McMullan last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of McMullan

Son of the bald or tonsured man, derived from the Gaelic "Maolán" meaning bald or tonsured.

McMullan, 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 McMullan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McMullan in America

McMullan is the 11954th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McMullan surname appeared 2,615 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 McMullan.

We can also compare 2010 data for McMullan 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 11954 11595 3.05%
Count 2,615 2,484 5.14%
Proportion per 100k 0.89 0.92 -3.31%

The history of the last name McMullan

The surname McMullan is of Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name Mulán. This name is thought to have originated from the word mul, meaning "summit" or "hilltop." The prefix "Mc" or "Mac" means "son of," indicating that this surname initially referred to a son of someone named Mulán.

The earliest recorded instances of the McMullan surname can be traced back to the 16th century in Scotland and Ireland. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was John McMullan, who was recorded in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of Scottish feudal documents that recorded acts of homage to King Edward I of England.

In Ireland, the McMullan surname was particularly prominent in counties Antrim and Down, where they were part of the Gallowglass, an elite group of Scottish and Irish mercenary warriors. The name is also associated with the Scottish Clan MacMillan, which held lands in Argyll and the Hebrides.

Notable individuals with the surname McMullan include Sir Pertab Singh McMullan (1837-1913), an Indian civil servant and diplomat who served as the Dewan of Patiala State. Another notable figure was John McMullan (1828-1879), an Irish-American journalist and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.

In the realm of literature, Gregor McMullan (1895-1971) was a Scottish poet and novelist known for his works depicting life in the Highlands. Additionally, Frank McMullan (1909-1962) was an American writer and screenwriter who worked on films such as "The Incredible Shrinking Man" and "The Fly."

The McMullan surname has also been associated with several places, such as McMullan's Cross in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, which is believed to have been named after a local family. Similarly, McMullan's Townland in County Down, Ireland, likely derives its name from the same source.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McMullan

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

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 McMullan was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.21% 2,359
Non-Hispanic Black Only 6.46% 169
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.19% 31
Hispanic Origin 1.53% 40

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 McMullan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.21% 90.50% -0.32%
Black 6.46% 6.64% -2.75%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 0.40% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.20% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.19% 1.25% -4.92%
Hispanic 1.53% 1.01% 40.94%

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

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

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"McMullan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/mcmullan-surname-popularity/.

"McMullan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/mcmullan-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

McMullan last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/mcmullan-surname-popularity/.

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