2000
#3,669
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,894
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.30
Rare Last name
Mccutcheon
A Scottish occupational surname referring to the son of a cook, from Gaelic "Mac Uisdein" meaning "son of Uisdean."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,923 Americans carry the last name Mccutcheon. That puts it at #3,977 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,541 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mccutcheon 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 Mccutcheon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,541
Census rank
#3,977
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,653 bearers of the surname Mccutcheon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3977th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccutcheon, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mccutcheon
The surname McCutcheon is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic words "Mac Cuithchain," meaning "son of the strange one." The name can be traced back to the 12th century in the regions of Galloway and Ayrshire in Scotland.
The earliest recorded instance of the name is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which contains the names of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. Among those listed is Gillecolm McCutcheon, a landowner from Galloway.
In the 15th century, the McCutcheons were prominent in the Barony of Drummore in Wigtownshire, Scotland. This is evidenced by the appearance of the name in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland during that period.
One notable McCutcheon was Sir John McCutcheon (c. 1460-1520), a Scottish knight and landowner from Ayrshire. He fought alongside King James IV of Scotland at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
The name also appears in the Bute Manuscript, a 16th-century document that records the genealogies of several Scottish families. It mentions a certain Robert McCutcheon, who was a prominent figure in the Barony of Drummore in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the McCutcheons were involved in the Scottish Covenanter movement, which sought to preserve Presbyterian beliefs in Scotland. One such individual was William McCutcheon (1616-1679), a minister and Covenanter who was executed for his religious beliefs during the Killing Times.
Another notable McCutcheon was John McCutcheon (1725-1795), a Scottish-born American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and served as a captain in the Virginia militia.
As the name spread beyond Scotland, variations in spelling emerged, such as McCutchen, McCutchin, and McCutchan. However, the original Scottish spelling of McCutcheon remained prevalent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mccutcheon
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccutcheon, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mccutcheon 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 Mccutcheon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 7,002
- Black or African American10.6% · 917
- Two or more races4.4% · 379
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 238
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 54
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mccutcheon
Mccutcheon 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
#3,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,230
+336 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 3.13
Rank movement Down 166 places
2020
#3,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,653
-577 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 2.89
Rank movement Down 142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,669 | 8,894 | 3.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,835 | 9,230 | 3.13 | +336 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 166 places |
| 2020 | #3,977 | 8,653 | 2.89 | -577 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 142 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 Mccutcheon 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 | #3,835 | #3,977 | -3.7% |
| Count | 9,230 | 8,653 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.13 | 2.89 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mccutcheon bearers went from 9,230 to 8,653 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 142 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,835 to #3,977.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mccutcheon
FAQ
Mccutcheon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mccutcheon?
Name Census estimates that about 9,923 living Americans carry the surname Mccutcheon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,541 residents.
How common is Mccutcheon?
Mccutcheon ranks #3,977 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,653 people with the surname Mccutcheon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,923), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mccutcheon.
Has Mccutcheon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mccutcheon went from 9,230 recorded bearers to 8,653. That is a decrease of 577 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,835 to #3,977.
What does the Census say about the background of Mccutcheon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mccutcheon, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Mccutcheon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (7,002 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mccutcheon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Black (10.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Mccutcheon (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 Mccutcheon mean?
A Scottish occupational surname referring to the son of a cook, from Gaelic "Mac Uisdein" meaning "son of Uisdean." 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 Mccutcheon (2.89 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 Mccutcheon?
Find out how many people are called Mccutcheon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.