The McGill surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 27,330 people carried this name — #1,282 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,800 people counted. That is up 4% from 26,354 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McGill surname

A Scottish and Irish surname from Scottish Gaelic. Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Ghoill "son of the stranger".

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McGill» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Scotland’s registers today

McGill was recorded 100 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 256th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 146. 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

86 families named McGill, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 474 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McGill, M Gill, Mcgill, Macgill, MaGill, Magill, Meagill, Megil, Megill. 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

North Carolina 22
Pennsylvania 21
South Carolina 13
Maryland 11
New York 8
Virginia 5
Maine 2
Connecticut 2
New Hampshire 1
Massachusetts 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

McGill in American newspapers,
1859–1917.

Newspaper page from New Orleans Daily Crescent carrying the name McGill
New Orleans Daily Crescent 1859-08-15
Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name McGill
Okolona Messenger 1917-10-04
Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name McGill
Okolona Messenger 1917-06-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 140,760 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McGill in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

26,916 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McGill. The most, 8,715, 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 Queensland, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 14,090
New South Wales 7,248
Victoria 3,207
Western Australia 1,011
South Australia 746
Tasmania 376
ACT (Canberra) 170
Northern Territory 22

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

Who carried it

People named McGill,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James McGill
    James McGill 1744–1813 · merchant
  • Frances Gertrude McGill
    Frances Gertrude McGill 1877–1959 · criminologist
  • Bill McGill
    Bill McGill 1939–2014 · basketball player
  • Andrew Ryan McGill
    Andrew Ryan McGill 1840–1905 · governor
  • George McGill
    George McGill 1879–1963 · politician

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

In the public record

People named McGill,
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 States1,883 records

1,883 records of the McGill name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 824
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 374
  • Other U.S. records 685
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Andy E. McGill

    Born 1918 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia; farm hand. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1984, buried at Loudon County Memorial Gardens, Lenoir City, Tennessee.

    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 Joe Louis Lockhar McGill

    Born 1946; from Shelby, North Carolina. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 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 Thomas McGill

    Arrived at New York in 1836 aboard the Emulous from Liverpool, aged 35; laborer. From Manan, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,883 records for McGill in the United States.

Counts: 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, 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Australia965 records

965 records of the McGill name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 505
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 216
  • Other Australian records 244
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Alice McGill

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1853. Married 1854 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 22.

    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 John McGill

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Guildford, arriving 1812.

    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 John McGill

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Florence Nightingale, aged 10; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 965 records for McGill 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (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).

Canada464 records

464 records of the McGill name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 351
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 27
  • Other Canadian records 86
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Frances Eugene McGill

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Peter McGill

    Came to Ontario in 1872 aboard the Scan, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John Vernal McGill

    Buried in 1971 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 64.

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

Showing 3 of 464 records for McGill in Canada.

Counts: 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom59 records

59 records of the McGill name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 31
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 25
  • Other British records 3
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Robert McGill

    Born 1886 at Findhorn; carpenter. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Neil McGill

    Buried in 1959 at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 67.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. D. McGill

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

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

Showing 3 of 59 records for McGill 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) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand52 records

52 records of the McGill name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 44
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 5
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frederick W. McGill

    Died 1926, aged 45; buried at Bromley 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 Henry McGill

    Buried in 1950 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 80.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record J. McGill

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

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

Showing 3 of 52 records for McGill in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Thames-Coromandel District 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); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McGill.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McGill 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 McGill volume
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