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

McMurtry, 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 McMurtry surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McMurtry in America

McMurtry is the 11984th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McMurtry surname appeared 2,606 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 McMurtry.

We can also compare 2010 data for McMurtry 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 McMurtry

The surname McMurtry originates from Scotland and is a variant of the name MacMhurich or MacVurich, which means "son of the mariner" or "son of the seaman" in Gaelic. This name can be traced back to the medieval Scottish Highlands, where it was particularly prevalent in the regions of Argyll and the Western Isles.

The earliest recorded instance of the name McMurtry can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which date back to the 13th century. One notable entry from 1296 mentions a person named Gillecrist McMurich, who was a tenant of the Earl of Ross in the northern part of Scotland.

In the 16th century, the McMurtry surname appeared in various Scottish records, such as the Ragman Rolls of 1296 and the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1523. These documents list individuals with the name McMurtry, often in connection with land ownership or legal proceedings.

The McMurtry name has also been associated with several notable historical figures. One of the earliest was John McMurtry, a Scottish scholar and clergyman born in 1591, who served as the minister of Ayr and later became the principal of the University of Glasgow.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Sir William McMurtry, born in 1824, who was a Scottish engineer and inventor. He is best known for his contributions to the development of the pneumatic tire and the vulcanization process for rubber.

In the 19th century, James McMurtry, born in 1810, was a Scottish-American businessman and politician. He served as the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, and was a prominent figure in the city's economic and social development.

Additionally, a notable literary figure with the McMurtry surname was Larry McMurtry, an American novelist and screenwriter born in 1936. He is best known for his novels "Lonesome Dove" and "The Last Picture Show," both of which were adapted into successful films.

Lastly, the name McMurtry has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as the village of Kilmory Loch Fyne in Argyll and Bute, which was historically spelled as Kilmurtry or Kilmortry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McMurtry

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

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

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

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