The McMaster surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,744 people carried this name — #5,184 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 43,700 people counted. That is up 2% from 6,623 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the McMaster surname

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Maighstir or Mac Á Mhaighstir (“son of the master”), from maighstir (“master”). By surface analysis, Mc- + master.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McMaster» (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 38 births for the McMaster name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Down.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 37
Connacht 1

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

McMaster was recorded 47 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 555th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 65. 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

McMaster in American newspapers,
1908–1922.

Newspaper page from The Bingham County News carrying the name McMaster
The Bingham County News 1922-09-29
Newspaper page from Rock Island Argus carrying the name McMaster
Rock Island Argus 1908-01-22
Newspaper page from Rock Island Argus carrying the name McMaster
Rock Island Argus 1919-08-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 57,124 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McMaster in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

25,575 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McMaster. The most, 7,406, 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 Queensland, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,410
Queensland 7,571
Victoria 3,375
Western Australia 1,229
South Australia 1,201
Tasmania 479
ACT (Canberra) 205
Northern Territory 14

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

Who carried it

People named McMaster,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Cecil McMaster
    Cecil McMaster 1895–1981 · athletics competitor
  • William H. McMaster
    William H. McMaster 1877–1968 · politician
  • John Bach McMaster
    John Bach McMaster 1852–1932 · historian
  • Joseph McMaster
    Joseph McMaster 1861–1929 · cricketer
  • Elizabeth McMaster
    Elizabeth McMaster 1847–1903 · nurse

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

In the public record

People named McMaster,
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 States967 records

967 records of the McMaster name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 261
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 218
  • Other U.S. records 488
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph D. McMaster

    Born 1926 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1945 at Camden, New Jersey; photographer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1984, buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane McMaster

    Arrived at New York in 1855 aboard the Progress from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Co Antrim, Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Glenn Leon McMaster

    Born 1948; from Bolivar, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died of wounds 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 967 records for McMaster in the United States.

Counts: 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia1,019 records

1,019 records of the McMaster name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 516
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 224
  • Other Australian records 279
  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 Isabella McMaster

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Harmony, sailing from Downs in 1828. Native of Kirkcudbrightshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1840.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Simon McMaster

    Died 1923 in Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1924.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane McMaster

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Ivanhoe, aged 62; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,019 records for McMaster 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada544 records

544 records of the McMaster name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 467
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 23
  • Other Canadian records 54
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record John McMaster

    Killed in 1925 at the Allan Shaft, 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 Albert Dayton McMaster

    Buried in 1975 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 71.

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

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 544 records for McMaster 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 Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom33 records

33 records of the McMaster name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 25
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 8
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John McMaster

    Died 1983, aged 81; 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 J. McMaster

    Household Battalion. 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 Angus McMaster

    Buried in 1950 at Kirkton (Tyndrum) Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 90.

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

Showing 3 of 33 records for McMaster 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 Zealand19 records

19 records of the McMaster name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 16
  • Timaru and Mackenzie District cemetery records 1
  • Other New Zealand records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Emily Olive McMaster

    Died 1939, aged 46; 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 James McMaster

    Died 1894, aged 54; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Douglas Stewart McMaster

    Died 1997; ashes interred at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 19 records for McMaster in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McMaster.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McMaster 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 McMaster volume
Scroll to Top