Mckell
Of Scottish origin, meaning "fire-born" or "son of the keen one".
Name Census estimates that about 423 living Americans carry the first name Mckell. It is a predominantly female name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Mckell today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mckell births was 1995 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mckell. 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
423
~ 1 in 810,294 Americans
Peak year
1995
29 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2010 SSA rank
#9,368
Tracked since 1982
Census
Mckell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 542 people with the first name Mckell, which placed it at #19,479 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
#19,479
National first-name rank
People counted
542
542 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mckell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mckell is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Mckell 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 Mckell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 460
- Black or African American8.3% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 17
- Two or more races1.8% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Mckell
Mckell leans heavily female at 97.0% of total registrations, but 13 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mckell as a male name
- Ranked #9,368 in 2010
- 8 male births in 2010
- Peak: 2010 (8 births)
Mckell as a female name
- Ranked #16,889 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1995 (29 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mckell leans strongly female. 462 people counted with this name were female (85.2%), compared with 80 male bearers (14.8%).
Popularity
Mckell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mckell from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 210 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mckell 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 Mckell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mckells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mckell
The name Mckell is a Scottish variant of the given name Michael, which has its roots in the Hebrew name Mikhael, meaning "who is like God?". The name Michael is derived from the rhetorical question "mi ka El", which translates to "who is like God?". This name is significant in various religious and cultural contexts.
The earliest recorded use of the name Michael dates back to ancient times, appearing in the biblical Book of Daniel and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the Bible, Michael is portrayed as an archangel, a leader of the heavenly host, and a protector of the people of God. This biblical reference has contributed to the widespread popularity of the name among various Christian denominations.
The name Mckell gained prominence in Scotland, where it emerged as a variation of the traditional name Michael. The prefix "Mc" or "Mac" in Scottish names signifies "son of," reflecting the patronymic naming tradition. Thus, Mckell could be interpreted as "son of Michael" or a derivative of the name Michael.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Mckell was Mckell Mackenzie, a Scottish soldier who served in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. He fought alongside the supporters of Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, in their attempt to restore the House of Stuart to the British throne.
Another notable figure was Sir Mckell Douglas (1822-1904), a Scottish businessman and philanthropist. He made significant contributions to the development of Glasgow and was known for his charitable endeavors, particularly in the field of education.
In the realm of literature, Mckell MacLeod (1891-1962) was a Scottish writer and poet. He is renowned for his works that captured the essence of the Scottish Highlands and its people, preserving the region's cultural heritage through his writings.
Moving to the United States, Mckell Anderson (1923-1986) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He founded the Mckell Anderson Foundation, which supported various educational and charitable initiatives, leaving a lasting impact on his community.
Lastly, Mckell O'Connor (1946-2020) was an Irish-American actress known for her roles in television series and films. She had a successful career spanning several decades and was recognized for her versatility as an actress.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Mckell throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and eras.
People
Mckell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mckell 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
Mckell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mckell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 423 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mckell 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 810,294 US residents.
Is Mckell a common name?
We classify Mckell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 435 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mckell most popular?
The single biggest year for Mckell was 1995, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mckell is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mckell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 542 people with the name Mckell, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,479 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 Mckell 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 Mckell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mckell leans strongly female. 462 people counted with this name were female (85.2%), compared with 80 male bearers (14.8%). 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 Mckell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mckell is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Mckell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mckell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (460 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 Mckell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mckell a female name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Mckell in the SSA data are female. 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 Mckell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mckell 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 Mckell 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 are called Mckell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.