2000
#916
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,692
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.86
Uncommon Last name
Mccann
A surname of Irish origin meaning "son of Cann," likely derived from a nickname for a wolf cub.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 39,078 Americans carry the last name Mccann. That puts it at #1,009 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,771 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccann 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 Mccann with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
39K
1 in 8,771
Census rank
#1,009
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
34K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 34,078 bearers of the surname Mccann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1009th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccann, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccann
The surname McCann is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname Mac Cana or Mac Cathan, which means "son of Cana" or "son of Cathan." The name Cana or Cathan was a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "cath," meaning "battle" or "warrior."
The McCann surname can be traced back to the 11th century in Ireland, particularly in the counties of Armagh, Monaghan, and Fermanagh. It was originally a Gaelic clan name associated with the territories of East Ulster and the ancient kingdom of Airgíalla.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the McCann surname is found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "Gilla Patraic Mac Cathan" in the year 1167. The surname is also found in the Annals of the Four Masters, another important source of Irish history, which refers to a "Maolmuire Mac Cana" in the year 1237.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the McCann surname appeared in various legal and administrative records, such as the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns and the Hearth Money Rolls. One notable example is Sir Séon McCann (c. 1570-1635), a prominent Irish soldier and landowner from County Armagh, who served in the Spanish Army of Flanders.
During the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century, the McCann name became more widespread in the northern counties of Ireland, as families were granted lands and settled in areas like County Antrim and County Down. The surname is also associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Ballymacann (from the Irish "Baile Mhic Cana," meaning "townland of the sons of Cana") and Drumacann (from the Irish "Druim Mhic Cana," meaning "ridge of the sons of Cana").
Notable individuals with the McCann surname include:
1. Bernard McCann (1736-1798), an Irish revolutionary and United Irishman who participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
2. Colum McCann (born 1965), an Irish novelist and writer, best known for his novels "Let the Great World Spin" and "TransAtlantic."
3. John McCann (1905-1980), an Irish Franciscan friar and historian who wrote extensively on Irish history and the Irish Franciscan tradition.
4. Joshua McCann (c. 1777-1846), an Irish-American soldier and pioneer who fought in the War of 1812 and was one of the founders of the city of Chicago, Illinois.
5. Marie McCann (born 1984), an Irish long-distance runner and Olympian who represented Ireland in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccann
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccann, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccann 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 Mccann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 29,652
- Black or African American5.1% · 1,733
- Two or more races3.4% · 1,170
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,137
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 261
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 125
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccann
Mccann 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
#983
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,408
+716 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 12.00
Rank movement Down 67 places
2020
#1,009
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,078
-1,330 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 11.40
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #916 | 34,692 | 12.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #983 | 35,408 | 12.00 | +716 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 67 places |
| 2020 | #1,009 | 34,078 | 11.40 | -1,330 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 26 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 Mccann 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 | #983 | #1,009 | -2.6% |
| Count | 35,408 | 34,078 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 12.00 | 11.40 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccann bearers went from 35,408 to 34,078 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #983 to #1,009.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mccann
FAQ
Mccann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccann?
Name Census estimates that about 39,078 living Americans carry the surname Mccann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,771 residents.
How common is Mccann?
Mccann ranks #1,009 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 34,078 people with the surname Mccann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (39,078), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Mccann.
Has Mccann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccann went from 35,408 recorded bearers to 34,078. That is a decrease of 1,330 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #983 to #1,009.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccann, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Mccann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (29,652 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Black (5.1%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Mccann (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 Mccann mean?
A surname of Irish origin meaning "son of Cann," likely derived from a nickname for a wolf cub. 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 Mccann (11.40 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 share the surname Mccann?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.