How common is the surname Macpherson?

5,579 people in the United States had the surname Macpherson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 55,341 Americans. It ranked 6,140th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Macpherson?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Macpherson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Macpherson?

Elle Macpherson, Australian model and actress, followed by Jeanie MacPherson.

Where is the surname Macpherson most common?

Wikidata records people named Macpherson in Australia, the United States and Canada.

Is the surname Macpherson getting more or less common?

More common. 5,464 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,579 in 2010, up 2.1%.

The surname Macpherson

A surname, carried by 5,579 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex M216

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Macpherson is more common than 96.2% of them.

Origin

See McPherson.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 5,579 people named Macpherson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 55,341 Americans. That is up 2.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 5,464.

#6,140

rank among US surnames

5,579

people in 2010

1.9

per 100,000 Americans

+2.1%

change since 2000 (was #5,796)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#6,136	Helmick	5,583	55,301
#6,137	Lessard	5,582	55,311
#6,139	Gaskill	5,581	55,321
#6,140	Macpherson	5,579	55,341

Who is named Macpherson

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

93% of people named Macpherson identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.7% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.6%
Two or more races 1.7%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Macphersons

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Elle Macpherson
Australian model and actress, born 1964
Jeanie MacPherson
Actress, screenwriter (1886-1946)
David Macpherson
Australian tennis player, born 1967
Earle S. MacPherson
American automotive engineer (1891–1960)
Robert MacPherson
American mathematician, born 1944
Daniel MacPherson
Australian actor and television presenter, born 1980

Notable Macphersons come mostly from Australia (3), the United States (2) and Canada (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Macpherson

McPherson

Macpherson has the Soundex code M216, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M216.

Questions

Where does the surname Macpherson come from?: See McPherson.
How common is the surname Macpherson?: 5,579 people in the United States had the surname Macpherson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 55,341 Americans. It ranked 6,140th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Macpherson?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Macpherson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Macpherson?: Elle Macpherson, Australian model and actress, followed by Jeanie MacPherson.
Where is the surname Macpherson most common?: Wikidata records people named Macpherson in Australia, the United States and Canada.
Is the surname Macpherson getting more or less common?: More common. 5,464 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,579 in 2010, up 2.1%.