How common is the surname McNamara?

26,534 people in the United States had the surname McNamara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,636 Americans. It ranked 1,329th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname McNamara?

In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named McNamara identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named McNamara?

Robert McNamara, American businessman and Secretary of Defense (1916-2009), followed by Katherine McNamara.

Where is the surname McNamara most common?

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

How do you pronounce McNamara?

McNamara is /mæknəˈmærə/, 4 syllables.

Is the surname McNamara getting more or less common?

More common. 25,896 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 26,534 in 2010, up 2.5%.

The surname McNamara

An Irish surname, carried by 26,534 people in the United States.

Pronounced /mæknəˈmærə/ 4 syllables Soundex M255

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McNamara is more common than 99.2% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

From Irish Mac Conmara.

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 26,534 people named McNamara in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 11,636 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 25,896.

#1,329

rank among US surnames

26,534

people in 2010

9.0

per 100,000 Americans

+2.5%

change since 2000 (was #1,245)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,320	Downey	26,627	11,595
#1,321	Varela	26,621	11,598
#1,322	Harden	26,617	11,600
#1,323	Couch	26,615	11,600
#1,324	Dickinson	26,607	11,604
#1,325	Cassidy	26,590	11,611
#1,326	Rucker	26,581	11,615

Who is named McNamara

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

95% of people named McNamara identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.2% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.2%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McNamaras

15 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Robert McNamara
American businessman and Secretary of Defense (1916-2009)
Katherine McNamara
American actress (born 1995)
Maggie McNamara
American actress (1928-1978)
William McNamara
American film actor, born 1965
Peter McNamara
Australian tennis player (1955-2019)
Julianne McNamara
American artistic gymnast and actress (born 1965)
Sean McNamara
American film director, born 1962
Brian McNamara
American actor, born 1960
Tony McNamara
Australian screenwriter and film director (born 1967)
Reggie McNamara
Australian racing cyclist (1888-1971)
Michelle McNamara
American writer (1970-2016)
Patrick V. McNamara
American politician (1894-1966)

Notable McNamaras come mostly from the United States (13) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Macnamara

Surnames that sound like McNamara

McNamee

McNamara has the Soundex code M255, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M255.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname McNamara come from?: From Irish Mac Conmara.
How common is the surname McNamara?: 26,534 people in the United States had the surname McNamara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,636 Americans. It ranked 1,329th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McNamara?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named McNamara identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named McNamara?: Robert McNamara, American businessman and Secretary of Defense (1916-2009), followed by Katherine McNamara.
Where is the surname McNamara most common?: Wikidata records people named McNamara in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce McNamara?: McNamara is /mæknəˈmærə/, 4 syllables.
Is the surname McNamara getting more or less common?: More common. 25,896 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 26,534 in 2010, up 2.5%.
What are other spellings of McNamara?: Macnamara.