2000
#853
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,948
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.70
Uncommon Last name
Mckay
Son of Aodh, a Gaelic personal name meaning "fire" or "fiery one", likely referring to a passionate or lively person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 42,357 Americans carry the last name Mckay. That puts it at #926 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 12.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,092 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mckay 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 Mckay with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
42K
1 in 8,092
Census rank
#926
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
12.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
37K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 36,937 bearers of the surname Mckay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 12.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 926th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mckay, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mckay
The surname MCKAY is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic name "MacAidh" or "MacAidey", which means "son of Aodh" or "son of Hugh". The name Aodh itself is an old Gaelic personal name meaning "fire" or "flame". The prefix "Mac" in Scottish surnames means "son of".
The earliest recorded instances of the MCKAY surname can be traced back to the 13th century in the Scottish Highlands, particularly in areas such as Argyll, Inverness-shire, and the Western Isles. The name was prominent among the clans of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
In historical records, the surname appears in various spellings, including MacKay, MacKaye, Makkie, and Mackie. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name is in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1263, where a person named "Ferchard Makki" is mentioned.
The MCKAY surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Iye Monache Makay, who was a member of the Parliament of Scotland in 1358.
Another prominent figure was Sir Donald MCKAY (1810-1880), a renowned Scottish-born shipbuilder and designer of clipper ships based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is credited with designing and building some of the fastest and most famous clipper ships of the 19th century, including the Sovereign of the Seas and the Stag Hound.
Robert MCKAY (1839-1909) was a Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Working Girls' Vacation Society, which provided vacation homes for underprivileged women and children in New York City.
In the field of literature, Claude MCKAY (1889-1948) was a Jamaican-American writer and poet who played a significant role in the Harlem Renaissance literary movement in the 1920s. His works, such as "If We Must Die" and "Harlem Shadows", explored themes of racial consciousness and social injustice.
Another notable bearer of the MCKAY surname was David MCKAY (1860-1918), a Canadian educator and politician who served as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1900 to 1904.
The MCKAY surname has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Mackay's Castle in Sutherland and the village of Mackayville in Caithness.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mckay
Among Census respondents with the surname Mckay, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Mckay 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 Mckay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.3% · 28,551
- Black or African American13.0% · 4,802
- Two or more races4.0% · 1,495
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,334
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 402
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 353
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mckay
Mckay 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
#895
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 38,681
+1,733 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 13.11
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#926
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,937
-1,744 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 12.36
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #853 | 36,948 | 13.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #895 | 38,681 | 13.11 | +1,733 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #926 | 36,937 | 12.36 | -1,744 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 31 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 Mckay 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 | #895 | #926 | -3.5% |
| Count | 38,681 | 36,937 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 13.11 | 12.36 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mckay bearers went from 38,681 to 36,937 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #895 to #926.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mckay
FAQ
Mckay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mckay?
Name Census estimates that about 42,357 living Americans carry the surname Mckay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,092 residents.
How common is Mckay?
Mckay ranks #926 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 12.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 36,937 people with the surname Mckay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (42,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 12.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 12.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Mckay.
Has Mckay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mckay went from 38,681 recorded bearers to 36,937. That is a decrease of 1,744 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #895 to #926.
What does the Census say about the background of Mckay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mckay, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Mckay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (28,551 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mckay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.3%), Black (13.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Mckay (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 Mckay mean?
Son of Aodh, a Gaelic personal name meaning "fire" or "fiery one", likely referring to a passionate or lively person. 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 Mckay (12.36 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 people have the last name Mckay?
You can see how many people have the last name Mckay on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.