MacCaig Surname

3,228,735th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 37 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Scotland

MacCaig Surname Definition:

Gaelic MacThaoig, Irish MacThaidhg, 'son of Tadhg,' E. Irish Tadc, Tadg, usually rendered 'poet' or 'philosopher.' The name is confined mainly to Ayrshire and Galloway. Maccaigs are also found in Arran, Carrick, Kintyre, Lismore, Kerrara, Islay, and elsewhere in Argyll, and in Dumfriesshire.

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MacCaig Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England161:3,482,379114,324
Scotland151:356,92115,763
Canada51:7,369,118289,406
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727

MacCaig Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Gaelic MacThaoig, Irish MacThaidhg, 'son of Tadhg,' E. Irish Tadc, Tadg, usually rendered 'poet' or 'philosopher.' The name is confined mainly to Ayrshire and Galloway. Maccaigs are also found in Arran, Carrick, Kintyre, Lismore, Kerrara, Islay, and elsewhere in Argyll, and in Dumfriesshire. The name also appears as Mackeeg, Mackeit, Mackegg, and as Caig in Galloway and Ulster. In Irish sometimes pronounced MacCaog. Donald M'Coage is in Irvine, 1681. Kneen (Manx names) however says that MacCoag in the Isle of Man is from Gaelic MacDhabhog, 'son of Dabhoc,' a diminutive of David. Payment was made to John Makhaig in Wigtownshire, 1486 (ER., IX, p. 409). Andrew McAige or McCaig was killed in the blowing up of Kirk of Field in 1567 (APS., III, p. 305). Jennat Mackcaige was examined for the Test in 1685 (RPC., 3. ser. XI, p. 434), and Archibald McKeag was a rebel in Kilcheran parish, Kintyre, in same year (Commons, p. 1). Irish Todg appears in Norse record as Tand or Tadkr, and the Shetland name Tanderson is = Irish MacThaidhg. 1667 M'Aig, and in 1684 (Parish) the name is spelled: McCaig, McKaig, McKaige, McKaigh, Makaig, and McKigg.

— The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

User-submitted Reference

This is a Scottish surname, meaning 'son of Tadhg' (poet or philosopher), via Gaelic Mac Thaidhg.

- deleted-173293
DNA test information
Display Statistics on:
  • Religious Adherence in:
    Ireland

MacCaig Demographics

MacCaig Religious Adherence
in Ireland

Sample size: 1 (1901)

Religious Adherence
in Ireland

View the most religious surnames in Ireland

MacCaig Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name MacCaig Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname MacCaig is borne by more people in England than any other country or territory. It can also appear as:. Click here for other potential spellings of MacCaig.

How Common Is The Last Name MacCaig? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 3,228,735th most frequent last name at a global level It is held by approximately 1 in 196,960,700 people. This last name is predominantly found in Europe, where 86 percent of MacCaig live; 84 percent live in Northern Europe and 84 percent live in British Isles.

The surname MacCaig is most commonly held in England, where it is carried by 16 people, or 1 in 3,482,379. In England MacCaig is primarily concentrated in: Northamptonshire, where 44 percent reside, Greater London, where 38 percent reside and Devon, where 6 percent reside. Aside from England this last name occurs in 3 countries. It also occurs in Scotland, where 41 percent reside and Canada, where 14 percent reside.

MacCaig Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the MacCaig last name is chiefly Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
McCaig923,825/
MacAig9245/
McCuaig861,137/
Macajig86110/
MacKaig8644/
MacCagh861/
MacCoig860/
MacCagg860/
Macag838/
Macig831/
MacCague8016/
MacQuaig802/
McKaig771,564/
MacAgg7716/
Maucag7710/
Machig776/
Macaag772/
Maccik771/
Mocaig771/
MacCic771/
Makaig771/
MacOig770/
MacAyg770/
MacAgue71248/
Macczak71102/
MacCaux7176/
Machigh7110/
MacKeag716/
Macayag714/
Mahchig711/
Maccoic711/
Macajeg711/
Macuyag711/
Maquaig711/
MacCauk711/
MacEagh710/
Macik671,281/
Macak671,169/
Macauyag67956/
Macacowa67106/
Makig6734/
MacQuigg6729/
Macac6720/
MacGeagh6714/
Makag672/
Maxag671/
Macchike671/
Macacova671/
Maciq671/
Machchaq671/
Macaague671/
MacKague671/
Magcuyag671/
Mocig671/
Makauiag671/
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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to MacCaig
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis