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

McNary, 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 McNary surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McNary in America

McNary is the 12292nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McNary surname appeared 2,529 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 McNary.

We can also compare 2010 data for McNary 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 McNary

The surname McNary is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is a variant of the more common Scottish surname MacNair, which is derived from the Gaelic "mac an Nàir" meaning "son of the satirist". The name likely originated in the Scottish Highlands, where Gaelic was spoken, and may have been an occupational surname referring to a satirist or bard.

The earliest recorded instance of the McNary spelling appears in the Scottish parish records of Kilfinan, Argyllshire, in the year 1632 when a Donald McNary is mentioned. Another early record is from the parish of Kilmichael Glassary, Argyll, in 1695 with the mention of a Dougall McNary.

The McNary surname can also be found in various historical records from the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Hearth Tax Rolls for Argyllshire in 1694 and the Commissariot Records of Glasgow in 1732. In these records, the spelling variations McNair, McNare, and McNayr are also encountered.

One notable figure with the surname McNary was John McNary (1774-1820), an American soldier and politician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the United States House of Representatives. He was born in Pennsylvania and later settled in Ohio.

Another prominent individual was William S. McNary (1863-1951), an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Oregon from 1917 to 1944. He was born in Massilon, Ohio, and played a significant role in the development of the Columbia River Basin.

In the literary world, John H. McNary (1837-1904) was an American novelist and short story writer from Ohio. He is best known for his novel "The Everlasting Whisper", published in 1906.

John McNary (1844-1918) was a Scottish-born American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the steel industry. He founded the McNary Realty Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was known for his charitable contributions to educational institutions.

Lastly, Evelyn McNary (1903-1981) was an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway musicals and Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. She was born in Los Angeles, California.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McNary

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

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

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

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