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

McKechnie, 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 McKechnie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McKechnie in America

McKechnie is the 20019th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McKechnie surname appeared 1,337 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 McKechnie.

We can also compare 2010 data for McKechnie 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 McKechnie

The surname McKechnie is of Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Eachuinn" meaning "son of Eachuinn." Eachuinn is a personal name derived from the Old Gaelic "ech" meaning "horse" and a diminutive suffix "-an," indicating a connection to horses or horse breeding.

The name first emerged in the regions of Argyll and Bute on the western coast of Scotland, where the McKechnie clan had its ancestral lands. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1263 as "Malcolm McKechny."

In the 16th century, a branch of the McKechnie family settled in the parish of Kippen, Stirlingshire, where they held lands and were recorded as landowners. The name is also found in records from Lanarkshire and Ayrshire during this period.

One notable figure in the history of the McKechnie name is John McKechnie (1579-1654), a Scottish minister who served as the Minister of Kilcalmonell and Kilberry in Argyll from 1610 until his death. He was a prominent figure in the Church of Scotland during the turbulent times of the Scottish Reformation.

Another individual of note is William McKechnie (1887-1965), an American professional baseball player and manager. Born in Fredericktown, Ohio, he managed several Major League Baseball teams, including the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

In the 18th century, the McKechnie name appears in the Annals of Dunfermline, a historical record of the town of Dunfermline in Fife, Scotland. The record mentions a John McKechnie who was a merchant and burgess (a town resident with certain rights and privileges) in Dunfermline in the mid-1700s.

Other notable individuals with the McKechnie surname include Robert McKechnie (1872-1949), a Scottish architect who designed several notable buildings in Glasgow, and William McKechnie (1838-1908), a Scottish-born businessman and politician who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons representing the riding of Vancouver from 1900 to 1908.

Throughout its history, the McKechnie surname has undergone various spelling variations, including McKechny, McKechany, McKechnie, and others, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic variations of the areas where the name was found.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McKechnie

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

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

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

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