NameCensus.

UK surname

Macqueen

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Shuibhne," meaning "son of an important person or chieftain."

In the 1881 census there were 430 people recorded with the Macqueen surname, ranking it #7,569 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 881, ranked #6,398, up from #7,569 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Edinburgh and St John Hackney. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Skye North West, Rothesay Town and Bute.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Macqueen is 896 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 104.9%.

1881 census count

430

Ranked #7,569

Modern count

881

2016, ranked #6,398

Peak year

2014

896 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Macqueen had 430 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,569 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 881 in 2016, ranked #6,398.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 594 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Macqueen surname distribution map

The map shows where the Macqueen surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Macqueen surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Macqueen over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 289 #7,860
1861 historical 337 #7,564
1881 historical 430 #7,569
1891 historical 432 #8,311
1901 historical 594 #7,127
1911 historical 242 #13,193
1997 modern 724 #7,055
1998 modern 774 #6,938
1999 modern 773 #6,977
2000 modern 804 #6,741
2001 modern 778 #6,788
2002 modern 787 #6,866
2003 modern 774 #6,840
2004 modern 768 #6,898
2005 modern 776 #6,764
2006 modern 765 #6,876
2007 modern 793 #6,741
2008 modern 814 #6,647
2009 modern 818 #6,752
2010 modern 851 #6,683
2011 modern 837 #6,694
2012 modern 849 #6,531
2013 modern 868 #6,531
2014 modern 896 #6,394
2015 modern 879 #6,423
2016 modern 881 #6,398

Geography

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Where Macqueens are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Edinburgh, St John Hackney, Kilmuir and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Skye North West, Rothesay Town, Bute, Skye North East and Harris. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 3
2 Edinburgh Edinburgh
3 St John Hackney London (North Districts)
4 Kilmuir Inverness
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Skye North West Highland
2 Rothesay Town Argyll and Bute
3 Bute Argyll and Bute
4 Skye North East Highland
5 Harris Na h-Eileanan Siar

Forenames

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First names often paired with Macqueen

These lists show first names that appear often with the Macqueen surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Macqueen

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Macqueen, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Macqueen surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Macqueen household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Macqueen is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Macqueen is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Macqueen falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Macqueen is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Macqueen, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Macqueen

The surname MACQUEEN has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "cuinn" meaning "brown" or "handsome." The name was originally used to refer to the descendants of a person with these characteristics.

The earliest recorded instances of the MACQUEEN surname can be found in Scottish records from the late 13th and early 14th centuries. It is believed to have originated in the Argyll region of western Scotland, where the name was particularly prevalent.

One of the earliest known bearers of the MACQUEEN name was Sir John MacQueen, who was a Scottish knight and landowner in the 14th century. He is mentioned in several historical records from that time period.

In the 16th century, the MACQUEEN name appears in the records of the Scottish Parliament, with a member named Donald MacQueen representing the county of Argyll in 1567.

Another notable figure bearing the MACQUEEN surname was Robert MacQueen, a Scottish writer and historian who lived from 1722 to 1799. He is best known for his work "The Present State of the Soil, Cultivation and Vegetable Productions of the County of Argyll," published in 1785.

During the 18th century, the MACQUEEN surname also gained prominence in the field of medicine. Dr. James MacQueen (1734-1803) was a respected Scottish physician and author who wrote several influential medical texts.

In more recent times, the MACQUEEN name has been associated with various fields, including literature and politics. One notable example is Hector MacQueen, a Scottish author and academic who was born in 1943 and has written extensively on legal and literary topics.

While the MACQUEEN surname has its roots in Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, where descendants of Scottish immigrants have carried on the name.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Macqueen families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Macqueen surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Inverness-shire leads with 86 Macqueens recorded in 1881 and an index of 85.08x.

County Total Index
Inverness-shire 86 85.08x
Middlesex 69 2.04x
Lanarkshire 24 2.19x
Midlothian 23 5.07x
Ross-shire 17 18.29x
Morayshire 16 30.42x
Aberdeenshire 15 4.79x
Montgomeryshire 12 15.47x
Surrey 11 0.67x
Oxfordshire 8 3.83x
Dumfriesshire 7 9.36x
Kirkcudbrightshire 7 14.29x
Cumberland 6 2.06x
Kent 6 0.52x
Argyllshire 5 5.31x
Perthshire 5 3.29x
Angus 4 1.28x
Lancashire 4 0.10x
Banffshire 2 2.85x
Nairnshire 2 19.36x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.44x
Stirlingshire 2 1.60x
Warwickshire 2 0.23x
Berwickshire 1 2.44x
Buteshire 1 4.88x
Cardiganshire 1 1.21x
Essex 1 0.15x
Fife 1 0.50x
Hampshire 1 0.14x
Norfolk 1 0.19x
Roxburghshire 1 1.63x
Suffolk 1 0.24x
West Lothian 1 1.96x
Wiltshire 1 0.33x
Worcestershire 1 0.23x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Kilmuir in Inverness-shire leads with 26 Macqueens recorded in 1881 and an index of 875.42x.

Place Total Index
Kilmuir 26 875.42x
Hackney London 17 8.96x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 14 7.67x
Portree 13 347.59x
Cromdale 12 283.69x
Pool 12 205.13x
Aberdeen Old Machar 11 16.81x
South Uist 11 156.03x
Barony 10 3.61x
Inverness 9 35.41x
Henley On Thames 8 186.92x
Glasgow 7 3.60x
Islington London 7 2.13x
Kelton 7 174.13x
St Pancras London 7 2.57x
Hammersmith London 6 7.20x
Hampstead London 6 11.38x
Hornsey 6 14.02x
Lochs 6 81.08x
Newington 6 4.80x
North Uist 6 151.90x
St Bees 6 444.44x
Clerkenwell London 5 6.26x
Harris 5 98.43x
Knockbain 5 230.41x
Tibbermore 5 229.36x
Duddingston 4 43.96x
Govan 4 1.48x
Petty 4 225.99x
Tottenham 4 7.42x
Bracadale 3 272.73x
Dryfesdale 3 86.96x
Knockando 3 140.19x
Snizort 3 119.05x
St Marylebone London 3 1.66x
Tonbridge 3 7.20x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 2 3.41x
Annan 2 31.15x
Ardclach 2 153.85x
Ardnamurchan 2 41.84x
Birmingham 2 0.70x
Campsie 2 29.20x
Clapham 2 4.73x
Dalziel 2 16.98x
Daviot Dunlichity 2 137.93x
Dores 2 148.15x
Kensington London 2 1.06x
Kettins 2 190.48x
Knapdale South 2 61.73x
Little Bolton 2 3.87x
Lochalsh 2 83.68x
Milton In Gravesend 2 11.55x
Nottingham St Nicholas 2 32.21x
Paddington London 2 1.61x
Rosskeen 2 45.77x
St Andrew Holborn 2 17.44x
Bobbingworth 1 285.71x
Boyndie 1 42.92x
Croydon 1 1.09x
Dyke 1 69.44x
Edinburgh Buccleuch 1 9.32x
Edinburgh Greenside 1 16.69x
Edinburgh Greenside S 1 60.98x
Fodderty 1 42.55x
Fordyce 1 19.80x
Glenorchy Inishail 1 91.74x
Lambeth 1 0.34x
Linlithgow 1 15.29x
Margate St John Baptist 1 4.73x
Rothesay 1 10.07x
Scoonie 1 23.04x
Shanklin 1 48.31x
Shettleston 1 10.20x
Stoke Newington London 1 3.79x
Strathmartine 1 71.94x
Stratton St Margaret 1 21.79x
Trumisgarry 1 98.04x
Turriff 1 19.76x
Tynron 1 204.08x
Woodbridge 1 18.98x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Macqueen surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Macqueen surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

FAQ

Macqueen surname: questions and answers

How common was the Macqueen surname in 1881?

In 1881, 430 people were recorded with the Macqueen surname. That placed it at #7,569 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Macqueen surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 881 in 2016. That gives Macqueen a modern rank of #6,398.

What does the Macqueen surname mean?

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Shuibhne," meaning "son of an important person or chieftain."

What does the Macqueen map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Macqueen bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.