2000
#708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 16.36
Uncommon Last name
Mccullough
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cú Uladh," meaning "son of the hound of Ulster."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 50,375 Americans carry the last name Mccullough. That puts it at #769 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,804 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccullough 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 Mccullough with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
50K
1 in 6,804
Census rank
#769
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
44K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 43,929 bearers of the surname Mccullough in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 769th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccullough, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccullough
The surname McCullough is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Lughaidh, meaning "son of Lughaidh." Lughaidh was a personal name derived from the Old Irish word lughaidh, meaning "poet" or "skilled in verse." The name is first recorded in Scotland in the 13th century.
The McCullough clan was historically centered in the counties of Antrim and Down in Northern Ireland. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was MacCulloch, which appeared in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to Edward I of England.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Sir John McCullough, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Another early figure was Hervey McCullough, a Scottish merchant who settled in Ulster, Ireland, in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the McCullough clan played a significant role in the Plantation of Ulster, a planned process of colonizing Ulster with Protestant settlers from Scotland and England. During this period, many McCulloughs established themselves as landowners and became influential in the region.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Benjamin McCullough (1811-1862), an American businessman and politician who served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Another notable figure was Thomas McCullough (1776-1846), an Irish-American printer and newspaper publisher who co-founded the North American Trust and Banking Company in New York City.
Other historically significant individuals with the surname McCullough include:
1. James McCullough (1819-1893), an Irish-American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Maryland.
2. Hugh McCullough (1808-1895), an American banker and statesman who served as the 27th United States Secretary of the Treasury.
3. John McCullough (1837-1885), an American actor and stage manager known for his performances in Shakespearean plays.
4. Colleen McCullough (1937-2015), an Australian author best known for her novel "The Thorn Birds."
5. David McCullough (1933-2022), an American author and historian who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his biographies of Presidents Harry S. Truman and John Adams.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccullough
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccullough, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccullough 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 Mccullough surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 31,189
- Black or African American20.5% · 8,988
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,866
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,427
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 279
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 180
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccullough
Mccullough 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
#755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 45,852
+1,729 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 15.54
Rank movement Down 47 places
2020
#769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,929
-1,923 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 14.70
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #708 | 44,123 | 16.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #755 | 45,852 | 15.54 | +1,729 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 47 places |
| 2020 | #769 | 43,929 | 14.70 | -1,923 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 14 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 Mccullough 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 | #755 | #769 | -1.9% |
| Count | 45,852 | 43,929 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 15.54 | 14.70 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccullough bearers went from 45,852 to 43,929 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #755 to #769.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mccullough
FAQ
Mccullough surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccullough?
Name Census estimates that about 50,375 living Americans carry the surname Mccullough. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,804 residents.
How common is Mccullough?
Mccullough ranks #769 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 43,929 people with the surname Mccullough. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (50,375), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Mccullough.
Has Mccullough become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccullough went from 45,852 recorded bearers to 43,929. That is a decrease of 1,923 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #755 to #769.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccullough?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccullough, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Mccullough in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (31,189 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccullough appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.0%), Black (20.5%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Mccullough (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 Mccullough mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Cú Uladh," meaning "son of the hound of Ulster." 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 Mccullough (14.70 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 are called Mccullough?
You can see how many people have the last name Mccullough on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.