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

McNamee, 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 McNamee surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McNamee in America

McNamee is the 5917th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McNamee surname appeared 5,825 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname McNamee.

We can also compare 2010 data for McNamee 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 McNamee

The surname McNamee is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is derived from the Gaelic 'Mac an Aidh', which means 'son of the fire'. This is likely a reference to an ancestor who worked as a blacksmith or had a fiery temperament.

McNamee is an anglicized version of the original Irish spellings 'Mac an Aidh' or 'Mac an Fhaidh'. The name was commonly found in County Donegal, particularly in the baronies of Raphoe and Kilmacrenan. It is also found in Ulster, Connacht, and parts of Leinster.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name appears in the 1659 Census of Ireland, where it is spelled 'McEnayde'. The name is also mentioned in the 1666 Hearth Money Rolls for County Donegal, spelled 'McEnnady'.

In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the name was Brian McNamee, who was a priest and historian from County Donegal. He wrote a history of the Diocese of Raphoe, which is an important source of information on the area's history.

In the 18th century, Francis McNamee (1736-1814) was a prominent Irish Catholic landowner and politician. He served as a member of the Irish Parliament for the constituency of County Longford.

In the 19th century, James McNamee (1828-1895) was an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist. He co-founded the McNamee and McWilliams Company, a successful construction firm in New York City. He donated funds to establish the McNamee Memorial Hospital in his hometown of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.

Another notable bearer of the name was John McNamee (1868-1945), an Irish-American baseball player. He played in the Major Leagues for several teams, including the Boston Beaneaters and the St. Louis Cardinals, between 1893 and 1902.

In the 20th century, Eugene McNamee (1912-1984) was a renowned Irish-American artist known for his landscape paintings and portraits. He was born in County Donegal and later moved to the United States, where he gained recognition for his works depicting scenes from Ireland and New York City.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McNamee

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

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

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

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