The McCallum surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,229 people carried this name — #3,495 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,800 people counted. That is up 3% from 9,897 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McCallum surname

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Caluim (“son of Calum”).

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

In the Nordic population registers

23 people named McCallum is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 23

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland, 1880s

McCallum was 27 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 370. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Argyllshire and Perthshire.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 591 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

McCallum was recorded 166 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 135th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 311. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McCallum was counted together with McCollum: 66 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 365 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCollum, McAllum, McCallam, McCallum, McCollam, McCollom, McCollums, McColm, McColom, McCullum. 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

North Carolina 28
New York 14
South Carolina 9
Maryland 4
Pennsylvania 3
New Hampshire 2
Vermont 2
Virginia 2
Maine 1
Connecticut 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. 252 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McCallum in American newspapers,
1909–1924.

Newspaper page from Southern Christian Advocate carrying the name McCallum
Southern Christian Advocate 1924-01-10
Newspaper page from The Point Pleasant Register carrying the name McCallum
The Point Pleasant Register 1909-12-01
Newspaper page from Grand Forks Daily Herald carrying the name McCallum
Grand Forks Daily Herald 1915-07-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 40,779 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCallum in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2010s.

69,702 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCallum. The most, 19,321, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 4.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 25,532
New South Wales 14,518
South Australia 12,105
Victoria 9,071
Queensland 7,026
Tasmania 850
ACT (Canberra) 475
Northern Territory 27

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

Who carried it

People named McCallum,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mike McCallum
    Mike McCallum 1956–2025 · boxer
  • John McCallum
    John McCallum 1950–2025 · university teacher
  • Daniel McCallum
    Daniel McCallum 1815–1878 · civil engineer
  • David McCallum 1933–2023 · film actor

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

In the public record

People named McCallum,
in the records of 5 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 States1,353 records

1,353 records of the McCallum name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 341
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 329
  • Other U.S. records 683
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold W. McCallum

    Born 1919 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Dallas; sales clerk from Dallas County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Restland Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Devonia from Glasgow, aged 32; servant. From Edinbro, Scotland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Peter John McCallum

    Born 1948; from Passaic, New Jersey. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Binh Long, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,353 records for McCallum in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia2,238 records

2,238 records of the McCallum name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,105
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 544
  • Other Australian records 589
  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 Mary McCallum

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cadet, sailing from Plymouth in 1848. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Launceston, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Hugh McCallum

    Died 1924 in Fentonbury, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1924.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Melanope, aged 2; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,238 records for McCallum in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada863 records

863 records of the McCallum name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 613
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 66
  • Other Canadian records 184
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Harry Alliston McCallum

    Killed in 1992 at the Stellarton, Westray Mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John McCallum

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Manitoban, landing at Quebec, bound for King, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Arnold Bruce McCallum

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 78.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 863 records for McCallum in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom340 records

340 records of the McCallum name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 307
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 26
  • Other British records 7
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Donald Bawn McCallum

    Born 1888 at Chicago; railway pointsman. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hugh McCallum

    Died 1952, aged 73; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Walter McCallum

    Will proved in 1937; of Hyde, Chester.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 340 records for McCallum in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). 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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand109 records

109 records of the McCallum name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 59
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 43
  • Other New Zealand records 7
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Archibald Francis McCallum

    Died 1918, aged 24; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Duncan McCallum

    Died 1897, aged 60; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Ewen John McCallum

    Born 1936, died 1987; ashes interred at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 109 records for McCallum in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCallum.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCallum 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.

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