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

McKernan, 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 McKernan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McKernan in America

McKernan is the 10255th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McKernan surname appeared 3,144 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname McKernan.

We can also compare 2010 data for McKernan 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 McKernan

The surname McKernan is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Mac Thighearnain, which means "son of Tighearnain." The name Tighearnain is a diminutive form of the word "tighearna," meaning "lord" or "master." This suggests that the name may have been associated with a person of noble or influential status in ancient Irish society.

The earliest recorded instances of the McKernan surname can be traced back to the 16th century in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The name was particularly prevalent in the area around Omagh, where the McKernans were a prominent clan. In historical records, the name appears with various spellings, such as McKernan, McKernon, and McKernin.

One of the earliest known references to the McKernan name is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled by Franciscan friars in the 17th century. The Annals mention a notable figure named Aodh McKernan, who lived in the late 16th century and was a leading member of the McKernan clan in Tyrone.

In the 17th century, the McKernans were among the many Irish families who were dispossessed of their lands during the Plantation of Ulster, a significant event in Irish history that saw the settlement of English and Scottish Protestants in the northern provinces of Ireland. Despite this upheaval, the McKernan name persisted and spread to other parts of Ireland and beyond.

Notable individuals with the McKernan surname include:

1. James McKernan (1865-1928), an Irish-American politician who served as the 46th Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1924 to 1928.
2. John McKernan (born 1948), an American businessman and politician who served as the 71st Governor of Maine from 1987 to 1995.
3. Michael McKernan (1924-2005), an Irish-American Catholic priest and civil rights activist who played a prominent role in the American civil rights movement of the 1960s.
4. Fergal McKernan (born 1967), an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Offaly senior hurling team and won several All-Ireland medals in the 1980s and 1990s.
5. William McKernan (1849-1911), an Irish immigrant to the United States who co-founded the McKernan-Hanrahan Fire Brick Company, a successful manufacturing business in Pennsylvania.

While the McKernan surname has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread worldwide, with bearers of the name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, often as a result of Irish emigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McKernan

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

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

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

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