2000
#1,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,998
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.41
Uncommon Last name
Mcmullen
A surname of Irish origin meaning "son of Maolán," derived from the Gaelic name meaning "devotee of Saint John."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,400 Americans carry the last name Mcmullen. That puts it at #1,795 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,302 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcmullen 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 Mcmullen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,302
Census rank
#1,795
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,534 bearers of the surname Mcmullen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1795th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmullen, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcmullen
The surname McMullen has its origins in the Scottish Highlands, tracing back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "Maoilìn," a pet form of the name "Maol," which means "tonsured" or "bald." The name was likely given as a descriptive nickname to someone who had a distinctive bald or tonsured appearance.
The McMullen name is believed to have first appeared in the Scottish counties of Argyll and Bute, where the earliest recorded bearers of the name lived. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which list a Gillecrist McMullen as a landowner who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.
In the 15th century, a branch of the McMullen family settled in the town of Kirkcudbright, located in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire. This area was known for its wool trade, and it is possible that some McMullens were involved in this industry.
Notable individuals with the McMullen surname include John McMullen (1835-1892), a Scottish-born Canadian politician and businessman who served as a member of the Canadian Parliament. Another prominent figure was Sir Pertab Singh McMullen (1892-1979), an Indian civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of Sind and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in the mid-20th century.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded McMullens was James McMullen (1760-1836), an Irish immigrant who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Pennsylvania. The name also appears in historical records related to the American Civil War, with several McMullens serving in both the Union and Confederate armies.
Other notable individuals include Horace McMullen (1853-1944), an American businessman and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and Rafe McMullen (1897-1976), a Canadian actor and theater director who was active in the early 20th century.
Throughout its history, the McMullen surname has been spelled in various ways, including McMullin, McMullan, and McMillon, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and recording practices across different regions and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcmullen
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmullen, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcmullen 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 Mcmullen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.7% · 15,570
- Black or African American12.2% · 2,375
- Two or more races3.8% · 748
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 630
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 92
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcmullen
Mcmullen 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
#1,742
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,545
+547 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 6.96
Rank movement Down 100 places
2020
#1,795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,534
-1,011 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 6.54
Rank movement Down 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,642 | 19,998 | 7.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,742 | 20,545 | 6.96 | +547 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 100 places |
| 2020 | #1,795 | 19,534 | 6.54 | -1,011 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 53 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 Mcmullen 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 | #1,742 | #1,795 | -3.0% |
| Count | 20,545 | 19,534 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 6.96 | 6.54 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcmullen bearers went from 20,545 to 19,534 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,742 to #1,795.
FAQ
Mcmullen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcmullen?
Name Census estimates that about 22,400 living Americans carry the surname Mcmullen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,302 residents.
How common is Mcmullen?
Mcmullen ranks #1,795 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,534 people with the surname Mcmullen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,400), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Mcmullen.
Has Mcmullen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcmullen went from 20,545 recorded bearers to 19,534. That is a decrease of 1,011 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,742 to #1,795.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcmullen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmullen, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mcmullen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (15,570 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcmullen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.7%), Black (12.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Mcmullen (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 Mcmullen mean?
A surname of Irish origin meaning "son of Maolán," derived from the Gaelic name meaning "devotee of Saint John." 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 Mcmullen (6.54 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 Mcmullen?
Want to know how many people are called Mcmullen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.