# Metcalf (surname)

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

A Northern English surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 23,946 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,494 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,893 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.7% (23,540 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Medcalf, Medcalfe, Metcalfe, Mitcalfe |

## Etymology

Possibly from Old English *metecealf (“meat calf”), a calf to be fattened up for eating. The use as a surname could have started off as a jocular nickname for an individual thought to be as "fat as a prize-calf"; or else in reference to the occupation involved in fattening up such a calf.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Metcalf 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) | 87% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

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

## People named Metcalf

- Laurie Metcalf, American actress (born 1955)
- Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger, astronaut
- Joel Hastings Metcalf, American astronomer (1866-1925)
- Willard Metcalf, American artist (1858-1925)
- Mark Metcalf, American actor
- Harriet Metcalf, American rower
- DK Metcalf, American football player (born 1997)
- Lee Metcalf, American politician (1911-1978)
- Victor H. Metcalf, American politician (1853-1936)
- Barbara D. Metcalf, American historian
- Jesse H. Metcalf, American politician (1860–1942)
- Donald Metcalf, Australian medical researcher (1929–2014)

## Similar surnames

Metcalfe, Medcalf, Mitchell, Metzler, Mitchel, Mutchler, Mitzel, Midgley, Mutschler, Modzelewski.

## 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.