2000
#4,380
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,497
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.78
Rare Last name
Mclaurin
Son of Laurence, derived from the Gaelic name Labhrainn, which is of uncertain origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,854 Americans carry the last name Mclaurin. That puts it at #4,454 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,712 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mclaurin 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 Mclaurin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.9K
1 in 38,712
Census rank
#4,454
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,721 bearers of the surname Mclaurin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4454th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mclaurin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.6%. The next largest groups are White (27.9%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mclaurin
The surname McLaurin originates from Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is a clan name derived from the Gaelic Mac Labhruinn, meaning "son of the freckled man." The name was particularly common in the regions of Argyll and the Western Isles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, where Gillechrist McLourin is listed as a landowner who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. In the 15th century, a branch of the McLaurins settled in the district of Knapdale in Argyllshire.
The name is also associated with the village of Kilbride, which was formerly known as Kilmolarn or Kilmolaurin, likely named after an early clan chief. In the 16th century, a notable figure was John McLaurin, a minister who served as the Dean of Moray and was involved in negotiations between the Scottish and English crowns.
During the 17th century, several McLaurins gained prominence, including Sir John McLaurin (1615-1684), a Scottish lawyer and judge, and John McLaurin (1693-1754), a Presbyterian minister and author who was born in Kilmichael, Argyll, and later served as a pastor in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
In the 18th century, Colin McLaurin (1698-1746), a renowned Scottish mathematician and geometer, made significant contributions to the study of calculus and was elected to the Royal Society in 1719. He is best known for the McLaurin series, a mathematical tool used in calculus.
Other notable individuals with the surname include John McLaurin (1834-1886), a Scottish-American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the president of the University of South Carolina, and James Mclaurin (1901-1976), an American judge and civil rights leader who played a crucial role in the desegregation of public schools in South Carolina.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mclaurin
Among Census respondents with the surname Mclaurin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.6%. The next largest groups are White (27.9%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mclaurin 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 Mclaurin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.6% · 4,833
- White27.9% · 2,158
- Two or more races5.8% · 445
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 225
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mclaurin
Mclaurin 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
#4,414
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,045
+548 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 2.73
Rank movement Down 34 places
2020
#4,454
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,721
-324 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 2.58
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,380 | 7,497 | 2.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,414 | 8,045 | 2.73 | +548 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 34 places |
| 2020 | #4,454 | 7,721 | 2.58 | -324 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 40 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 Mclaurin 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 | #4,414 | #4,454 | -0.9% |
| Count | 8,045 | 7,721 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.73 | 2.58 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mclaurin bearers went from 8,045 to 7,721 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,414 to #4,454.
FAQ
Mclaurin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mclaurin?
Name Census estimates that about 8,854 living Americans carry the surname Mclaurin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,712 residents.
How common is Mclaurin?
Mclaurin ranks #4,454 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,721 people with the surname Mclaurin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,854), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mclaurin.
Has Mclaurin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mclaurin went from 8,045 recorded bearers to 7,721. That is a decrease of 324 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,414 to #4,454.
What does the Census say about the background of Mclaurin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mclaurin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.6%. The next largest groups are White (27.9%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mclaurin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (4,833 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mclaurin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (62.6%), White (27.9%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Mclaurin (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 Mclaurin mean?
Son of Laurence, derived from the Gaelic name Labhrainn, which is of uncertain origin. 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 Mclaurin (2.58 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 Mclaurin?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Mclaurin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.