Given name & surname · also Gaelic
McArthur
“the son of Arthur”
McArthur is a variant of Macarthur. One interpretation is “the son of Arthur.”
Original IrishMac Artúir
Meaning & origin
What it means
McArthur is a variant of Macarthur. One interpretation is “the son of Arthur.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
McArthur comes from Scottish Gaelic, and ultimately from Irish.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In English usage, McArthur as a surname developed from Mac Artúir.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
McArthur through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,275
- 2,275 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1942
- 290 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 290 in 1942. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,170 as a first name in 2020; 12,082 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.
McArthur’s family of names
In English usage, McArthur as a surname developed from the Irish form Mac Artúir. McArthur has a related form in Macarthur. In English usage, McArthur as a surname has a related form in MCARTOR.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
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