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

McKenzie, 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 McKenzie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McKenzie in America

McKenzie is the 563rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McKenzie surname appeared 59,595 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 20 people would have the surname McKenzie.

We can also compare 2010 data for McKenzie 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 McKenzie

The surname McKenzie has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 13th century. It is a territorial name derived from the district of Kintail in the western Highlands, which was the ancestral home of the Clan Mackenzie. The name is believed to come from the Gaelic 'Mac Coinnich', meaning 'son of the handsome lad'.

The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in 1263, when Coinneach Maccoinnich is mentioned in a charter granted by the Earl of Ross. The clan's progenitor, Gilleoin of the Aird, is said to have lived in the late 12th century and was the founder of the Mackenzie dynasty.

One of the most notable figures in the Clan Mackenzie's history was Kenneth Mackenzie, 6th Earl of Seaforth (1611-1678), who played a significant role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth (c. 1570-1633), was also a prominent figure and was granted the Earldom of Seaforth in 1623.

The name McKenzie has been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Kintail and Gairloch, where the clan held significant landholdings. The variants 'Mackenzie' and 'MacKenzie' are also common spellings of the surname.

Other notable individuals with the surname McKenzie include Sir Alexander McKenzie (1767-1820), a Scottish-Canadian explorer who completed the first recorded transcontinental crossing of North America, and Sir William McKenzie (1842-1917), a Canadian railway contractor and businessman who co-founded the Canadian Northern Railway.

Henry McKenzie (1808-1892) was a British novelist and essayist, known for his works such as 'The Man of Feeling' and 'The Man of the World'. William Lyon McKenzie (1795-1861) was a Scottish-Canadian journalist, politician, and leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McKenzie

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

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

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

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