How common is the surname McGrath?

34,871 people in the United States had the surname McGrath in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,854 Americans. It ranked 1,006th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname McGrath?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named McGrath identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named McGrath?

Bob McGrath, American actor (1932–2022), followed by Tom McGrath.

Where is the surname McGrath most common?

Wikidata records people named McGrath in the United States and Australia.

How do you pronounce McGrath?

McGrath is /məˈɡɹɔː/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname McGrath getting more or less common?

More common. 34,031 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 34,871 in 2010, up 2.5%.

The surname McGrath

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 34,871 people in the United States.

Pronounced /məˈɡɹɔː/ 2 syllables Soundex M263

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McGrath is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Craith, perhaps a variant of Mac Raith (“son of Rath”), a byname from rath (“abundance, prosperity”).

McGrath 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 34,871 people named McGrath in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,854 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 34,031.

#1,006

rank among US surnames

34,871

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.5%

change since 2000 (was #943)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#997	Daugherty	34,987	8,825
#998	Travis	34,985	8,825
#999	Tang	34,961	8,831
#1,000	Archer	34,949	8,834
#1,001	Haas	34,918	8,842
#1,002	Galloway	34,909	8,844
#1,003	Bray	34,906	8,845

Who is named McGrath

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

94% of people named McGrath identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.3% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.3%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McGraths

16 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Bob McGrath
American actor (1932–2022)
Tom McGrath
American voice actor, animator and film director, born 1964
Douglas McGrath
American actor and director, 1958–2022
Glenn McGrath
Australian cricketer, born 1970
Jack McGrath
American racing driver, 1919–1955
Mark McGrath
American singer and television host, born 1968
Vivian McGrath
Australian tennis player (1916–1978)
J. Howard McGrath
American politician (1903-1966)
Jeremy McGrath
American motorcycle racer, born 1971
Gulliver McGrath
Australian actor, born 1998
Paul McGrath
American actor (1904-1978)
Felix McGrath
American alpine skier, born 1963

Notable McGraths come mostly from the United States (11) and Australia (5).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like McGrath

McGrath has the Soundex code M263, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M263.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname McGrath come from?: Anglicized form of Irish Mac Craith, perhaps a variant of Mac Raith (“son of Rath”), a byname from rath (“abundance, prosperity”).
How common is the surname McGrath?: 34,871 people in the United States had the surname McGrath in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,854 Americans. It ranked 1,006th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McGrath?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named McGrath identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named McGrath?: Bob McGrath, American actor (1932–2022), followed by Tom McGrath.
Where is the surname McGrath most common?: Wikidata records people named McGrath in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce McGrath?: McGrath is /məˈɡɹɔː/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is McGrath?: McGrath is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname McGrath getting more or less common?: More common. 34,031 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 34,871 in 2010, up 2.5%.