The McCarter surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,849 people carried this name — #3,605 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,900 people counted. That is up 6% from 9,262 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McCarter surname

Variant of McArthur.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McCarter» (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 9 births for the McCarter name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Londonderry.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 9

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

27 families named McCarter, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 141 people lived in those households, 5.2 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCarter, Mcarter, McCartor, McKarter. 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

South Carolina 7
Pennsylvania 4
Maryland 3
Virginia 3
Vermont 2
Massachusetts 2
New York 2
Maine 1
New Hampshire 1
Connecticut 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

McCarter in American newspapers,
1891–1928.

Newspaper page from Burlington Weekly Free Press carrying the name McCarter
Burlington Weekly Free Press 1911-07-13
Newspaper page from The Helena Independent carrying the name McCarter
The Helena Independent 1891-03-09
Newspaper page from The Independent carrying the name McCarter
The Independent 1928-09-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 27,852 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCarter in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

1,511 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCarter. The most, 590, 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 South Australia, at 2.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 433
Victoria 383
New South Wales 353
Western Australia 271
Queensland 51
ACT (Canberra) 7
Tasmania 7

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

Who carried it

People named McCarter,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Willie McCarter
    Willie McCarter 1946–2023 · basketball coach
  • Margaret Hill McCarter
    Margaret Hill McCarter 1890–1938 · novelist
  • Robert H. McCarter
    Robert H. McCarter 1859–1941 · lawyer
  • Thomas N. McCarter
    Thomas N. McCarter 1867–1955 · politician
  • James W. McCarter
    James W. McCarter 1872–1939 · lawyer
  • Brooke McCarter 1963–2015 · television actor

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

In the public record

People named McCarter,
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 States699 records

699 records of the McCarter name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 336
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 113
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 113
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 68
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 32
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 17
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 15
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold G. McCarter

    Born 1906 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; bartender. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1975, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 James W. McCarter

    Born 1940; from New Orleans, Louisiana. U.S. Marine Corps, infantry officer; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    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 Elizabeth McCarter

    Arrived at New York in 1867 aboard the Alex Marshall from Liverpool, aged 19; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 699 records for McCarter in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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, 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).

Australia106 records

106 records of the McCarter name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 48
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 36
  • Tasmanian Names Index 9
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 7
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  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 William McCarter

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Bangalore, sailing from Bermuda in 1848. Native of Renfrewshire.

    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 Robt McCarter

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the South Carolina, aged 30; English.

    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 Leslie Thomas McCarter

    Retired of Cranbourne, Victoria; died 1980.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 106 records for McCarter 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). 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).

Canada23 records

23 records of the McCarter name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 7
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Douglas McCarter

    Buried in 1987 at Lundys Lane Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

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

    Died 1868 in Pine Tree Gut, 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 Douglas Sherwood McCarter

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 23 records for McCarter 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · 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 Kingdom3 records

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

    Buried in 1908 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 82.

    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 H. McCarter

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

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. A. McCarter

    Lieutenant. 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) · 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).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the McCarter name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth McCarter

    Died 1901, aged 58; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCarter.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCarter 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 McCarter volume
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