The McPhee surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,065 people carried this name — #8,158 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 72,500 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,980 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McPhee surname

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Dhuibhshìthe /MacDhuibhshith.

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

In Scotland’s registers today

McPhee was recorded 82 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 318th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 124. 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

McPhee in American newspapers,
1913–1914.

Newspaper page from The Lakeland Evening Telegram carrying the name McPhee
The Lakeland Evening Telegram 1913-11-11
Newspaper page from The Chickasha Daily Express carrying the name McPhee
The Chickasha Daily Express 1913-11-29
Newspaper page from The News-herald carrying the name McPhee
The News-herald 1914-02-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 16,264 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McPhee in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

29,930 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McPhee. The most, 9,956, 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 Tasmania, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,734
Victoria 6,257
Tasmania 3,994
Western Australia 2,764
Queensland 2,693
South Australia 2,111
ACT (Canberra) 267
Northern Territory 59

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

Who carried it

People named McPhee,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Colin McPhee
    Colin McPhee 1900–1964 · music journalist
  • Bid McPhee
    Bid McPhee 1859–1943 · baseball player
  • Tony McPhee 1944–2023 · string player

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

In the public record

People named McPhee,
in the records of 6 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 States740 records

740 records of the McPhee name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 316
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 143
  • Other U.S. records 281
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William A. McPhee

    Born 1914 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1943 at Portland, Oregon; farm hand from Clark County, Washington. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    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 Carrie McPhee

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the Devonia from Glasgow, aged 20; servant. From Londonderry, 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 Douglas Wayne McPhee

    Born 1940; from Largo, Florida. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 740 records for McPhee in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, 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).

Canada1,919 records

1,919 records of the McPhee name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1,768
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 50
  • Other Canadian records 101
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Georgina McPhee

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 27; buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax.

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

    Died in service in 1942.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record George McPhee

    Killed in 1934 at the Dominion No. 12 mine, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 1,919 records for McPhee 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) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia1,294 records

1,294 records of the McPhee name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 613
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 361
  • Other Australian records 320
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Matthew McPhee

    Died 1896 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 57. Will registered in Tasmania in 1896.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Edward Tannich McPhee

    Born 1869 in Sorell, Tasmania. Married 1896 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 26.

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

    Born 1899 in Quayle St, Battery Point, Tasmania. Died 1936 in Tasmania, aged 36.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,294 records for McPhee 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom93 records

93 records of the McPhee name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 76
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 14
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Andrew McPhee

    Died 1936, aged 72; 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 Arthur David McPhee

    Born 1895. Died 1918. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record D. McPhee

    Cameron Highlanders. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 93 records for McPhee 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) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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 McPhee name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 5
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas McPhee

    Died 1974, aged 70; buried at Ruru Lawn, 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 Violet Myrtle McPhee

    Died 1992; buried at Cust Anglican Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William McPhee

    Died 1934, aged 56; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for McPhee in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

France1 record

1 record of the McPhee name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Lorna Charlette May McPhee

    Born 1915 in Wellington (Nouvelle-Zélande); died 1997 in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McPhee.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McPhee 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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