Given name & surname
Mac
“the son of”
Mac is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “the son of.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “the son of.”
Where it comes from
Mac is a diminutive of Max. Max comes from German.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In English usage, Mac is a diminutive of Max.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mac through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,455
- 11,397 boys · 58 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 470 babies
- 2025
- 395
- #696 for boys · #16,346 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +96%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 390 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 696 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 95.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (23). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,431 as a first name in 2020; 3,156 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mac’s family of names
In English usage, Mac is a diminutive of Max. In Irish usage, Mac as a surname shares a linguistic root with the English form North. Mac has a related form in Mack.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Mac
- Mac WilkinsAmerican athletics competitorborn 1950
- Mac DavisAmerican songwriter, singer and actor (1942-2020)
- Mac ForehandAmerican freestyle skierborn 2001
- Mac Thornberryformer U.S. Representative from Texasborn 1958
- Mac DanzigAmerican martial artistborn 1980
- Mac JonesAmerican football player (born 1998)
- Mac MaharajSouth African politicianborn 1935
- Mac CollinsAmerican politician (1944–2018)
- Mac WisemanAmerican musician (1925–2019)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mac, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Macklin
“the son of Flann”
97% boys · 3% girls
Maddox
“born into wealth and prosperity” · “the son of the benefactor”
96% boys · 4% girls
Mccoy
“the son of Coy”
97% boys · 3% girls
Myles
“one who is merciful” · “a soldier”
99% boys · 1% girls
Maxwell
“from Mack's spring”
98% boys · 2% girls
Macrae
“the son of Ray”
>99% boys
Cormac
“a charioteer”
>99% boys
Mackinnon
“the son of the fair one”
>99% boys