2000
#5,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,712
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.12
Rare Last name
Mcgehee
A Scottish and Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Eochaidh," meaning "son of Eochaidh" (a personal name meaning "horse rider").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,222 Americans carry the last name Mcgehee. That puts it at #6,082 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,087 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcgehee 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.
Bearers in the US
6.2K
1 in 55,087
Census rank
#6,082
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,426 bearers of the surname Mcgehee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6082nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcgehee, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcgehee
The surname McGehee has its origins in Ireland and dates back to the 12th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mag Aodha," meaning "son of Aodh" or "son of Hugh." The name Aodh was a popular given name among the Irish during the Middle Ages and was derived from the Old Irish word "áed," meaning "fire."
The earliest recorded instances of the name McGehee can be found in ancient Irish manuscripts and records from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century, which mentions several individuals with the surname McGehee or its variations, such as MacAodha and MacCaoide.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, many Irish families bearing the surname McGehee were forced to migrate to other parts of the British Isles and the Americas due to the English colonization of Ireland and the subsequent upheavals and conflicts. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America can be found in colonial records from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname McGehee was Seán Mag Aodha, a 16th-century Irish poet and historian from County Donegal. Another notable figure was Aodh Mag Aodha, a 17th-century Irish chieftain and member of the O'Neill clan, who played a prominent role in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
In the 18th century, Edward McGehee (1736-1819) was a prominent American planter and landowner from Virginia, who later settled in Mississippi and established a successful cotton plantation. His descendants became influential figures in the American South.
Another notable individual was John McGehee (1782-1830), an American politician and lawyer from Virginia, who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1817 to 1819.
In the 19th century, Montfort McGehee (1884-1951) was an American mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of vector analysis. He served as the president of the American Mathematical Society from 1943 to 1944.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcgehee
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcgehee, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcgehee 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 Mcgehee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 4,685
- Black or African American4.5% · 244
- Two or more races3.9% · 213
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 167
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcgehee
Mcgehee 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
#5,984
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,749
+37 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.95
Rank movement Down 406 places
2020
#6,082
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,426
-323 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.82
Rank movement Down 98 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,578 | 5,712 | 2.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,984 | 5,749 | 1.95 | +37 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 406 places |
| 2020 | #6,082 | 5,426 | 1.82 | -323 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 98 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 Mcgehee 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 | #5,984 | #6,082 | -1.6% |
| Count | 5,749 | 5,426 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.95 | 1.82 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcgehee bearers went from 5,749 to 5,426 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 98 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,984 to #6,082.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mcgehee
FAQ
Mcgehee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcgehee?
Name Census estimates that about 6,222 living Americans carry the surname Mcgehee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,087 residents.
How common is Mcgehee?
Mcgehee ranks #6,082 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,426 people with the surname Mcgehee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,222), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mcgehee.
Has Mcgehee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcgehee went from 5,749 recorded bearers to 5,426. That is a decrease of 323 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,984 to #6,082.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcgehee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcgehee, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Mcgehee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (4,685 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcgehee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Black (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Mcgehee (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 Mcgehee mean?
A Scottish and Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Eochaidh," meaning "son of Eochaidh" (a personal name meaning "horse rider"). 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 Mcgehee (1.82 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 Mcgehee?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.