The McCluskey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,301 people carried this name — #5,518 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,700 people counted. That is up 4% from 6,050 in 2000.

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In Scotland’s registers today

McCluskey was recorded 53 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 492nd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 82. 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

24 families named McCluskey, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 124 people lived in those households, 5.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 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
South Carolina 7
North Carolina 2
New York 1
Maryland 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

McCluskey in American newspapers,
1873–1924.

Newspaper page from The Daily Ardmoreite carrying the name McCluskey
The Daily Ardmoreite 1909-11-30
Newspaper page from Montgomery County Sentinel carrying the name McCluskey
Montgomery County Sentinel 1873-08-15
Newspaper page from The Coconino Sun carrying the name McCluskey
The Coconino Sun 1924-10-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

McCluskey in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

3,664 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCluskey. The most, 1,310, 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 3.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 1,113
Victoria 934
Queensland 695
New South Wales 638
Tasmania 160
ACT (Canberra) 49
South Australia 32
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named McCluskey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joe McCluskey 1911–2002 · athletics competitor
  • Edward J. McCluskey 1929–2016 · university teacher
  • Roger McCluskey 1930–1993 · racing automobile driver
  • Jim McCluskey 1950–2013 · association football player
  • Angela McCluskey 1960–2024 · musician
  • John McCluskey 1944–2015 · boxer

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named McCluskey,
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 States1,115 records

1,115 records of the McCluskey name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 279
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 259
  • Other U.S. records 577
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Patrick Charles McCluskey

    Born 1945; from Minneapolis, Minnesota. U.S. Marine Corps, radio telegraph operator; killed in action 1966 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    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 John T. McCluskey

    Born 1904 in Wisconsin. Enlisted 1942 at Milwaukee; lineman from Chippewa County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1977, buried at Wood National Cemetery, Wisconsin.

    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 Michael McCluskey

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Anchoria from Glasgow and Moville, aged 19; laborer. From Derry, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,115 records for McCluskey in the United States.

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

Australia263 records

263 records of the McCluskey name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 106
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 72
  • Other Australian records 85
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joseph James McCluskey

    Married 1872 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 33. Died 1896 in Spring Bay, Tasmania, aged 56. Will registered in Tasmania in 1896.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Bryan McCluskey

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Guildford, arriving 1816; certificate of freedom 1829.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph McCluskey

    Arrived in Queensland in 1911 aboard the Oswestry Grange, aged 35.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 263 records for McCluskey 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); 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).

Canada32 records

32 records of the McCluskey name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 11
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • Other Canadian records 11
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Agnes McCluskey

    Died 1969, aged 41; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Charles F. McCluskey

    Died 1962 in Hubbards, 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 Harvey Pearson McCluskey

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 32 records for McCluskey in Canada.

Counts: 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. · 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · 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); 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 Kingdom22 records

22 records of the McCluskey name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 12
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 10
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ellen McCluskey

    Buried in 1923 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 21.

    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. McCluskey

    West Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John McCluskey

    Died 1996, aged 72; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 22 records for McCluskey 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). 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 Zealand8 records

8 records of the McCluskey 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 John McCluskey

    Died 1917, aged 35; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Winston Gower McCluskey

    Died 1989, aged 57; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William McCluskey

    Died 1936, aged 96; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for McCluskey in New Zealand.

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 McCluskey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCluskey 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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