Find out how popular the last name McKellips is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named McKellips.
Son of the attractive or shapely one.
McKellips, 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 McKellips surname is from the 2010 census data.
McKellips is the 37288th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The McKellips surname appeared 598 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 McKellips.
We can also compare 2010 data for McKellips 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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 37288 | 37043 | 0.66% |
Count | 598 | 567 | 5.32% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.20 | 0.21 | -4.88% |
The surname MCKELLIPS is of Scottish origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. The name is a variant of the more common Scottish surname McKellar or McKeller, which itself is derived from the Gaelic "mac gill'Iosa," meaning "son of the servant of Jesus."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the MCKELLIPS surname can be found in the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland from 1585, which mentions a certain John McKellips from the town of Kilwinning in Ayrshire. In the same century, the name appears in the Parish Registers of Lochwinnoch, also in Ayrshire, with the spelling "McIlliepis."
The name MCKELLIPS is closely associated with the town of Kilwinning, which was an important religious and cultural center in medieval Scotland. The Kilwinning Abbey, founded in the 12th century, played a significant role in the history of Scottish Freemasonry, and it is possible that some early bearers of the MCKELLIPS surname were connected to the abbey or the town's stonemasons.
In the 17th century, the surname MCKELLIPS began to appear in various records across Scotland. Notable individuals with this surname from this period include Robert McKellips, a merchant in Glasgow who was born around 1620, and James McKellips, a landowner in Ayrshire who lived in the late 1600s.
As the centuries progressed, the MCKELLIPS surname spread beyond Scotland, with many bearers of the name migrating to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to North America and other parts of the world. In the 19th century, John McKellips (1808-1886), a Scottish-born carpenter and builder, settled in Ontario, Canada, and his descendants played a significant role in the construction industry in that region.
Another notable figure with the MCKELLIPS surname was William McKellips (1812-1888), a Scottish-American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1866 to 1869. He was instrumental in the development of the city's infrastructure and public transportation system during his tenure.
Throughout history, the MCKELLIPS surname has been associated with various occupations, including stonemasons, merchants, landowners, and builders, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those who bore this name.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname McKellips.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for McKellips was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 88.13% | 527 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 3.68% | 22 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 2.17% | 13 |
Hispanic Origin | 5.52% | 33 |
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 McKellips has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 88.13% | 90.48% | -2.63% |
Black | (S)% | 1.41% | (S)% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 3.68% | 2.29% | 46.57% |
Two or More Races | 2.17% | 2.47% | -12.93% |
Hispanic | 5.52% | 3.35% | 48.93% |
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 McKellips was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McKellips, please contact us.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckellips-surname-popularity/">McKellips last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"McKellips last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 16, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckellips-surname-popularity/.
"McKellips last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckellips-surname-popularity/. Accessed 16 July, 2025
McKellips last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckellips-surname-popularity/.
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