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

McFall, 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 McFall surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McFall in America

McFall is the 4664th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McFall surname appeared 7,602 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 McFall.

We can also compare 2010 data for McFall 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 McFall

The surname McFall originates from Scotland, first appearing in historical records around the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "fall" which can refer to either a red or tawny color, or a hillside or ridge. This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone with reddish hair or complexion, or someone who lived near a particular ridge or hillside.

The earliest known spelling variations of the name include McFaill, McFale, McFawill, and MacFall. It is believed to have originated in the Scottish Highlands, particularly in areas around Perthshire and Argyllshire. The name does not appear in the famous Domesday Book from 1086, as this survey only covered parts of England and Wales.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was John McFaill, who was mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1330. Another early example is Duncan McFawill, who was noted in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England during his campaign in Scotland.

In the 16th century, a family of McFalls owned lands in the parish of Kilmadock in Perthshire. A notable member was George McFall, who was appointed as the minister of Kilmadock in 1567. Around the same time, there are records of McFalls residing in the village of Kilwinning in Ayrshire.

Other historical figures with the surname include Sir James McFall (1600-1662), a Scottish military commander who fought for the Royalists during the English Civil War, and Sir Samuel McFall (1828-1911), an Irish businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Belfast from 1899 to 1901.

In the 19th century, the McFall name spread more widely due to emigration from Scotland to other parts of the British Empire and beyond. For example, John McFall (1835-1919) was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Toronto from 1892 to 1894.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McFall

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

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

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

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