# McPhail (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 5,333 |
| US rank (2010) | 6,381 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 57,893 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.8% (5,091 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Fyall |

## Etymology

Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic Mac Phàil and Irish Mac Phóil, both meaning "son of Paul".

## Who carries it

Share of people named McPhail 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) | 79% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 16% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named McPhail in the United States.

## People named McPhail

- Addie McPhail, American actress (1905-2003)

## Similar surnames

McPhaul, McPhillips, McFall, Maxfield, McFalls, McFaul, McFeely, McEvilly.

## 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.