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    The surname MacDonald

    A Scottish Gaelic patronymic surname, carried by 46,717 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /məkˈdɑnəld/ 3 syllables Soundex M235

    MacDonald: #744 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon MacDonald #744, 46,717 people MacDonald: #744 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez MacDonald #744, 46,717 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). MacDonald is more common than 99.5% of them.

    Origin

    Scottish Gaelic origin

    From Scottish Gaelic Mac Dhòmhnaill, equivalent to "son of Donald".

    MacDonald is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 46,717 people named MacDonald in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,609 Americans. That is up 2.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 45,782.

    #744
    rank among US surnames
    46,717
    people in 2010
    16
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2%
    change since 2000 (was #685)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #735Huerta47,4556,506
    #736Preston47,3676,518
    #737Vance47,3246,524
    #738Barry47,2746,531
    #739Johns47,2466,535
    #740Eaton47,1846,543
    #741Blackwell47,1756,545

    Who is named MacDonald

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    94% of people named MacDonald identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.6% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 94%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 1.6%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 1.1%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous MacDonalds

    25 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • John A. Macdonald
      1st prime minister of Canada from 1867 to 1873 and 1878 to 1891
    • Jeanette MacDonald
      American singer and actress (1903-1965)
    • John D. MacDonald
      American writer (1916–1986)
    • Margaret MacDonald
      British artist (1865-1933)
    • Danielle Macdonald
      Australian actress, born 1991
    • Katherine MacDonald
      American actor and film producer (1881-1956)
    • Oliver MacDonald
      Athletics competitor (1904–1973)
    • J. Farrell MacDonald
      American actor and director (1875-1952)
    • Jimmy MacDonald
      British actor (1906–1991)
    • Kevin B. MacDonald
      American psychologist and academic, born 1944
    • Dwight Macdonald
      American writer, editor, film critic, social critic, philosopher and political radical (19, 1906–1982
    • Ian MacDonald
      American actor (1914-1978)

    Notable MacDonalds come mostly from the United States (17), the United Kingdom (3) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (3).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like MacDonald

    MacDonald has the Soundex code M235, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M235.

    Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

    All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname MacDonald come from?
    From Scottish Gaelic Mac Dhòmhnaill, equivalent to "son of Donald".
    How common is the surname MacDonald?
    46,717 people in the United States had the surname MacDonald in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,609 Americans. It ranked 744th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname MacDonald?
    In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named MacDonald identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    Who is the most famous person named MacDonald?
    John A. Macdonald, 1st prime minister of Canada from 1867 to 1873 and 1878 to 1891, followed by Jeanette MacDonald.
    Where is the surname MacDonald most common?
    Wikidata records people named MacDonald in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 2 other countries.
    How do you pronounce MacDonald?
    MacDonald is /məkˈdɑnəld/, 3 syllables.
    What type of surname is MacDonald?
    MacDonald is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname MacDonald getting more or less common?
    More common. 45,782 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 46,717 in 2010, up 2.0%.
    What are other spellings of MacDonald?
    Macdonnell, Mcdonald, M'donald, Mdonald, Madonald and Donald.
    Is MacDonald also a first name?
    Yes. MacDonald is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.