# MacNair (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/macnair/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 425 |
| US rank (2010) | 49,461 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 726,460 people |
| Change since 2000 | -3.0% (438 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /məkˈnɛə(ɹ)/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic Mac Iain-uidhir (literally “son of John the dun”), or perhaps mac an oighre (“son of the heir”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named MacNair in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 93% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named MacNair in the United Kingdom.

## People named MacNair

- Herbert MacNair, British artist (1868-1955)

## Similar surnames

McNair, McNear, McHenry, McMurray, Messner, McInerney, Meissner, McMurry, Meisner, Misner, McMorris, Messmer.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.