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

McMurrin, 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 McMurrin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McMurrin in America

McMurrin is the 48995th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McMurrin surname appeared 430 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname McMurrin.

We can also compare 2010 data for McMurrin 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 McMurrin

The surname McMurrin is of Scottish origin, originating in the medieval period around the 12th or 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic surname "MacMhuirich," which translates to "son of the sea-farer" or "mariner." This suggests that the name may have been originally held by those who worked on the sea or lived near coastal areas.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1264, where a "Gillecrist McMurrin" is mentioned. This indicates that variations of the spelling, such as "McMurrin," were already in use by the late 13th century.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various records from the Isle of Islay and the Hebrides, where it was particularly prominent. The Clan McMurrin was a sept (branch) of the larger Clan Donald, one of the most powerful clans in the region.

A notable bearer of the name was John McMurrin, a Scottish poet and historian who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was a member of the Beatons, a famous family of physicians and scholars from the Isle of Islay, and is best known for his historical work "A Brief Description of the Isles of Scotland."

Another figure of importance was Angus McMurrin, who was born around 1620 on the Isle of Islay. He was a prominent member of the Clan McMurrin and served as a captain in the Scottish army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

In the late 17th century, the McMurrin surname can be found in records from the Scottish Highlands, particularly in the counties of Argyll and Inverness-shire. One notable example is Duncan McMurrin, a clansman from Argyll who was involved in the Jacobite risings of the early 18th century.

As the centuries passed, the McMurrin name spread beyond Scotland, with many bearers of the name migrating to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to North America and other parts of the world. However, its roots can be traced back to the maritime communities of medieval Scotland and the Gaelic-speaking clans of the Hebrides.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McMurrin

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

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

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

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