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

McWhirter, 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 McWhirter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McWhirter in America

McWhirter is the 11134th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McWhirter surname appeared 2,846 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 McWhirter.

We can also compare 2010 data for McWhirter 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 McWhirter

The surname McWhirter is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name Dhuibhshíth, meaning "dark" or "swarthy one". The prefix "Mc" or "Mac" means "son of" in Gaelic, indicating a patronymic surname.

The McWhirter name can be traced back to the 12th century in the region of Ayrshire, Scotland. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive nickname for someone with a dark complexion or hair color.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name McWhirter appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls documenting Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name is listed as "Gillemor McWhyter".

In the 15th century, variations of the spelling included McWhytre, McQuiter, and McQuhiter, reflecting the regional dialects and pronunciation variations at the time. The name was particularly prevalent in the parishes of Kilmarnock and Loudoun in Ayrshire.

A notable historical figure bearing the McWhirter surname was John McWhirter (1837-1926), a renowned Scottish landscape painter who was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1892. He is known for his vivid depictions of the Scottish Highlands and coastal scenes.

Another prominent individual was Alexander McWhirter (1895-1979), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1953 to 1957.

In the literary world, George McWhirter (1839-1907) was a Scottish poet and journalist who wrote under the pen name "Lachlann Mor". He was known for his works celebrating the Scottish Highlands and its people.

Robert McWhirter (1859-1935) was a Scottish inventor and engineer who developed the first successful pneumatic tire for bicycles, patenting his design in 1888.

Lastly, Dorothy McWhirter (1905-1985) was a British author and playwright best known for her children's book "The Silver Brumby", which was later adapted into a film in 1993.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McWhirter

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

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

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

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