2000
#4,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,811
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.90
Rare Last name
Mcvay
A Scottish and Irish occupational surname referring to a son of a servant or son of Hugh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,932 Americans carry the last name Mcvay. That puts it at #4,416 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,374 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcvay 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mcvay with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.9K
1 in 38,374
Census rank
#4,416
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,789 bearers of the surname Mcvay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4416th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcvay, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcvay
The surname McVay is believed to have originated in Scotland during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son of" and "Bheadh," which was a personal name. This suggests that the name was initially a patronymic, used to identify someone as the son of a man named Bheadh.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document containing the names of Scottish landowners and lairds who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "MacVeydh," which is likely an early spelling variation.
In the 16th century, the McVay clan was known to have held lands in the areas of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, located in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. The name is also associated with the Isle of Islay, one of the Inner Hebrides islands off the west coast of Scotland.
A notable historical figure bearing the McVay surname was John McVay, a Scottish clergyman who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He served as the Minister of Kilwinning, a town in Ayrshire, from 1596 until his death in 1622.
Another prominent individual was Sir Henry McVay, a Scottish soldier and landowner who lived in the 17th century. He was granted the lands of Drumlithie in Kincardineshire (now part of Aberdeenshire) by King Charles II in recognition of his military service.
In the 18th century, the name appeared in various records and documents related to the American colonies. One example is John McVay, who was born in Scotland around 1720 and later emigrated to Virginia, where he served as a militia captain during the American Revolutionary War.
Another notable figure from this period was Samuel McVay, an Irish-born sea captain and merchant who lived from 1737 to 1809. He was involved in the West Indies trade and was captured by the British during the American Revolutionary War while commanding a ship carrying military supplies.
In the 19th century, the McVay surname was found among Scottish emigrants who settled in various parts of the British Empire, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. One such individual was John McVay, a Scottish-born farmer who emigrated to Ontario, Canada, in the 1830s and became a prominent citizen in the town of Caledon.
Overall, the surname McVay has a rich history rooted in Scotland, with various branches and notable individuals emerging throughout the centuries in different parts of the world. Its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it has been associated with various regions and historical events over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcvay
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcvay, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcvay 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 Mcvay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 6,392
- Black or African American9.8% · 766
- Two or more races4.1% · 322
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 215
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcvay
Mcvay 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
#4,398
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,086
+275 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 2.74
Rank movement Down 193 places
2020
#4,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,789
-297 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Down 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,205 | 7,811 | 2.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,398 | 8,086 | 2.74 | +275 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 193 places |
| 2020 | #4,416 | 7,789 | 2.61 | -297 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 18 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 Mcvay 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 | #4,398 | #4,416 | -0.4% |
| Count | 8,086 | 7,789 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.74 | 2.61 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcvay bearers went from 8,086 to 7,789 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,398 to #4,416.
FAQ
Mcvay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcvay?
Name Census estimates that about 8,932 living Americans carry the surname Mcvay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,374 residents.
How common is Mcvay?
Mcvay ranks #4,416 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,789 people with the surname Mcvay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,932), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mcvay.
Has Mcvay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcvay went from 8,086 recorded bearers to 7,789. That is a decrease of 297 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,398 to #4,416.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcvay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcvay, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Mcvay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (6,392 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcvay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.1%), Black (9.8%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Mcvay (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 Mcvay mean?
A Scottish and Irish occupational surname referring to a son of a servant or son of Hugh. 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 Mcvay (2.61 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 Americans have the surname Mcvay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.