2000
#323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 86,317
First available Census row
Per 100,000 32.00
Uncommon Last name
Mcdaniel
A Scottish or Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Dháibhéid," meaning "son of David."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 96,936 Americans carry the last name Mcdaniel. That puts it at #365 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 28.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,536 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcdaniel 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 Mcdaniel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
97K
1 in 3,536
Census rank
#365
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
28.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
85K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 84,533 bearers of the surname Mcdaniel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 28.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 365th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdaniel, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcdaniel
The surname McDaniel originates from Scotland and is a patronymic name, meaning it was derived from the name of an ancestor. Specifically, it is a variant of the Gaelic name MacDhòmhnaill, which means "son of Donald" or "son of the world ruler."
In the early centuries after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, many Scottish families migrated southward, leading to the surname becoming anglicized to various spellings such as McDaniel, MacDaniel, and McDaniell. The name first appeared in written records in the 13th century, with early instances found in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of homage rolls documenting Scottish landowners swearing fealty to King Edward I of England in the late 13th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John McDaniel, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Later, in the 16th century, the McDaniel family held lands in Argyllshire and Ayrshire, with their ancestral seat located in the village of Glendaruel, Argyll.
Notable individuals with the surname McDaniel include:
1. Joseph McDaniel (1717-1790), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Kentucky.
2. William McDaniel (1820-1898), a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
3. Hattie McDaniel (1895-1952), an African American actress who became the first black performer to win an Academy Award for her role in the film "Gone with the Wind" in 1939.
4. Wilbur McDaniel (1918-2007), an American botanist and professor at the University of Florida.
5. Maceo McDaniel (1923-2003), an American politician who served as the first African American mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, from 1985 to 1989.
While the surname McDaniel has Scottish roots, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to migration and the diaspora of Scottish families over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcdaniel
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdaniel, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcdaniel 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 Mcdaniel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.9% · 61,658
- Black or African American18.2% · 15,413
- Two or more races4.4% · 3,680
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 2,798
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 511
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 473
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcdaniel
Mcdaniel 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
#352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 88,728
+2,411 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 30.08
Rank movement Down 29 places
2020
#365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 84,533
-4,195 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 28.28
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #323 | 86,317 | 32.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #352 | 88,728 | 30.08 | +2,411 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 29 places |
| 2020 | #365 | 84,533 | 28.28 | -4,195 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 13 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 Mcdaniel 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 | #352 | #365 | -3.7% |
| Count | 88,728 | 84,533 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 30.08 | 28.28 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcdaniel bearers went from 88,728 to 84,533 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #352 to #365.
FAQ
Mcdaniel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcdaniel?
Name Census estimates that about 96,936 living Americans carry the surname Mcdaniel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,536 residents.
How common is Mcdaniel?
Mcdaniel ranks #365 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 28.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 28 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 84,533 people with the surname Mcdaniel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (96,936), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 28.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 28.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 28 of them to have the surname Mcdaniel.
Has Mcdaniel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcdaniel went from 88,728 recorded bearers to 84,533. That is a decrease of 4,195 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #352 to #365.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcdaniel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcdaniel, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) 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 Mcdaniel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (61,658 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcdaniel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.9%), Black (18.2%), 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 Mcdaniel (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 Mcdaniel mean?
A Scottish or Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Dháibhéid," meaning "son of David." 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 Mcdaniel (28.28 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 have the last name Mcdaniel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Mcdaniel is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.