The McMahan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,368 people carried this name — #2,522 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,500 people counted. That is up 2% from 14,071 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McMahan surname

Variant of McMahon.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McMahan» (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

41 families named McMahan, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 207 people lived in those households, 5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. 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

South Carolina 13
Pennsylvania 12
North Carolina 5
Maine 3
Maryland 3
Virginia 3
Connecticut 1
New York 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

McMahan in American newspapers,
1920–1926.

Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name McMahan
Evening Star 1926-09-05
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name McMahan
The Washington Herald 1920-09-12
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name McMahan
The Washington Times 1923-06-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 33,669 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McMahan in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1960s.

273 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McMahan. The most, 55, date from the 1930s. 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 South Australia, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 71
South Australia 54
Queensland 52
Victoria 52
Western Australia 31
Tasmania 10
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named McMahan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jack McMahan 1932–2020 · baseball player

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named McMahan,
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 States465 records

465 records of the McMahan name in the United States
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 199
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 113
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 72
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 26
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 15
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 15
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 4
  • 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 James C. McMahan

    Born 1913 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; driver from Knox County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1987, buried at Knoxville National Cemetery, 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 Wynard C. McMahan

    Born 1930; from Attala County, Mississippi. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea.

    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 Cath McMahan

    Arrived at New York in 1849 aboard the Victoria from Cork & Liverpool, aged 50; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 465 records for McMahan in the United States.

Counts: 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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).

Australia35 records

35 records of the McMahan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 29
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Cathr McMahan

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Almora, aged 19; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Daniel McMahan

    Left Hobart Town in 1852 aboard the Go Ahead, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary McMahan

    Died 1843 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, aged 53.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 35 records for McMahan 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada8 records

8 records of the McMahan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Catherine McMahan

    Died 1871 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died 1981; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Annie McMahan

    Married 1887 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 8 records for McMahan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McMahan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McMahan 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 McMahan volume
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