The McAfee surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,371 people carried this name — #2,898 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 23,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 11,855 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McAfee surname

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Dhuibhshíthe (“son of Dhuibhshít”), a personal name composed of dubh (“black”) + síth (“peace”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McAfee» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 11 births for the McAfee name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 3 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 11

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

18 families named McAfee, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 118 people lived in those households, 6.6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McAfee, McAffee, McEfee. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 9
North Carolina 5
South Carolina 2
New York 1
Maryland 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 251 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McAfee in American newspapers,
1896–1921.

Newspaper page from St. Tammany Farmer carrying the name McAfee
St. Tammany Farmer 1921-07-16
Newspaper page from The Eagle carrying the name McAfee
The Eagle 1896-11-11
Newspaper page from The Brandon News carrying the name McAfee
The Brandon News 1910-02-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 41,091 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McAfee in Australian newspapers,
1880s–1980s.

1,449 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McAfee. The most, 504, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 4.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 995
Queensland 203
New South Wales 118
Western Australia 43
South Australia 33
Tasmania 33
ACT (Canberra) 12

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McAfee.

Who carried it

People named McAfee,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert B. McAfee
    Robert B. McAfee 1784–1849 · politician
  • George McAfee
    George McAfee 1918–2009 · American football player
  • John McAfee 1945–2021 · programmer
  • Cleland Boyd McAfee 1866–1944 · theologian
  • Leroy McAfee 1837–1873 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McAfee,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States898 records

898 records of the McAfee name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 428
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 189
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 119
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 61
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 50
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 14
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 6
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Clyde Richard McAfee

    Born 1942; from San Diego, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Wilford F. McAfee

    Born 1911 in California. Enlisted 1942 at San Francisco; trained nurse from Alameda County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary McAfee

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1850 aboard the Mary Pleasants from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 898 records for McAfee in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia66 records

66 records of the McAfee name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 24
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 20
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 12
  • Tasmanian Names Index 10
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Chas J. McAfee

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Garonne, aged 36; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Daniel McAfee

    Retired orchardist of Pakenham, Victoria; died 1989.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William James McAfee

    Died 1911 in Rifle Range, Sandy Bay, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 66 records for McAfee in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada21 records

21 records of the McAfee name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 10
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Thomas James McAfee

    Buried in 1989 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Emma McAfee

    Died 1941 in Eureka Mun, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Harold McAfee

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 21 records for McAfee in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the McAfee name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. McAfee

    Army Cyclist Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McAfee.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McAfee is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the McAfee volume
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