2000
#1,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,903
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.49
Uncommon Last name
Mcmanus
Son of Manus, an old Irish personal name meaning "hill fort" or "he who came from the hill fort."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,960 Americans carry the last name Mcmanus. That puts it at #1,546 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,203 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mcmanus 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 Mcmanus with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,203
Census rank
#1,546
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,638 bearers of the surname Mcmanus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1546th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmanus, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mcmanus
The surname MCMANUS has its roots in Ireland and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Magnusa," which means "son of Manus." Manus was a popular name among the Irish, derived from the Latin name Magnus, meaning "great."
The name MCMANUS was initially concentrated in counties like Fermanagh, Donegal, and Tyrone in Ulster, the northern province of Ireland. In these areas, the name was often spelled as McManus, MacManus, or MacMannus, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation common in the Irish language.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name MCMANUS can be found in the Fiants of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, a collection of official records from the 16th century. The name appears as "McManus" in reference to several individuals from Ulster.
In the 17th century, during the Plantation of Ulster, many Irish families with the surname MCMANUS were displaced from their ancestral lands. This led to the spread of the name across Ireland and eventually to other parts of the world through emigration.
Notable individuals with the surname MCMANUS throughout history include:
1. Hugh McManus (c. 1600-1644), an Irish Catholic priest and leader during the Irish Confederate Wars.
2. James McManus (1738-1824), an Irish-American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
3. Blanche McManus (1870-1935), an American writer and feminist activist.
4. Edward McManus (1886-1954), an American politician who served as the 33rd Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas.
5. Francis Patrick McManus (1909-1979), an American prelate who served as the Bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The name MCMANUS has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Ballymacmanus, a townland in County Antrim, and Drummanmanus, a townland in County Fermanagh.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mcmanus
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmanus, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Mcmanus 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 Mcmanus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 19,784
- Black or African American5.0% · 1,141
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 805
- Two or more races2.8% · 644
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 191
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 73
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mcmanus
Mcmanus 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
#1,498
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,909
+1,006 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 8.11
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#1,546
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,638
-1,271 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 7.57
Rank movement Down 48 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,430 | 22,903 | 8.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,498 | 23,909 | 8.11 | +1,006 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #1,546 | 22,638 | 7.57 | -1,271 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 48 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 Mcmanus 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 | #1,498 | #1,546 | -3.2% |
| Count | 23,909 | 22,638 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 8.11 | 7.57 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mcmanus bearers went from 23,909 to 22,638 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 48 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,498 to #1,546.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mcmanus
FAQ
Mcmanus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mcmanus?
Name Census estimates that about 25,960 living Americans carry the surname Mcmanus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,203 residents.
How common is Mcmanus?
Mcmanus ranks #1,546 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,638 people with the surname Mcmanus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,960), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Mcmanus.
Has Mcmanus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mcmanus went from 23,909 recorded bearers to 22,638. That is a decrease of 1,271 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,498 to #1,546.
What does the Census say about the background of Mcmanus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mcmanus, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Mcmanus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (19,784 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mcmanus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Black (5.0%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Mcmanus (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 Mcmanus mean?
Son of Manus, an old Irish personal name meaning "hill fort" or "he who came from the hill fort." 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 Mcmanus (7.57 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 surname Mcmanus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.