2000
#10,730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,730
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Mckernan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Thighearnáin," meaning "son of Tighearnán," a personal name meaning "little lord."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,078 Americans carry the last name Mckernan. That puts it at #11,261 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,356 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mckernan 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 Mckernan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 111,356
Census rank
#11,261
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,684 bearers of the surname Mckernan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11261st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mckernan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mckernan
Among Census respondents with the surname Mckernan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Mckernan 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 Mckernan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 2,475
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 107
- Two or more races2.3% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 27
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mckernan
Mckernan 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
#10,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,144
+414 bearers (+15.2%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 475 places
2020
#11,261
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,684
-460 bearers (-14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 1,006 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,730 | 2,730 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,255 | 3,144 | 1.07 | +414 bearers (+15.2%) | Up 475 places |
| 2020 | #11,261 | 2,684 | 0.90 | -460 bearers (-14.6%) | Down 1,006 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 Mckernan 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 | #10,255 | #11,261 | -9.8% |
| Count | 3,144 | 2,684 | -14.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 0.90 | -16.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mckernan bearers went from 3,144 to 2,684 (-14.6% change). The surname moved down 1,006 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,255 to #11,261.
FAQ
Mckernan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mckernan?
Name Census estimates that about 3,078 living Americans carry the surname Mckernan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,356 residents.
How common is Mckernan?
Mckernan ranks #11,261 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,684 people with the surname Mckernan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,078), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mckernan.
Has Mckernan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mckernan went from 3,144 recorded bearers to 2,684. That is a decrease of 460 (-14.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,255 to #11,261.
What does the Census say about the background of Mckernan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mckernan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Mckernan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (2,475 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mckernan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Mckernan (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 Mckernan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Thighearnáin," meaning "son of Tighearnán," a personal name meaning "little lord." 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 Mckernan (0.90 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 common is the surname Mckernan?
Want to know how many people have the surname Mckernan? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.