The McCain surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,032 people carried this name — #1,888 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,500 people counted. That is up 6% from 17,933 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McCain surname

From the Irish variant of McKean.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

32 families named McCain, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 167 people lived in those households, 5.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. 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 13
North Carolina 11
South Carolina 6
Connecticut 1
New York 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

McCain in American newspapers,
1913–1918.

Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name McCain
Evening Star 1914-10-25
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name McCain
The Washington Times 1913-03-08
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name McCain
Evening Star 1918-09-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 59,720 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCain in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

740 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCain. The most, 155, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 188
Victoria 164
South Australia 119
Western Australia 112
Queensland 98
Tasmania 32
ACT (Canberra) 14
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named McCain,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John McCain
    John McCain 1936–2018 · soldier
  • John S. McCain, Jr.
    John S. McCain, Jr. 1911–1981 · submariner
  • Roberta McCain
    Roberta McCain 1912–2020 · socialite
  • John S. McCain, Sr.
    John S. McCain, Sr. 1884–1945 · military officer
  • Jerry McCain 1930–2012 · musician

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

In the public record

People named McCain,
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 States1,023 records

1,023 records of the McCain name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 576
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 250
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 77
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 53
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 30
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 21
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record George E. McCain

    Born 1919 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Bragg; farm hand from Guilford County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1967, buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert L. McCain

    Born 1930; from Baltimore City, Maryland. U.S. Army, field wireman; killed in action 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget McCain

    Arrived at New York in 1867 aboard the Albert Gallatin from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 1,023 records for McCain in the United States.

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

Australia43 records

43 records of the McCain name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 29
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John McCain

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Orator, sailing from Dublin in 1843. Native of Meath.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John McCain

    Arrived in Victoria in 1861 aboard the Friends, aged 24; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Victoria M. McCain

    Gentlewoman of St Kilda, Victoria; died 1922.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 43 records for McCain 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); 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).

Canada10 records

10 records of the McCain name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 4
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lillian May McCain

    Buried in 1958 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 83.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Lillian May McCain

    Died 1958 in Halifax, 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 Nelson McCain

    Died in service in 1916.

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

Showing 3 of 10 records for McCain in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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 Kingdom2 records

2 records of the McCain name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Peter McCain

    Buried in 1919 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 75.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. McCain

    Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); 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 McCain.

When the index is not enough

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

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