Skip to content
Name Lineage

    The surname McNair

    A Scottish Gaelic patronymic surname, carried by 16,595 people in the United States.

    2 syllables Soundex M256

    McNair: #2,191 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon McNair #2,191, 16,595 people McNair: #2,191 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez McNair #2,191, 16,595 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McNair is more common than 98.6% of them.

    Origin

    Scottish Gaelic origin

    Various origins: * Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Iain Uidhir (“son of sallow John”), from the personal name Iain (“John”) and odhar (“dun; sallow”). * Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac an Oighre (“son of the heir”), from oighre (“heir, inheritor”). * Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac an Mhaoir (“son of the officer”), from maor (“officer”).

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

    One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 16,595 people named McNair in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,605 Americans. That is up 8.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,299.

    #2,191
    rank among US surnames
    16,595
    people in 2010
    5.6
    per 100,000 Americans
    +8.5%
    change since 2000 (was #2,179)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #2,182German16,66118,531
    #2,183Schulte16,65818,534
    #2,184Conroy16,65118,542
    #2,185Hooker16,64618,548
    #2,186Thayer16,62518,571
    #2,187Gage16,61418,583
    #2,188Nevarez16,60718,591

    Who is named McNair

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

    55% of people named McNair identified as Black (not Hispanic), 40% as white (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as two or more races.

    • Black (not Hispanic) 55%
    • White (not Hispanic) 40%
    • Two or more races 2.7%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.0%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

    Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

    Famous McNairs

    6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Ronald McNair
      American physicist, astronaut (1950-1986)
    • Barbara McNair
      American singer and theater, television and film actress (1934–2007)
    • Steve McNair
      American football player (1973–2009)
    • Sylvia McNair
      American opera singer, soprano, born 1956
    • Fred McNair
      American tennis player, born 1950
    • Bob McNair
      American businessman, 1937–2018

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like McNair

    McNair has the Soundex code M256, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M256.

    Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

    All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname McNair come from?
    Various origins: * Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Iain Uidhir (“son of sallow John”), from the personal name Iain (“John”) and odhar (“dun; sallow”). * Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac an Oighre (“son of the heir”), from oighre (“heir, inheritor”). * Anglicized form of Scottish…
    How common is the surname McNair?
    16,595 people in the United States had the surname McNair in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,605 Americans. It ranked 2,191st of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname McNair?
    In the 2010 Census, 55% of people named McNair identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 40% as white (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named McNair?
    Ronald McNair, American physicist, astronaut (1950-1986), followed by Barbara McNair.
    Where is the surname McNair most common?
    Wikidata records people named McNair in the United States.
    What type of surname is McNair?
    McNair is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname McNair getting more or less common?
    More common. 15,299 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,595 in 2010, up 8.5%.