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

Munro, 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 Munro surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Munro in America

Munro is the 5067th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Munro surname appeared 6,918 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Munro.

We can also compare 2010 data for Munro 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 Munro

The surname Munro has its origins in Scotland, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic words "muine" meaning "hill" or "mount", and "rath" meaning "castle" or "fort", suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a fortified hill or castle.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles who swore fealty to Edward I of England. The name appears as "Monro" and is thought to refer to the Chief of the Clan Munro, who held lands in the Scottish Highlands.

The Munros were a powerful clan in the northern Highlands, particularly in the counties of Ross and Cromarty. Their ancestral home was the Barony of Foulis, near the town of Dingwall. The clan played a significant role in Scottish history, participating in various conflicts, including the Wars of Scottish Independence and the Jacobite Risings.

In the 14th century, a branch of the Munro clan migrated to the Isle of Skye, where they became known as the Munros of Skye. This branch of the family later settled in the Outer Hebrides and maintained their distinct identity as a cadet branch of the main Munro clan.

One notable figure associated with the Munro surname is Sir Robert Munro, 18th Baron of Foulis (1642-1688), a Scottish military commander who fought for the Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Carbisdale in 1650, where he defeated a Royalist force led by the Marquis of Montrose.

Another prominent Munro was Sir Hector Munro (1726-1805), a Scottish military officer who served in the British Army during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. He commanded British forces at the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, one of the first engagements of the American Revolution.

In the literary world, Neil Munro (1863-1930) was a Scottish writer and journalist, best known for his humorous short stories and novels set in the Highlands, including the popular "Para Handy" series.

Other notable figures with the Munro surname include Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916), better known by his pen name "Saki", a British writer and satirist renowned for his witty and often macabre short stories, and Alice Munro (1931-present), a Canadian short story writer and Nobel laureate.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Munro

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!