The McGinn surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,955 people carried this name — #5,807 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 49,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 5,745 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McGinn surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Finn (“son of Fionn”), a byname from fionn (“white”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McGinn» (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 31 births for the McGinn name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 14 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Generally distributed in Ulster.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 25
Leinster 4
Connacht 2

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

McGinn was recorded 26 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 937th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 37. 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

McGinn in American newspapers,
1906–1917.

Newspaper page from The Sea Coast Echo carrying the name McGinn
The Sea Coast Echo 1910-06-25
Newspaper page from The Alaska Citizen carrying the name McGinn
The Alaska Citizen 1917-03-12
Newspaper page from Daily Capital Journal carrying the name McGinn
Daily Capital Journal 1906-11-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 38,534 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McGinn in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

10,692 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McGinn. The most, 5,514, 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 7.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 7,915
Queensland 1,559
Victoria 453
New South Wales 431
South Australia 243
Tasmania 52
ACT (Canberra) 33
Northern Territory 1

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

In the public record

People named McGinn,
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 States971 records

971 records of the McGinn name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 547
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 122
  • Other U.S. records 302
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Arthur McGinn

    Born 1949; from Silver Spring, Maryland. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in service 1970 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget McGinn

    Arrived at New York in 1846 aboard the New York from Liverpool, aged 22; laborer. From Great Britain.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William E. McGinn

    Born 1910 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Croft, South Carolina; survey chainman from Mecklemburg County.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 971 records for McGinn in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia112 records

112 records of the McGinn name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 40
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 27
  • Other Australian records 45
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Catherine McGinn

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855. Married 1855 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 18.

    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 James McGinn

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Neptune, arriving 1838; certificate of freedom 1845.

    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 Alice Isabella McGinn

    Arrived in Queensland in 1928 aboard the Otranto, aged 21.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 112 records for McGinn 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). 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).

Canada60 records

60 records of the McGinn name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 30
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 12
  • Other Canadian records 18
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliz McGinn

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

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Charles Edward McGinn

    Buried in 1929 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 37.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Michael McGinn

    Died 1870 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 60 records for McGinn in Canada.

Counts: 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · 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); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom16 records

16 records of the McGinn name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 10
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bernard McGinn

    Died 1934, aged 40; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    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 F. McGinn

    Army Service Corps. 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 Thomas McGinn

    Died 1971, aged 85; buried at Aberfoyle Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

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

Showing 3 of 16 records for McGinn 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 Zealand7 records

7 records of the McGinn name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 6
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick McGinn

    Died 1944, aged 83; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record E. McGinn

    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)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Alexander McGinn

    Died 1953, aged 73; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for McGinn in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McGinn.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McGinn 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 McGinn volume
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