The McCandless surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,149 people carried this name — #6,576 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,100 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,110 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McCandless surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Cuindlis (“son of Cuindleas”). Shortened to Candlish in Scotland.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McCandless» (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 7 births for the McCandless name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 2 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 7

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

20 families named McCandless, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 114 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCandless, McCandeless, McCandles, McCandlish, McCanless, McKanless, McKindles. 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
Maryland 3
Virginia 2
New York 1
North Carolina 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

McCandless in American newspapers,
1897–1915.

Newspaper page from The Greenville Times carrying the name McCandless
The Greenville Times 1897-04-17
Newspaper page from Casco Bay Breeze carrying the name McCandless
Casco Bay Breeze 1907-08-29
Newspaper page from Casco Bay Breeze carrying the name McCandless
Casco Bay Breeze 1915-09-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 32,297 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCandless in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1980s.

199 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCandless. The most, 54, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 144
Victoria 22
Queensland 14
South Australia 7
Western Australia 6
ACT (Canberra) 2

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

Who carried it

People named McCandless,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bruce McCandless II
    Bruce McCandless II 1937–2017 · aircraft pilot
  • Al McCandless
    Al McCandless 1927–2017 · politician
  • Bruce McCandless
    Bruce McCandless 1911–1968 · military officer
  • Lincoln Loy McCandless
    Lincoln Loy McCandless 1859–1940 · politician
  • Wilson McCandless
    Wilson McCandless 1810–1882 · politician
  • Christopher McCandless 1968–1992 · diarist

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

In the public record

People named McCandless,
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 States463 records

463 records of the McCandless name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 198
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 80
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 77
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 55
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 29
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 18
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ralph C. McCandless

    Born 1916 in Colorado. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Logan; painter from Denver County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1987, buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Colorado.

    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 Martha McCandless

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the Bolivia from Glasgow and Moville, aged 21; servant. From Derry, Ireland.

    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 Michael David McCandless

    Born 1949; from Columbus, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 463 records for McCandless in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · 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).

Australia39 records

39 records of the McCandless name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 26
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Matilda McCandless

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the Lincolnshire, aged 28; English.

    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 Frederick C. McCandless

    Former railway employee of Prahran, Victoria; died 1945.

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

    Of Grenfell and Australian Imperial Forces, New South Wales; died 1918.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 39 records for McCandless in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (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).

Canada18 records

18 records of the McCandless name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 9
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 5
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Leslie William McCandless

    Buried in 1977 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 66.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John Halley McCandless

    Died 1953; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  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 Thomas McCandless

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 18 records for McCandless in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); 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 McCandless 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 J. McCandless

    Royal Irish Rifles. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 1 of 2 records for McCandless in the United Kingdom.

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).

France1 record

1 record of the McCandless name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Sydney McCandless

    Born 1920 in Great Britain; died 1996 in Calais (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCandless.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCandless 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 McCandless volume
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