2000
#5,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,499
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.04
Rare Last name
Mcevoy
Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe, meaning "son of the fair-haired man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,587 Americans carry the last name Mcevoy. That puts it at #5,803 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcevoy 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mcevoy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.6K
1 in 52,035
Census rank
#5,803
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,744 bearers of the surname Mcevoy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5803rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcevoy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcevoy
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcevoy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcevoy 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 Mcevoy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 5,281
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 246
- Two or more races2.6% · 151
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 40
- Black or African American0.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcevoy
Mcevoy 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
#6,020
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,713
+214 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 1.94
Rank movement Down 253 places
2020
#5,803
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,744
+31 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.92
Rank movement Up 217 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,767 | 5,499 | 2.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,020 | 5,713 | 1.94 | +214 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 253 places |
| 2020 | #5,803 | 5,744 | 1.92 | +31 bearers (+0.5%) | Up 217 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 Mcevoy 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 | #6,020 | #5,803 | 3.6% |
| Count | 5,713 | 5,744 | 0.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.94 | 1.92 | -0.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcevoy bearers went from 5,713 to 5,744 (+0.5% change). The surname moved up 217 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,020 to #5,803.
FAQ
Mcevoy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcevoy?
Name Census estimates that about 6,587 living Americans carry the surname Mcevoy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,035 residents.
How common is Mcevoy?
Mcevoy ranks #5,803 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,744 people with the surname Mcevoy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,587), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mcevoy.
Has Mcevoy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcevoy went from 5,713 recorded bearers to 5,744. That is an increase of 31 (+0.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,020 to #5,803.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcevoy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcevoy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mcevoy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (5,281 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcevoy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Mcevoy (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 Mcevoy mean?
Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe, meaning "son of the fair-haired man." 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 Mcevoy (1.92 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 Mcevoy?
Want to know how many people are called Mcevoy? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.