmond Rebellion.

The McEvoy surname can be traced back to several notable figures in Irish history. In the 17th century, Thaddeus McEvoy (1623-1693) was a Franciscan friar and author who wrote on the persecution of Catholics in Ireland. In the 18th century, John McEvoy (1722-1809) was a Catholic bishop of Kilmore and a prominent figure in the Irish Catholic Church.

Another notable McEvoy was Andrew McEvoy (1836-1921), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. In the 20th century, James McEvoy (1907-1978) was an Irish diplomat who served as the first Irish ambassador to Spain and later to the United States.

Other prominent individuals with the McEvoy surname include Patrick McEvoy (1922-2003), an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and member of Dáil Éireann, and Niall McEvoy (born 1959), an Irish hurler who played for the Dublin senior hurling team and won several All-Ireland medals.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McEvoy

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

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

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

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