The McKoy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,820 people carried this name — #4,535 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,700 people counted. That is up 15% from 6,825 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McKoy surname

Variant of McCoy.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McKoy was counted together with McCoy: 224 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,218 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCoy, McCoey, M'Coy, Maccoy, Macoy, McCoye, McKoy, McKoye. 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 63
North Carolina 46
Maryland 27
Virginia 26
South Carolina 22
New York 20
New Hampshire 13
Connecticut 3
Vermont 2
Massachusetts 2

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

McKoy in American newspapers,
1893–1925.

Newspaper page from The Gazette carrying the name McKoy
The Gazette 1894-01-27
Newspaper page from The Dillon Herald carrying the name McKoy
The Dillon Herald 1925-09-24
Newspaper page from The Record-union carrying the name McKoy
The Record-union 1893-05-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,154 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McKoy in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

1,245 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McKoy. The most, 357, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 851
Victoria 287
Queensland 61
Western Australia 17
South Australia 14
Tasmania 11
ACT (Canberra) 4

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

Who carried it

People named McKoy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Wayne McKoy 1958–2026 · basketball player
  • Allmand A. McKoy 1825–1885 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named McKoy,
in the records of 4 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 States256 records

256 records of the McKoy name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 121
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 59
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 22
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 22
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 19
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Hester L. McKoy

    Born 1912 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Bragg; driver from New Hanover County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park, Wilmington, North Carolina.

    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 William Othello McKoy

    Born 1945; from Wilmington, North Carolina. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Kontum, 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 Biddy McKoy

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Manhattan from Liverpool, aged 24; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 256 records for McKoy in the United States.

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

Australia46 records

46 records of the McKoy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 19
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 15
  • Tasmanian Names Index 11
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James McKoy

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the New World, aged 32; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jane McKoy

    Died 1858 in Port Cygnet, Tasmania, aged 98.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joseph T. McKoy

    Former farmer of Wodonga, Victoria; died 1946.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 46 records for McKoy in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada13 records

13 records of the McKoy name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 11
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. 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 John William McKoy

    Died in service in 1943.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James McKoy

    Married 1837 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Roderick McKoy

    Listed at Halifax, 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 13 records for McKoy 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the McKoy name in New Zealand War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record G. McKoy

    New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McKoy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McKoy 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 McKoy volume
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