NameCensus.

UK surname

Mccartan

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic surname "Mac Artáin" meaning "son of Artán".

In the 1881 census there were 45 people recorded with the Mccartan surname, ranking it #27,314 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 468, ranked #10,507, up from #27,314 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Millom, Muncaster, Wigan and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Barrow-in-Furness, Craven and Wirral.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Mccartan is 490 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 940.0%.

1881 census count

45

Ranked #27,314

Modern count

468

2016, ranked #10,507

Peak year

2014

490 bearers

Map years

5

1901 to 2016

Key insights

  • Mccartan had 45 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #27,314 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 468 in 2016, ranked #10,507.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 115 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Mccartan surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Mccartan surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Mccartan 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 24 #29,038
1861 historical 15 #31,942
1881 historical 45 #27,314
1891 historical 71 #27,934
1901 historical 115 #21,050
1911 historical 111 #21,392
1997 modern 420 #10,608
1998 modern 435 #10,678
1999 modern 441 #10,631
2000 modern 415 #11,109
2001 modern 421 #10,789
2002 modern 430 #10,840
2003 modern 425 #10,765
2004 modern 430 #10,697
2005 modern 423 #10,713
2006 modern 432 #10,583
2007 modern 420 #10,943
2008 modern 421 #11,010
2009 modern 436 #10,965
2010 modern 447 #10,966
2011 modern 458 #10,630
2012 modern 455 #10,574
2013 modern 483 #10,287
2014 modern 490 #10,233
2015 modern 481 #10,296
2016 modern 468 #10,507

Geography

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Where Mccartans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Millom, Muncaster, Wigan, Manchester, Glasgow and Bishop Wearmouth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Barrow-in-Furness, Craven, Wirral, Dunoon and Maryhill East. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Millom, Muncaster Cumberland
2 Wigan Lancashire
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Glasgow Lanark
5 Bishop Wearmouth Durham

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Barrow-in-Furness 010 Barrow-in-Furness
2 Craven 006 Craven
3 Wirral 042 Wirral
4 Dunoon Argyll and Bute
5 Maryhill East Glasgow City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Mccartan

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Mccartan

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Mccartan, 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 Mccartan surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Mccartan 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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Mccartan is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Mccartan is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Mccartan falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Mccartan 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 - Irish

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

Meaning and origin of Mccartan

The surname McCartan is of Irish origin, originating in the ancient region of Ulster in the northern part of Ireland. It is believed to have first emerged in the 11th or 12th century.

The name is an Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic name "Mac Artan" or "Mac Artáin", which means "son of Artan". Artan was a personal name derived from the Irish word "art", meaning bear or supernatural being.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention a "Gilla Críst Mac Artáin" who was killed in 1099 during a conflict between rival Irish clans.

In the 13th century, a branch of the McCartan clan established itself in County Down, where they held lands and built castles near the town of Newry. A notable figure from this era was Sir Rory McCartan, who fought alongside King Edward Bruce of Scotland during the Irish campaigns of the Scottish War of Independence in the early 14th century.

Another early record of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, which mention a "Donnchadh Mac Artain" who was a distinguished Irish poet and scholar in the 15th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the McCartans were among the many Irish families who lost their lands during the Plantation of Ulster, a colonial policy implemented by the English Crown to settle Protestant settlers from Great Britain in Ireland. Some McCartans were forced to seek refuge in other parts of Ireland or abroad.

In more recent history, notable individuals with the surname McCartan include:

1. Patrick McCartan (1878-1963), an Irish politician and member of the British Parliament. 2. Eugene McCartan (1916-1996), an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Down county team. 3. Cormac McCartan (born 1983), a contemporary Irish playwright and screenwriter. 4. Margaret McCartan (1926-2015), an Irish-American nun and advocate for social justice. 5. Michael McCartan (born 1956), an Irish-American businessman and former CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Mccartan families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Mccartan 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. Lancashire leads with 7 Mccartans recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.56x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 7 7.56x
Durham 1 4.31x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Toxteth Park in Lancashire leads with 4 Mccartans recorded in 1881 and an index of 127.80x.

Place Total Index
Toxteth Park 4 127.80x
Liverpool 3 53.38x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 1 99.01x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 2
Catherine 1
Sarah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 2
Daniel 1
Edward 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Mccartan households.

FAQ

Mccartan surname: questions and answers

How common was the Mccartan surname in 1881?

In 1881, 45 people were recorded with the Mccartan surname. That placed it at #27,314 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Mccartan surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 468 in 2016. That gives Mccartan a modern rank of #10,507.

What does the Mccartan surname mean?

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic surname "Mac Artáin" meaning "son of Artán".

What does the Mccartan map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Mccartan 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.