Maclain
Celtic name meaning "son of the plains" or "from a flat, open land".
Name Census estimates that about 412 living Americans carry the first name Maclain. It is a predominantly male name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Maclain today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maclain births was 2007 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maclain. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
412
~ 1 in 831,928 Americans
Peak year
2007
22 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,690
Tracked since 1988
Census
Maclain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 417 people with the first name Maclain, which placed it at #23,447 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,447
National first-name rank
People counted
417
417 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maclain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maclain is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Maclain 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Maclain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 374
- Two or more races4.3% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 17
- Black or African American1.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Maclain
Maclain leans heavily male at 98.8% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Maclain as a male name
- Ranked #8,690 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (22 births)
Maclain as a female name
- Ranked #18,471 in 2011
- 5 female births in 2011
- Peak: 2011 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maclain leans strongly male. 372 people counted with this name were male (90.5%), compared with 39 female bearers (9.5%).
Popularity
Maclain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maclain from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 164 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maclain by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Maclain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maclains live
Origin
Meaning and history of Maclain
The given name Maclain has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic language, tracing back to the medieval era. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "lann" meaning "landowner" or "chief." This combination suggests the name originally referred to the son of a landowner or chieftain.
The name Maclain gained prominence in the Scottish Highlands, particularly among clans and families with strong ties to their ancestral lands. Its earliest recorded use can be found in ancient Scottish genealogical records and clan histories from the 12th and 13th centuries.
While the name does not appear to have any direct references in religious scriptures or ancient texts, it may have been mentioned in medieval Scottish chronicles and historical accounts documenting the lives of prominent clan chiefs and landowners.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Maclain was Maclain of Ardnamurchan, a 13th-century Scottish clan chief known for his role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against the English. Another notable figure was Maclain of Lochbuie, a 16th-century chief of the Clan Maclaine, who played a significant role in the struggles between the Scottish clans and the Crown.
In the 17th century, Maclain MacQuarrie was a renowned Scottish poet and bard, renowned for his work in preserving and promoting the Gaelic language and culture. His poetic works remain an important part of Scotland's literary heritage.
During the 18th century, Maclain MacDonald was a respected Scottish historian and genealogist, known for his meticulous records of clan histories and lineages. His work provided invaluable insights into the origins and traditions of many Scottish clans.
In more recent times, Maclain Doherty was a prominent Irish nationalist and politician in the early 20th century, who played a significant role in the struggle for Irish independence from British rule.
Throughout its history, the name Maclain has maintained its strong ties to Scottish and Gaelic heritage, often associated with a sense of pride, leadership, and connection to ancestral lands and traditions.
People
Maclain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maclain as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maclain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maclain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 412 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maclain going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 831,928 US residents.
Is Maclain a common name?
We classify Maclain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 418 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maclain most popular?
The single biggest year for Maclain was 2007, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maclain is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maclain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 417 people with the name Maclain, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,447 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Maclain in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Maclain?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maclain leans strongly male. 372 people counted with this name were male (90.5%), compared with 39 female bearers (9.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Maclain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maclain is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Maclain most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maclain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (374 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Maclain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maclain a male name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Maclain in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Maclain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maclain in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Maclain can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Maclain?
You can see how many Americans are named Maclain on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.