How common is the surname McRae?

18,156 people in the United States had the surname McRae in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,005 Americans. It ranked 1,987th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named McRae?

Carmen McRae, American jazz musician and actress (1922-1994), followed by Frank McRae.

Where is the surname McRae most common?

Wikidata records people named McRae in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname McRae getting more or less common?

More common. 17,203 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,156 in 2010, up 5.5%.

The surname McRae

A Scottish Gaelic patronymic surname, carried by 18,156 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex M260

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McRae is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Raith (“son of grace”), from mac + rath. Compare the Irish form McGrath.

McRae 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 18,156 people named McRae in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,005 Americans. That is up 5.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 17,203.

#1,987

rank among US surnames

18,156

people in 2010

6.2

per 100,000 Americans

+5.5%

change since 2000 (was #1,920)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,978	Oh	18,285	16,885
#1,979	Keyes	18,252	16,916
#1,980	Dill	18,215	16,950
#1,981	Humphries	18,201	16,963
#1,982	Youngblood	18,197	16,967
#1,983	Capps	18,194	16,970
#1,984	Cates	18,190	16,973

Who is named McRae

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

53% of people named McRae identified as white (not Hispanic), 41% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 53%
Black (not Hispanic) 41%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McRaes

13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Carmen McRae
American jazz musician and actress (1922-1994)
Frank McRae
American actor (1944–2021)
Jordan McRae
American basketball player (born 1991)
James McRae
Australian rower, born 1987
Shane McRae
American actor, born 1977
Lee McRae
American sprinter, born 1966
John J. McRae
American politician (1815-1868)
Hilton McRae
British actor, born 1949
Mo McRae
American actor, born 1982
Conrad McRae
American basketball player (1971-2000)
Chann McRae
American racing cyclist, born 1971
Khaleb McRae
American sprinter, born 2000

Notable McRaes come mostly from the United States (11), Australia (1) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like McRae

McRae has the Soundex code M260, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M260.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname McRae come from?: Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Raith (“son of grace”), from mac + rath. Compare the Irish form McGrath.
How common is the surname McRae?: 18,156 people in the United States had the surname McRae in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,005 Americans. It ranked 1,987th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McRae?: In the 2010 Census, 53% of people named McRae identified as white (not Hispanic), and 41% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named McRae?: Carmen McRae, American jazz musician and actress (1922-1994), followed by Frank McRae.
Where is the surname McRae most common?: Wikidata records people named McRae in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is McRae?: McRae is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname McRae getting more or less common?: More common. 17,203 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,156 in 2010, up 5.5%.