2000
#13,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,077
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Mcguirk
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic surname Mac Giric meaning "son of Giric".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,610 Americans carry the last name Mcguirk. That puts it at #12,910 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,324 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcguirk 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 Mcguirk with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 131,324
Census rank
#12,910
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,276 bearers of the surname Mcguirk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12910th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcguirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcguirk
The surname McGuirk is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Guibhir, meaning "son of Goibhir" or "son of the leper". The name originated in the early medieval period in Ireland, likely between the 8th and 10th centuries.
The McGuirk surname is most closely associated with County Mayo in the west of Ireland, where the clan was historically based. However, variations of the name, such as McGurk and McGirk, can also be found in other parts of Ireland, particularly in Ulster and Leinster.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where a man named Goffraidh Mac Guibhir is mentioned in an entry from the year 1161. This suggests that the name was in use in Ireland by the 12th century.
In the 16th century, during the Plantation of Ulster, many Irish families, including the McGuirks, were displaced from their ancestral lands. This led to the dispersal of the name across different parts of Ireland and beyond.
Notable individuals with the McGuirk surname throughout history include:
1. John McGuirk (c. 1600s), an Irish Catholic landowner from County Mayo who was involved in the Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
2. James McGuirk (1834-1896), an Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as the 20th Mayor of Syracuse, New York.
3. Constance McGuirk (1898-1981), an American playwright and screenwriter who wrote for several Broadway productions and Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s.
4. Thomas McGuirk (1924-1993), an American Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 1979 to 1993.
5. Michael McGuirk (born 1959), an Australian radio presenter and comedian, best known for his work on the Triple M network.
The McGuirk surname has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval Ireland, and it has been carried around the world by Irish emigrants over the centuries, contributing to the cultural diversity of many countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcguirk
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcguirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcguirk 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 Mcguirk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 2,090
- Two or more races3.3% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 64
- Black or African American0.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcguirk
Mcguirk 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
#15,533
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,884
-193 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 2,093 places
2020
#12,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,276
+392 bearers (+20.8%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 2,623 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,440 | 2,077 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,533 | 1,884 | 0.64 | -193 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 2,093 places |
| 2020 | #12,910 | 2,276 | 0.76 | +392 bearers (+20.8%) | Up 2,623 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 Mcguirk 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 | #15,533 | #12,910 | 16.9% |
| Count | 1,884 | 2,276 | 20.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.76 | 19.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcguirk bearers went from 1,884 to 2,276 (+20.8% change). The surname moved up 2,623 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,533 to #12,910.
FAQ
Mcguirk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcguirk?
Name Census estimates that about 2,610 living Americans carry the surname Mcguirk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,324 residents.
How common is Mcguirk?
Mcguirk ranks #12,910 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,276 people with the surname Mcguirk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,610), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mcguirk.
Has Mcguirk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcguirk went from 1,884 recorded bearers to 2,276. That is an increase of 392 (+20.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,533 to #12,910.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcguirk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcguirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Mcguirk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (2,090 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcguirk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Mcguirk (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 Mcguirk mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic surname Mac Giric meaning "son of Giric". 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 Mcguirk (0.76 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 many Americans have the surname Mcguirk?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.