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

McGoldrick, 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 McGoldrick surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGoldrick in America

McGoldrick is the 11031st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGoldrick surname appeared 2,882 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname McGoldrick.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGoldrick 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 McGoldrick

The surname McGoldrick originated in Ireland and dates back to the 13th century. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name "MacГолdric," which means "son of Goldric." The name Goldric is derived from the Old Norse name "Gudrik," which combines the elements "gud" (God) and "ric" (ruler or power).

The McGoldrick name is associated with County Donegal in Ulster, particularly in the Inishowen peninsula. The early bearers of this name were part of the Gallóglaigh, a class of elite mercenary warriors who served Irish and Norman lords.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the McGoldrick name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a 17th-century chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the entry for the year 1345, a Domhnall Mac Goldric is mentioned as a leader of a galloglass contingent.

In the 16th century, the McGoldricks were prominent landowners in Inishowen and held the hereditary constableship of the castle of Dunavenny. A notable figure from this period was Fergus Oge McGoldrick, who was involved in conflicts with the English authorities in the late 1500s.

During the 17th century, many McGoldricks were dispossessed of their lands during the Plantation of Ulster and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Some members of the clan sought refuge in the Laggan district of County Donegal, where they maintained a strong presence.

In the 18th century, a notable McGoldrick was Charles McGoldrick, a landowner and Catholic priest who was hanged in 1718 for his involvement in the Jacobite uprising of 1715. He is remembered as a martyr for the Catholic faith in Ireland.

Other notable McGoldricks throughout history include John McGoldrick (1866-1942), a Irish-American labor activist and leader in the American Federation of Labor; and Michael McGoldrick (1858-1924), a Scottish-born journalist and author who wrote extensively about the American West.

Today, the McGoldrick name remains most prevalent in Ireland, particularly in County Donegal, as well as in areas of the United States and Canada with significant Irish diaspora populations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGoldrick

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

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

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

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