2000
#11,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,399
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Mcspadden
An Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac Phaidín, meaning "son of little Patrick."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,877 Americans carry the last name Mcspadden. That puts it at #11,922 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,136 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcspadden 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.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 119,136
Census rank
#11,922
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,509 bearers of the surname Mcspadden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11922nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcspadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcspadden
The surname McSpadden is of Scottish origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in the Highlands of Scotland. The name is believed to be derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "Spaidean" which translates to "little farm" or "small holding."
The earliest recorded instances of the McSpadden name can be found in the historical records of Argyllshire, a county in western Scotland. It is thought that the McSpaddens were originally a branch of the Clan MacMillan, a prominent Scottish clan with strong ties to the region.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the McSpadden name appears in the "Black Book of Taymouth," a historical manuscript dating back to the 15th century. The document references a "Donald McSpadden" as a witness to a land dispute in the year 1476.
In the 16th century, the McSpadden name began to spread beyond Argyllshire, with families settling in neighboring counties such as Perthshire and Stirlingshire. During this period, variations in spelling became more common, with the name appearing as "McSpadyen," "McSpaiden," and "McSpadyne" in various historical records.
One notable figure bearing the McSpadden name was Duncan McSpadden, a Scottish soldier who fought in the Jacobite Risings of the early 18th century. Born in 1685 in Perthshire, McSpadden was a staunch supporter of the exiled House of Stuart and participated in the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715.
Another significant individual was Margaret McSpadden, born in 1792 in Stirlingshire. She was a renowned poet and author, publishing several collections of poems and ballads that captured the spirit of the Scottish Highlands during her lifetime.
In the 19th century, the McSpadden name began to spread beyond Scotland as members of the family emigrated to other parts of the world, particularly North America. One such individual was James McSpadden, born in 1820 in Argyllshire, who settled in Ontario, Canada in the 1840s and became a prominent businessman and landowner.
Another notable figure was William McSpadden, born in 1845 in Perthshire, who served as a captain in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.
As the McSpadden family continued to disperse across the globe, the name became associated with various place names and geographical locations. For example, the village of McSpadden Creek in West Virginia, USA, is believed to have been named after an early Scottish settler bearing the McSpadden surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcspadden
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcspadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcspadden 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 Mcspadden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.5% · 2,069
- Black or African American6.7% · 168
- Two or more races5.2% · 131
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 72
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcspadden
Mcspadden 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
#12,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,526
+127 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 359 places
2020
#11,922
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,509
-17 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 385 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,948 | 2,399 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,307 | 2,526 | 0.86 | +127 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 359 places |
| 2020 | #11,922 | 2,509 | 0.84 | -17 bearers (-0.7%) | Up 385 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 Mcspadden 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 | #12,307 | #11,922 | 3.1% |
| Count | 2,526 | 2,509 | -0.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.84 | -2.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcspadden bearers went from 2,526 to 2,509 (-0.7% change). The surname moved up 385 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,307 to #11,922.
FAQ
Mcspadden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcspadden?
Name Census estimates that about 2,877 living Americans carry the surname Mcspadden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,136 residents.
How common is Mcspadden?
Mcspadden ranks #11,922 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,509 people with the surname Mcspadden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,877), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Mcspadden.
Has Mcspadden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcspadden went from 2,526 recorded bearers to 2,509. That is a decrease of 17 (-0.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,307 to #11,922.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcspadden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcspadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Mcspadden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.5% (2,069 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcspadden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.5%), Black (6.7%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Mcspadden (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 Mcspadden mean?
An Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac Phaidín, meaning "son of little Patrick." 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 Mcspadden (0.84 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 Mcspadden?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Mcspadden is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.