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

McGriggs, 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 McGriggs surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGriggs in America

McGriggs is the 100791st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGriggs surname appeared 179 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname McGriggs.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGriggs 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 McGriggs

The surname MCGRIGGS is of Scottish origin, emerging in the 13th century from the lands of Galloway. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning son and "griogair" which was the Scottish Gaelic form of the name Gregory. This suggests the name originated as a patronymic, denoting the son of someone named Gregory.

One of the earliest known records of the name is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a manuscript containing the names of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name appears here as McGrigge. Other early spellings include McGryg, McGrig, and McGrigg.

The MCGRIGGS name has strong ties to the village of Glenluce in Wigtownshire, where a family of that surname held lands from the 14th century onwards. Notable individuals from this line include John McGriggs, who was recorded as the laird of Glenluce in 1456.

In the 16th century, the name spread more widely across Scotland, with records showing MCGRIGGS families residing in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Edinburgh. One prominent figure was Robert McGriggs, a merchant and burgess of Edinburgh, who lived from around 1530 to 1595.

The MCGRIGGS surname also has connections to several place names in Scotland, such as McGriggston in Ayrshire and Griggsland in Wigtownshire. These places likely derived their names from early MCGRIGGS landowners or tenants.

Other notable bearers of the MCGRIGGS name throughout history include:

1. James McGriggs (1590-1662), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as the Principal of the University of Glasgow.
2. William McGriggs (1718-1798), a Scottish architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Edinburgh.
3. Elizabeth McGriggs (1821-1898), a Scottish poet and author, best known for her collection of poems titled "Heather Bells."
4. John McGriggs (1869-1942), a Scottish-born American businessman who founded the McGriggs Shipping Company in New York City.
5. Robert McGriggs (1901-1981), a Scottish golfer who won the British Open Championship in 1927.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGriggs

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

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

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

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