2000
#761
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,231
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.28
Uncommon Last name
Mccall
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cathmhaoil," meaning "son of Cathmhaol" (a personal name meaning "battle chief").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 47,458 Americans carry the last name Mccall. That puts it at #811 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,222 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccall 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 Mccall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
47K
1 in 7,222
Census rank
#811
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
41K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 41,386 bearers of the surname Mccall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 811th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccall, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccall
The surname McCall has its origins in Scotland, emerging in the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic 'Mac Cail', which means 'son of Cail'. Cail was an old personal name that was relatively common in medieval Scotland.
The name McCall first appeared in Argyllshire, a historic county in western Scotland. Over time, it spread to other regions of Scotland and Ireland. Variations in spelling emerged, including MacCall, MacCaull, and MacCaul.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage renderings to King Edward I of England. The entry "Gillecrist Makkal" likely refers to a bearer of the name McCall.
In the 16th century, a notable figure was John McCall (c.1522-1586), a Scottish prelate who served as Bishop of Galloway. Around the same time, the McCall family established themselves as landowners in the Parish of Carsphairn in Kirkcudbrightshire.
Another prominent McCall was Sir Mungo McCall (1603-1674), a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1641 to 1660. He played a significant role in the political and legal affairs of Scotland during the turbulent years of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
In the 18th century, Hugh McCall (1737-1824) was a Scottish-born American merchant and politician who served as a member of the Georgia State Assembly. He was also a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1785.
A more recent figure was John McCall (1849-1920), a Scottish-born American businessman and philanthropist. He co-founded the New York Life Insurance Company and made significant contributions to various educational and charitable institutions in New York City.
The surname McCall has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as McCall's Hill in Dumfries and Galloway, and McCall's Bridge in Aberdeenshire. These place names likely derived from individuals with the surname McCall who resided in or owned land in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccall
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccall, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccall 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 Mccall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.6% · 26,322
- Black or African American28.0% · 11,584
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,677
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,351
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 264
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 188
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccall
Mccall 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
#794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,483
+2,252 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 14.74
Rank movement Down 33 places
2020
#811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,386
-2,097 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 13.85
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #761 | 41,231 | 15.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #794 | 43,483 | 14.74 | +2,252 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 33 places |
| 2020 | #811 | 41,386 | 13.85 | -2,097 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 17 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 Mccall 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 | #794 | #811 | -2.1% |
| Count | 43,483 | 41,386 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 14.74 | 13.85 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccall bearers went from 43,483 to 41,386 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #794 to #811.
FAQ
Mccall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccall?
Name Census estimates that about 47,458 living Americans carry the surname Mccall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,222 residents.
How common is Mccall?
Mccall ranks #811 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 41,386 people with the surname Mccall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (47,458), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Mccall.
Has Mccall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccall went from 43,483 recorded bearers to 41,386. That is a decrease of 2,097 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #794 to #811.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccall, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) 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 Mccall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.6% (26,322 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.6%), Black (28.0%), 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 Mccall (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 Mccall mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cathmhaoil," meaning "son of Cathmhaol" (a personal name meaning "battle chief"). 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 Mccall (13.85 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 Americans have the surname Mccall?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.