2000
#11,564
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,494
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Mcmurtry
Derived from Gaelic "Mac Muircheartaigh," meaning "son of Muircheartach," a personal name meaning "navigator" or "sea-worthy."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,853 Americans carry the last name Mcmurtry. That puts it at #11,991 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,138 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcmurtry 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 Mcmurtry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 120,138
Census rank
#11,991
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,488 bearers of the surname Mcmurtry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11991st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmurtry, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcmurtry
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmurtry, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcmurtry 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 Mcmurtry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.2% · 1,872
- Black or African American15.4% · 384
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 99
- Two or more races4.0% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcmurtry
Mcmurtry 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
#11,984
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,606
+112 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 420 places
2020
#11,991
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,488
-118 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,564 | 2,494 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,984 | 2,606 | 0.88 | +112 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 420 places |
| 2020 | #11,991 | 2,488 | 0.83 | -118 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 7 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 Mcmurtry 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 | #11,984 | #11,991 | -0.1% |
| Count | 2,606 | 2,488 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.83 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcmurtry bearers went from 2,606 to 2,488 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,984 to #11,991.
FAQ
Mcmurtry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcmurtry?
Name Census estimates that about 2,853 living Americans carry the surname Mcmurtry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,138 residents.
How common is Mcmurtry?
Mcmurtry ranks #11,991 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,488 people with the surname Mcmurtry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,853), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mcmurtry.
Has Mcmurtry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcmurtry went from 2,606 recorded bearers to 2,488. That is a decrease of 118 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,984 to #11,991.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcmurtry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmurtry, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Mcmurtry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.2% (1,872 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcmurtry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.2%), Black (15.4%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Mcmurtry (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 Mcmurtry mean?
Derived from Gaelic "Mac Muircheartaigh," meaning "son of Muircheartach," a personal name meaning "navigator" or "sea-worthy." 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 Mcmurtry (0.83 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 many people are called Mcmurtry?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Mcmurtry, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.