# McMillan (surname)

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

A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 40,237 |
| US rank (2010) | 860 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,673 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.4% (38,896 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /məkˈmɪlən/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Maoláin (“son of Maolán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive of maol (“bald, tonsured”). Cognate with Irish Mac Maoláin.

## Who carries it

Share of people named McMillan 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) | 68% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 26% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named McMillan in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named McMillan

- Edwin McMillan, American physicist (1907-1991)
- Nate McMillan, American basketball player-coach
- Terry McMillan, American author
- Robert S. McMillan, American astronomer
- Kenneth McMillan, American actor (1932-1989)
- Kathy McMillan, American long jumper
- William McMillan, American sport shooter (1929-2000)
- Samuel J. R. McMillan, American politician (1826–1897)
- James McMillan, American politician (1838–1902)
- Tetairoa McMillan, American football player (born 2003)
- Thomas S. McMillan, Baseball player and coach, lawyer, politician (1888-1939)
- Glenn McMillan, Brasilian-Australian actor

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

McMullen, McMillian, McMillen, MacMillan, McMillin, McMullin, McMillion, McMillon, McMullan, McNeill, McMiller, McConnell.

## 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.