The McLain surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 17,152 people carried this name — #2,109 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 17,200 people counted. That is up 1% from 16,978 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McLain was counted together with McLean: 278 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,543 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McLean, McClaen, McClain, Mcclain, McClaine, McClane, McClean, McClene, Maclain, McLain, Mclain, McLaine, McLane, Mclane, McLean, Mclean, McLeane, McLeain, McLene. 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 89
North Carolina 83
New York 31
Maryland 21
South Carolina 15
Virginia 14
Massachusetts 10
Connecticut 5
Maine 4
Vermont 3
Rhode Island 2
New Hampshire 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. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McLain in American newspapers,
1896–1926.

Newspaper page from The Milwaukee Leader carrying the name McLain
The Milwaukee Leader 1926-09-04
Newspaper page from Herald And News carrying the name McLain
Herald And News 1896-06-11
Newspaper page from The Lusk Herald And The Van Tassell Pioneer carrying the name McLain
The Lusk Herald And The Van Tassell Pioneer 1918-04-11

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

In print

McLain in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

431 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McLain. The most, 112, 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 2.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 253
New South Wales 94
Victoria 46
South Australia 19
Tasmania 7
Western Australia 6
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named McLain,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Frank A. McLain
    Frank A. McLain 1852–1920 · politician
  • Raymond S. McLain
    Raymond S. McLain 1890–1954 · military personnel
  • Mayes McLain
    Mayes McLain 1905–1983 · professional wrestler
  • Tommy McLain
    Tommy McLain 1940–2025 · violinist

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

In the public record

People named McLain,
in the records of 3 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 States1,192 records

1,192 records of the McLain name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 675
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 271
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 129
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 40
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 38
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 29
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 2
  • 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 Keith W. McLain

    Born 1908 in Missouri. Enlisted 1941 at Los Angeles, California; salesperson. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1984, buried at Green Hills Memorial Park Yard, Lomita, California.

    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 Jay Darwin McLain

    Born 1942; from Bancroft, Idaho. U.S. Marine Corps, engineer equipment operator; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tin, 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 Ellen McLain

    Arrived at New York in 1864 aboard the Lawrence from Liverpool, aged 17; seamstress. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 1,192 records for McLain in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Canada50 records

50 records of the McLain name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Hector McLain

    Killed in 1895 at the Reserve Mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Daisy Evline McLain

    Died 1923 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary McLain

    Married 1808 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 50 records for McLain in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia23 records

23 records of the McLain name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 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 Elizabeth McLain

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Harmony, sailing from Downs in 1828. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire.

    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 John McLain

    Arrived in Queensland in 1885 aboard the Duke of Buccleuch.

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

    Of Malvern, Victoria; died 1943.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 23 records for McLain in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McLain.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McLain 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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