The McCool surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,259 people carried this name — #4,856 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,700 people counted. That is up 1% from 7,198 in 2000.

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In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 22 births for the McCool name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Donegal and Tyrone.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 22

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

McCool was recorded 10 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1929th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 11. 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 print

McCool in American newspapers,
1906–1915.

Newspaper page from The Spokane Press carrying the name McCool
The Spokane Press 1906-11-01
Newspaper page from Northern Wyoming Herald And Garland Irrigation Era carrying the name McCool
Northern Wyoming Herald And Garland Irrigation Era 1915-11-26
Newspaper page from The Seattle Star carrying the name McCool
The Seattle Star 1915-08-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,692 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCool in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1990s.

487 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCool. The most, 108, date from the 1920s. 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 Queensland, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 176
Queensland 173
South Australia 62
Victoria 46
Western Australia 23
ACT (Canberra) 3
Tasmania 3

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

Who carried it

People named McCool,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William C. McCool
    William C. McCool 1961–2003 · military flight engineer
  • Colin McCool
    Colin McCool 1916–1986 · cricketer
  • Charles McCool
    Charles McCool 1853–1926 · timber merchant
  • Richard Miles McCool
    Richard Miles McCool 1922–2008 · military officer
  • Frank McCool 1918–1973 · ice hockey player
  • Bobby McCool 1942–2019 · association football player

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

In the public record

People named McCool,
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 States786 records

786 records of the McCool name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 233
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 169
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 157
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 102
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 59
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 41
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 22
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jesse L. McCool

    Born 1917 in Texas. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; carpenter from Hopkins County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1990, buried at Grove Hill 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 William J. McCool

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of New York from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 52; carpenter. From Antrim, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Mark Anthony Mc Cool

    U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1953, died 1995; buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 786 records for McCool 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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 · 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia42 records

42 records of the McCool name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 20
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 13
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  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 John McCool

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Castle Forbes, sailing from Ireland in 1819. Native of Derry.

    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 Ann McCool

    Arrived in Queensland in 1881 aboard the Durham, aged 33.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Joseph McCool

    Retired of Glen Iris, Victoria; died 1986.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for McCool in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Canada34 records

34 records of the McCool name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 13
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 5
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 4
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas McCool

    Came to Ontario in 1880 aboard the Manitoban, landing at Quebec, bound for Meaford, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record David McCool

    Killed in 1866 at the Wine Harbour, Eldorado Co. mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Anne McCool

    Buried in 1976 at St. Mary's Pioneer Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 97.

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

Showing 3 of 34 records for McCool in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the McCool name in the United Kingdom Stirling Council burial records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael McCool

    Died 1995, aged 77; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Ann McCool

    Died 1970, aged 86; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Jane McCool

    Died 1976, aged 56; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

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

Counts: 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).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the McCool 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 May McCool

    Died 1921, aged 32; buried at Sydenham 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 William McCool

    Died 1922, aged 35; buried at Addington 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 McCool.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCool 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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