The McClain surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 48,165 people carried this name — #722 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,120 people counted. That is up 6% from 45,560 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McClain was counted together with McLean: 278 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,543 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McLean, McClaen, McClain, Mcclain, McClaine, McClane, McClean, McClene, Maclain, McLain, Mclain, McLaine, McLane, Mclane, McLean, Mclean, McLeane, McLeain, McLene. 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 89
North Carolina 83
New York 31
Maryland 21
South Carolina 15
Virginia 14
Massachusetts 10
Connecticut 5
Maine 4
Vermont 3
Rhode Island 2
New Hampshire 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. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McClain in American newspapers,
1911–1920.

Newspaper page from The Freeman carrying the name McClain
The Freeman 1911-09-09
Newspaper page from The Freeman carrying the name McClain
The Freeman 1912-06-01
Newspaper page from Great Falls Daily Tribune carrying the name McClain
Great Falls Daily Tribune 1920-12-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 55,185 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McClain in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1950s.

187 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McClain. The most, 100, date from the 1900s. 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 South Australia, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 70
South Australia 48
Western Australia 23
Queensland 21
Victoria 18
ACT (Canberra) 4
Tasmania 2

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

In the public record

People named McClain,
in the records of 3 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 States2,664 records

2,664 records of the McClain name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,536
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 687
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 235
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 77
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 67
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 37
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 14
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard Larry McClain

    Born 1948; from Toms River, New Jersey. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Duc, South Vietnam. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    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 George F. McClain

    Born 1923 in Michigan. Enlisted 1942 at Detroit; machine shop worker from Wayne County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Roseville, Michigan.

    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 Arthur McClain

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the State of Nebraska from Glasgow and Moville, aged 38; merchant. From Belfast, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 2,664 records for McClain 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). 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).

Canada14 records

14 records of the McClain name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 10
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Dorothy Kathleen McClain

    Buried in 2000 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 57.

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

    Died in service in 1919.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Francis McClain

    Listed at Londonderry, Colchester, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1793.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 14 records for McClain in Canada.

Counts: 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. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia8 records

8 records of the McClain name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm McClain

    Arrived in Victoria in 1911 aboard the Argyllshire, aged 26.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record James McClain

    Left Launceston in 1854 aboard the Lady Bird, bound for Geelong.

    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 George McClain

    Arrived in Victoria in 1877 aboard the Whampoa, aged 48.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for McClain in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McClain.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McClain 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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