2000
#46,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 432
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.16
Very Rare Last name
Macfadden
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "mac Phadain" meaning "son of Padan".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 477 Americans carry the last name Macfadden. That puts it at #53,634 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 718,563 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Macfadden 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.
Bearers in the US
477
1 in 718,563
Census rank
#53,634
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
416
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 416 bearers of the surname Macfadden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53634th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Macfadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Macfadden
The surname MACFADDEN is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name "Paidean" or "Padden," which means "little Patrick." The prefix "Mac" means "son of," so MACFADDEN literally translates to "son of Padden" or "son of little Patrick."
The earliest recorded instances of the MACFADDEN surname can be found in various Scottish historical records and documents from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. One notable early reference is in the Clan Chattan Confederation Roll of 1597, which lists several individuals with the MACFADDEN surname.
In the 17th century, the MACFADDEN family was prominent in the Scottish Highlands, particularly in the areas of Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire. The name is closely associated with the Clan Mackintosh, a powerful Highland clan with which many MACFADDEN families were closely allied.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the MACFADDEN surname was John MACFADDEN, who was born in Inverness-shire around 1610. Another notable early bearer of the name was Angus MACFADDEN, a Scottish soldier who fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-17th century.
In the 18th century, the MACFADDEN surname began to spread beyond Scotland as many Scottish emigrants settled in various parts of the British Empire, including North America and the Caribbean. One famous individual with the MACFADDEN surname from this period was Benjamin MACFADDEN (1749-1828), a Scottish-born merchant and plantation owner who settled in Jamaica.
Another notable MACFADDEN was Robert MACFADDEN (1798-1870), a Scottish-born civil engineer who played a key role in the construction of the Erie Canal in New York State. In the late 19th century, Bernarr MACFADDEN (1868-1955), a prominent American publisher and physical culture enthusiast, helped popularize the MACFADDEN surname in the United States.
Throughout history, the MACFADDEN surname has been spelled in various ways, including MacFadden, McFadden, and McFadyen, reflecting the diverse dialects and regional variations in Scottish naming traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Macfadden
Among Census respondents with the surname Macfadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Macfadden 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 Macfadden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 353
- Black or African American6.7% · 28
- Two or more races4.1% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Macfadden
Macfadden 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
#46,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 455
+23 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 299 places
2020
#53,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 416
-39 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 6,909 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #46,426 | 432 | 0.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #46,725 | 455 | 0.15 | +23 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 299 places |
| 2020 | #53,634 | 416 | 0.14 | -39 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 6,909 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 Macfadden 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 | #46,725 | #53,634 | -14.8% |
| Count | 455 | 416 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.14 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Macfadden bearers went from 455 to 416 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 6,909 positions in the national ranking, going from #46,725 to #53,634.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Macfadden
FAQ
Macfadden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Macfadden?
Name Census estimates that about 477 living Americans carry the surname Macfadden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 718,563 residents.
How common is Macfadden?
Macfadden ranks #53,634 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 416 people with the surname Macfadden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (477), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Macfadden.
Has Macfadden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Macfadden went from 455 recorded bearers to 416. That is a decrease of 39 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #46,725 to #53,634.
What does the Census say about the background of Macfadden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Macfadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Macfadden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (353 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Macfadden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.9%), Black (6.7%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Macfadden (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 Macfadden mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "mac Phadain" meaning "son of Padan". 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 Macfadden (0.14 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 common is the surname Macfadden?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Macfadden on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.