How common is the surname McGovern?

17,257 people in the United States had the surname McGovern in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,891 Americans. It ranked 2,095th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname McGovern?

In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named McGovern identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named McGovern?

George McGovern, American historian and politician (1922–2012), followed by Elizabeth McGovern.

Where is the surname McGovern most common?

Wikidata records people named McGovern in the United States.

How do you pronounce McGovern?

McGovern is /məˈɡʌvɚn/, 3 syllables.

Is the surname McGovern getting more or less common?

More common. 16,739 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,257 in 2010, up 3.1%.

The surname McGovern

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 17,257 people in the United States.

Pronounced /məˈɡʌvɚn/ 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). McGovern is more common than 98.7% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Samhradháin (“son of Samhradhán”), diminutive of samhradh (“summer”).

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

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 17,257 people named McGovern in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,891 Americans. That is up 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,739.

#2,095

rank among US surnames

17,257

people in 2010

5.8

per 100,000 Americans

+3.1%

change since 2000 (was #1,979)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,086	Busch	17,354	17,791
#2,087	Burroughs	17,336	17,810
#2,088	Schuster	17,325	17,821
#2,089	Bagley	17,324	17,822
#2,090	Montero	17,314	17,832
#2,091	Stringer	17,300	17,847
#2,092	Whitt	17,293	17,854

Who is named McGovern

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

95% of people named McGovern identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.4% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McGoverns

8 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

George McGovern
American historian and politician (1922–2012)
Elizabeth McGovern
American actress, born 1961
Maureen McGovern
American recording artist; actress and singer, born 1949
Terry McGovern
American actor, born 1942
Patrick Joseph McGovern
Billionaire businessman and entrepreneur, 1937–2014
Terry McGovern
American boxer (1880-1918)
Michael McGovern
American Catholic Archbishop, born 1964
Francis E. McGovern
American politician (1866-1946)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like McGovern

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

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname McGovern come from?: Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Samhradháin (“son of Samhradhán”), diminutive of samhradh (“summer”).
How common is the surname McGovern?: 17,257 people in the United States had the surname McGovern in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,891 Americans. It ranked 2,095th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McGovern?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named McGovern identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named McGovern?: George McGovern, American historian and politician (1922–2012), followed by Elizabeth McGovern.
Where is the surname McGovern most common?: Wikidata records people named McGovern in the United States.
How do you pronounce McGovern?: McGovern is /məˈɡʌvɚn/, 3 syllables.
What type of surname is McGovern?: McGovern is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname McGovern getting more or less common?: More common. 16,739 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,257 in 2010, up 3.1%.