McPheeters last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of McPheeters

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic patronymic "Mac Pheadair" meaning "son of Peter."

McPheeters, 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 McPheeters surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McPheeters in America

McPheeters is the 22749th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McPheeters surname appeared 1,126 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 McPheeters.

We can also compare 2010 data for McPheeters 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 22749 21754 4.47%
Count 1,126 1,115 0.98%
Proportion per 100k 0.38 0.41 -7.59%

The history of the last name McPheeters

The surname McPheeters is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Gaelic Mac Pheidearain, which means "son of the feudary." It is believed to have originated in the Scottish Highlands during the 12th or 13th century. The name is thought to be associated with the Clan MacPhee, a branch of the larger Clan Donald.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded the names of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Makphedyran" in these rolls, indicating its early spelling variations.

In the 16th century, the McPheeters family held lands in Argyllshire, Scotland. During this time, the name was also spelled as "McPhedran" and "McPhedrine." A notable member of the family was John McPhedran, who was a prominent minister in the Church of Scotland in the late 16th century.

As the McPheeters family spread throughout Scotland and beyond, various branches adopted different spellings of the name. In the 17th century, a branch of the family settled in Ulster, Ireland, where the name was often spelled as "McPheters" or "McPhetridge."

One of the most notable individuals with the surname was William McPheeters (1756-1836), a Presbyterian minister and early settler in Kentucky, United States. He was born in Pennsylvania to Scottish-Irish parents and played a significant role in the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in the American frontier.

Another notable McPheeters was Samuel McPheeters (1810-1880), a Presbyterian minister and theologian from North Carolina. He served as a professor at various theological seminaries and was known for his conservative theological views.

In the 19th century, the McPheeters family continued to spread across the United States, with members settling in various states, including Texas, Missouri, and California. One prominent member was William M. McPheeters (1828-1904), a lawyer and politician from Missouri who served as a United States Senator from 1869 to 1875.

Other notable individuals with the surname include James Alan McPheeters (1900-1963), an American radio and television producer, and Robert McPheeters (1932-2008), a professional golfer from California who won several PGA Tour events in the 1960s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McPheeters

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

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 McPheeters was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 86.15% 970
Non-Hispanic Black Only 6.04% 68
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.62% 7
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.44% 5
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.31% 26
Hispanic Origin 4.44% 50

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 McPheeters has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 86.15% 88.34% -2.51%
Black 6.04% 5.83% 3.54%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.62% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.44% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.31% 1.61% 35.71%
Hispanic 4.44% 3.32% 28.87%

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

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

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"McPheeters last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 10, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/mcpheeters-surname-popularity/.

"McPheeters last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/mcpheeters-surname-popularity/. Accessed 10 August, 2025

McPheeters last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/mcpheeters-surname-popularity/.

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