NameCensus.

UK surname

Mcwilliam

A Scottish surname derived from the personal name William or the Norman French Willaume.

In the 1881 census there were 1,798 people recorded with the Mcwilliam surname, ranking it #2,417 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,549, ranked #2,598, down from #2,417 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, Boharm and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Keith and Fife Keith, Kirkcudbright and Huntly.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Mcwilliam is 2,621 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 41.8%.

1881 census count

1,798

Ranked #2,417

Modern count

2,549

2016, ranked #2,598

Peak year

2002

2,621 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Mcwilliam had 1,798 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,417 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,549 in 2016, ranked #2,598.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,197 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Mcwilliam surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Mcwilliam surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Mcwilliam 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 1,387 #2,063
1861 historical 1,404 #2,039
1881 historical 1,798 #2,417
1891 historical 1,886 #2,435
1901 historical 2,197 #2,457
1911 historical 558 #7,202
1997 modern 2,440 #2,579
1998 modern 2,536 #2,577
1999 modern 2,579 #2,549
2000 modern 2,551 #2,571
2001 modern 2,499 #2,564
2002 modern 2,621 #2,516
2003 modern 2,556 #2,509
2004 modern 2,530 #2,543
2005 modern 2,507 #2,532
2006 modern 2,472 #2,568
2007 modern 2,504 #2,564
2008 modern 2,531 #2,561
2009 modern 2,527 #2,619
2010 modern 2,549 #2,654
2011 modern 2,530 #2,645
2012 modern 2,472 #2,649
2013 modern 2,504 #2,658
2014 modern 2,561 #2,625
2015 modern 2,542 #2,614
2016 modern 2,549 #2,598

Geography

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Where Mcwilliams are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, Boharm, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Old Machar and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Keith and Fife Keith, Kirkcudbright, Huntly, South Speyside and the Cabrach and Rural Keith and Strathisla. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Govan Combination Lanark
2 Boharm Banff
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Aberdeen and Old Machar Aberdeen
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Keith and Fife Keith Moray
2 Kirkcudbright Dumfries and Galloway
3 Huntly Aberdeenshire
4 South Speyside and the Cabrach Moray
5 Rural Keith and Strathisla Moray

Forenames

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First names often paired with Mcwilliam

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Mcwilliam

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

European Enclaves

Within London, Mcwilliam is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Mcwilliam 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

Mcwilliam falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Mcwilliam 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 Mcwilliam, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Mcwilliam

The surname McWilliam has its origins in Scotland, and it is a Scottish patronymic name derived from the personal name William. The prefix "Mc" is a Scottish Gaelic form of the word "son," indicating that the name literally means "son of William."

The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it is believed to have originated in the Scottish Highlands. It is possible that some of the earliest bearers of the name were descendants of William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066 and whose descendants settled in Scotland.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name McWilliam can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of homage rolls recording the names of Scottish nobles and landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England during the Scottish Wars of Independence.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the McWilliam name was particularly prominent in the Scottish counties of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Renfrewshire. Notable figures from this time period include John McWilliam (c. 1550-1630), a Scottish minister and author, and Robert McWilliam (c. 1590-1662), a Scottish merchant and landowner.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, many McWilliams emigrated from Scotland to other parts of the British Empire, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand. One notable McWilliam from this period was William McWilliam (1795-1869), a Scottish-born Canadian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.

Other notable individuals with the surname McWilliam include James McWilliam (1808-1875), a Scottish-born Australian explorer and surveyor; William McWilliam (1833-1907), a Scottish-born Australian politician and businessman; and Sir James McWilliam (1870-1953), a Scottish-born Australian businessman and philanthropist.

The McWilliam name has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as McWilliam's Glen in Ayrshire and McWilliam's Muir in Lanarkshire, reflecting the historical presence and influence of the family in these regions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Mcwilliam families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Mcwilliam 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 48 Mcwilliams recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.39x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 48 5.39x
Derbyshire 7 5.95x
Cheshire 4 2.41x
Cumberland 4 6.19x
Yorkshire 4 0.54x
Gloucestershire 2 1.36x
Northumberland 2 1.79x
Channel Islands 1 4.49x
Essex 1 0.67x
Hampshire 1 0.65x
Kent 1 0.39x
Monmouthshire 1 1.84x
Renfrewshire 1 1.72x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bootle Cum Linacre in Lancashire leads with 16 Mcwilliams recorded in 1881 and an index of 225.99x.

Place Total Index
Bootle Cum Linacre 16 225.99x
Liverpool 12 22.17x
Hulme 8 42.99x
Glossop Dale 7 127.04x
Toxteth Park 6 19.88x
Macclesfield 4 54.27x
Kirkdale 3 20.01x
Swillington 3 1428.57x
Whitehaven 3 86.96x
Barrow In Furness 2 16.50x
Newent 2 266.67x
Westgate 2 28.90x
Alverstoke 1 17.95x
Christchurch 1 59.52x
Cleator 1 37.17x
Deptford St Paul 1 5.06x
Huddersfield 1 9.23x
Inverkip 1 72.99x
St Martin 1 73.53x
Wanstead 1 38.46x
West Derby 1 3.84x

Top female names

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

Name Count
James 6
John 6
William 4
Alexander 3
Robert 3
George 2
A. 1
Adam 1
Alfred 1
Archd. 1
Bernard 1
Duncan 1
Jas. 1
Matthew 1
Norman 1
Patrick 1
Stewart 1
Sturrock 1
Thomas 1

FAQ

Mcwilliam surname: questions and answers

How common was the Mcwilliam surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,798 people were recorded with the Mcwilliam surname. That placed it at #2,417 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Mcwilliam surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,549 in 2016. That gives Mcwilliam a modern rank of #2,598.

What does the Mcwilliam surname mean?

A Scottish surname derived from the personal name William or the Norman French Willaume.

What does the Mcwilliam map show?

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