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

McGruder, 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 McGruder surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGruder in America

McGruder is the 9446th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGruder surname appeared 3,444 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 McGruder.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGruder 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 McGruder

The surname McGruder originated in Scotland, specifically in the Highlands region. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "Gruder" or "Grodair", a personal name which may have meant "brewer" or "keeper of brewing vessels". The earliest recorded spelling of the name was MacGrouther in 1292.

Records show that the McGruder clan was well-established in Argyllshire and parts of Perthshire by the 14th century. The name is said to have appeared in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which contained the names of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. However, the Ragman Rolls have not survived in their entirety, so this claim cannot be verified.

In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Ewan McGruder, a member of the clan who was involved in a feud with the Campbells of Argyll. The feud escalated to such a degree that King James VI intervened and ordered the McGruders to leave Argyllshire.

Another early bearer of the name was John McGruder (c. 1570-1637), a Scottish minister and writer who served as the Principal of the University of Glasgow. He was known for his work "Apologia Ecclesiae Scoticanae" (Defense of the Scottish Church).

During the 17th century, a branch of the McGruder family settled in Ireland, where the name was anglicized to McGrouther or McGrouder. One prominent member of this Irish branch was Sir Roderick McGrouder (1683-1754), a wealthy landowner and Member of the Irish Parliament.

In the 18th century, the name made its way to North America, with several McGruders serving in the American Revolutionary War. One such individual was Captain Alexander McGruder (1739-1808), who fought in the Continental Army and later became a respected judge in Kentucky.

Other notable bearers of the McGruder surname include the American author and journalist George McGruder (1876-1923), best known for his novel "The Disfranchised" which explored issues of race and politics in the American South. Additionally, Aaron McGruder (born 1974) is a contemporary African American cartoonist and the creator of the popular comic strip "The Boondocks".

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGruder

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!