2000
#14,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,859
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Mac
A prefix surname indicating the bearer is a son of a person with a name beginning with "C".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,619 Americans carry the last name Mac. That puts it at #9,797 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,710 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mac surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mac with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 94,710
Census rank
#9,797
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,156 bearers of the surname Mac in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9797th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mac, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (10.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mac
Mac is a prefix that originated from the Scottish Gaelic language, derived from the word 'mac' which means 'son of'. This prefix was commonly used in Scottish and Irish surnames to indicate the paternal lineage of an individual.
The surname Mac has its roots in the Highlands of Scotland, where clans and families would use this prefix to denote their ancestral ties. It is believed to have emerged as early as the 12th century, during the rise of the feudal system in Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Mac can be found in the Ragman Rolls, a series of parchment rolls that documented the swearing of fealty to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners in the late 13th century. Several individuals with the surname Mac, or variations of it, are listed in these rolls.
The Mac surname is also closely associated with various Scottish place names, such as Macbeth (from the town of Beith), Macdonald (from the Gaelic 'Domhnall'), and Macgregor (from the Gaelic 'Griogair'). These place names often reflected the origins or territories of the clans bearing these surnames.
Notable individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Mac include:
1. Alasdair Mac Colla (c. 1610-1647), a Scottish military leader during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
2. Flora Macdonald (1722-1790), a Scottish Jacobite heroine who assisted Bonnie Prince Charlie in his escape after the Battle of Culloden.
3. John Macadam (1756-1836), a Scottish engineer and road builder who pioneered the use of crushed stone for road construction, leading to the term 'macadamized road'.
4. George Macartney (1737-1806), an Irish diplomat and statesman who served as the Governor of the British territories in West Africa and the Caribbean.
5. Andrew Macbeth (c. 1604-1657), a Scottish minister and author who wrote a notable work on the Scottish Reformation.
The surname Mac has undergone various spelling variations throughout history, such as Mack, Mc, and M', reflecting regional dialectal differences and personal preferences. However, the core meaning and significance of the prefix have remained intact, representing a powerful connection to Scottish and Irish heritage and ancestry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mac
Among Census respondents with the surname Mac, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (10.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mac bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mac surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander52.0% · 1,642
- White29.8% · 939
- Black or African American10.9% · 343
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 121
- Two or more races3.4% · 106
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mac
Mac appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,171
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,321
+462 bearers (+24.9%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 1,493 places
2020
#9,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,156
+835 bearers (+36.0%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Up 3,374 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,664 | 1,859 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,171 | 2,321 | 0.79 | +462 bearers (+24.9%) | Up 1,493 places |
| 2020 | #9,797 | 3,156 | 1.06 | +835 bearers (+36.0%) | Up 3,374 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mac surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,171 | #9,797 | 25.6% |
| Count | 2,321 | 3,156 | 36.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 1.06 | 33.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mac bearers went from 2,321 to 3,156 (+36.0% change). The surname moved up 3,374 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,171 to #9,797.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mac
FAQ
Mac surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mac?
Name Census estimates that about 3,619 living Americans carry the surname Mac. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,710 residents.
How common is Mac?
Mac ranks #9,797 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,156 people with the surname Mac. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,619), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mac.
Has Mac become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mac went from 2,321 recorded bearers to 3,156. That is an increase of 835 (+36.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,171 to #9,797.
What does the Census say about the background of Mac?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mac, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.8%) and Black (10.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mac in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.0% (1,642 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mac appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (52.0%), White (29.8%), Black (10.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mac (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mac mean?
A prefix surname indicating the bearer is a son of a person with a name beginning with "C". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mac (1.06 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Mac?
See how many Americans have the surname Mac on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.