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

McSorley, 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 McSorley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McSorley in America

McSorley is the 16166th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McSorley surname appeared 1,788 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 McSorley.

We can also compare 2010 data for McSorley 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 McSorley

The surname McSorley is an Irish surname that originated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is a variant of the name Somerville, which is derived from the Old English words "somu" meaning summer and "vill" meaning town or village, essentially translating to "summer village."

The McSorley name can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was recorded as MacSomerlied. This spelling variation was used by the Lords of Argyll, a powerful Scottish clan that ruled over parts of western Scotland and northern Ireland. The prefix "Mac" in Gaelic means "son of," indicating that the name was originally a patronymic.

In the 16th century, the McSorley name appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Conquest of Ireland, which were records of land grants and pardons issued by the English Crown. This suggests that the McSorleys were among the Gaelic Irish families who were dispossessed of their lands during the Tudor conquest and subsequent plantation of Ulster.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the McSorley name is John McSorley, who was born in County Antrim in 1550. He was a prominent figure in the Irish rebellion against English rule, known as the Nine Years' War (1594-1603).

Another notable McSorley was Thomas McSorley (1777-1853), who was a successful businessman and landowner in County Antrim. He played a significant role in the development of the linen industry in the region.

In the United States, one of the earliest McSorleys of note was John McSorley (1828-1910), who was born in County Antrim and immigrated to New York City in the mid-19th century. He established the famous McSorley's Old Ale House in 1854, which is one of the oldest continuously operating taverns in the city.

Another prominent American McSorley was Joseph McSorley (1867-1946), a professional baseball player who played for the Boston Beaneaters and the Cleveland Spiders in the late 19th century.

In more recent history, John McSorley (1910-1994) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and executive who played a significant role in the development of professional hockey in Canada and the United States. He coached the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings, winning multiple Stanley Cup championships.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McSorley

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

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

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

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