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

Muirhead, 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 Muirhead surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Muirhead in America

Muirhead is the 13445th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Muirhead surname appeared 2,265 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 Muirhead.

We can also compare 2010 data for Muirhead 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 Muirhead

The surname Muirhead is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English words "muir" meaning moor or heath, and "heafod" meaning head or hill. It is a locational name given to someone who lived near or on a moorland hill or elevated area of uncultivated land.

The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 13th century in the parish of Bothwell in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The Muirhead family held lands in this area and are mentioned in various charters and historical documents from that time period.

In the 14th century, a John de Muirhead is recorded as being a witness to a charter granted by King Robert II of Scotland in 1372. This suggests the family had some prominence and standing during this era.

The name Muirhead is also found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of instruments of homage and fealty to Edward I of England from Scottish nobles and landholders. This indicates the surname was well-established by the late 13th century.

Notable individuals with the surname Muirhead include James Muirhead (1742-1808), a Scottish philosopher and professor of natural philosophy at the University of Glasgow. Another was James Patrick Muirhead (1853-1934), a British lawyer and author who wrote extensively on Roman law and jurisprudence.

In the field of science, there was Robert Franklin Muirhead (1834-1925), a Scottish electrical engineer and inventor who pioneered early developments in telegraph and submarine cable technology. His brother, Alexander Muirhead (1848-1920), was also a noted Scottish electrical engineer and inventor.

A more recent example is Lewis Muirhead (1923-2010), a Scottish businessman and philanthropist who founded the Muirhead Charitable Trust, a major provider of funding for educational and medical research in Scotland.

While the Muirhead name has its roots in Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and settlement, with bearers of the name found in countries such as England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Muirhead

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

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

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

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