2000
#10,110
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,935
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Mcveigh
A surname of Irish origin meaning "son of the servant" or "son of the vassal."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,251 Americans carry the last name Mcveigh. That puts it at #10,750 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 105,430 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcveigh 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 Mcveigh with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 105,430
Census rank
#10,750
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,835 bearers of the surname Mcveigh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10750th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcveigh, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcveigh
The surname McVeigh is of Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic words 'mac' meaning 'son of' and 'Bheatha' meaning 'life' or 'living'. It is believed to have originated in the Scottish Highlands and parts of Northern Ireland around the 12th century.
The earliest recorded instance of the name McVeigh dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient manuscript that chronicles events in Ireland from the 5th to the 16th century. In these annals, the name is spelled 'Mac Bheatha'.
During the 16th century, the McVeigh family was prominent in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, particularly around the town of Ballymoney. The name is also associated with the Scottish clan MacVey, which was based in the regions of Argyll and Bute.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname McVeigh was Sir John McVeigh, a Scottish knight who fought in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 under King Robert the Bruce. Another notable figure was Rory McVeigh, a 16th-century Irish chieftain who led a rebellion against English rule in Ulster.
In the 17th century, the name McVeigh is found in various records related to the Plantation of Ulster, a planned process of colonizing Ulster with English and Scottish Protestant settlers. This suggests that some McVeigh families were among those who migrated from Scotland to Ireland during this period.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several McVeighs gained prominence in various fields. James McVeigh (1750-1835) was an Irish politician and member of the Irish House of Commons. William McVeigh (1790-1867) was a Scottish-born American military officer who served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.
Other notable individuals with the surname McVeigh include John McVeigh (1840-1914), an Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as the 28th Mayor of Philadelphia, and James McVeigh (1856-1926), an Irish-American journalist and author who wrote extensively about Irish history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcveigh
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcveigh, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcveigh 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 Mcveigh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,625
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 103
- Two or more races2.4% · 68
- Black or African American0.7% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcveigh
Mcveigh 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
#10,711
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,983
+48 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 601 places
2020
#10,750
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,835
-148 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,110 | 2,935 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,711 | 2,983 | 1.01 | +48 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 601 places |
| 2020 | #10,750 | 2,835 | 0.95 | -148 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 39 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 Mcveigh 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 | #10,711 | #10,750 | -0.4% |
| Count | 2,983 | 2,835 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.95 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcveigh bearers went from 2,983 to 2,835 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,711 to #10,750.
FAQ
Mcveigh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcveigh?
Name Census estimates that about 3,251 living Americans carry the surname Mcveigh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 105,430 residents.
How common is Mcveigh?
Mcveigh ranks #10,750 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 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 2,835 people with the surname Mcveigh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 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 Mcveigh.
Has Mcveigh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcveigh went from 2,983 recorded bearers to 2,835. That is a decrease of 148 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,711 to #10,750.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcveigh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcveigh, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Mcveigh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,625 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcveigh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Mcveigh (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 Mcveigh mean?
A surname of Irish origin meaning "son of the servant" or "son of the vassal." 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 Mcveigh (0.95 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 have the last name Mcveigh?
If you just want to know how common the surname Mcveigh is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.