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

McLaurin, 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 McLaurin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McLaurin in America

McLaurin is the 4414th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McLaurin surname appeared 8,045 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname McLaurin.

We can also compare 2010 data for McLaurin 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 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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McLaurin

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

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

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

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