MacNamara Surname

91,875th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 5,206 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Ireland

MacNamara Surname Definition:

This stands for the form Mac con-mara, 'son of the hound of the sea. ' in Cu-mara, 'hound of the sea, ' mara is already in the genitive, so that when Cu-mara had to be put in the possessive case, as after mac, the Cu had to be inflected, hence the form Mac-con-mara, now Macnamara.

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MacNamara Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,0981:330,10829,931
Australia1,0191:26,4923,600
Ireland9561:4,926811
England7481:74,4898,468
Canada5281:69,7838,002
Scotland2201:24,3362,683
South Africa1461:371,08033,514
New Zealand1211:37,4246,365
Argentina741:577,61441,358
Wales711:43,5854,199
Northern Ireland521:35,4813,447
France291:2,290,439180,028
Chile281:629,16015,000
Philippines141:7,231,302192,576
Singapore131:423,66918,211
Malaysia91:3,277,136121,952
Brazil81:26,759,292405,030
Thailand71:10,091,192512,203
Germany71:11,500,780305,602
United Arab Emirates61:1,527,04651,993
Denmark51:1,128,94352,970
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Cameroon41:5,192,267135,173
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
Russia31:48,041,019639,186
Spain31:15,584,012120,866
Italy31:20,385,563143,117
Finland31:1,832,23457,803
Mexico31:41,375,40271,397
Peru21:15,892,06251,966
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Algeria11:38,631,551130,422
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Uruguay11:3,431,75838,295
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Kyrgyzstan11:5,972,65499,197
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland6441:6,8791,082
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1651:304,35624,088

MacNamara (30) may also be a first name.

MacNamara Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This stands for the form Mac con-mara, 'son of the hound of the sea. ' in Cu-mara, 'hound of the sea, ' mara is already in the genitive, so that when Cu-mara had to be put in the possessive case, as after mac, the Cu had to be inflected, hence the form Mac-con-mara, now Macnamara.

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

Mac Conmara The most important sept of the Dál gCais after the O’Briens. Bibl; IF 239 etc; Map Clare; Plate XXIII

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(Celtic) Son OF Cumara = Hound of the Sea (prob. denoting a skilful sailor) [Irish and Gaelic Mac Conmara-mac, son + con, genit. of cú, a hound + mara, genit. of muir, the sea]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Son of the Sea” in Gaelic.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(Irish) The son of the hound of the sea, a name applied to a daring seaman.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Formerly styled Mic-Conmara, as being descendants of Cu-Mara, an Irish chief of the X. cent. Cumara in Celtic means ' Hero of the Sea.' O'Donovan I.P.J. Another authority says: a great Irish family, claiming descent from Cas, king of Thomond, who flourished early in the fifth cent. The surname is derived from Con-Marra (heros maris) who died in 1099.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From MacNamara, the Anglicised form of MacConmara, ‘Cumara’s Son' (cu-mara, ‘sea-hound’).

The name Meare, Meere, McMeer is probably a further corruption. It was formerly common in Jurby. The name Monier, which was found in Lezayre in the last century, is also said to have been a corruption of McNameer.

Manx Names (1890) by Arthur William Moore

MacNamara Last Name Facts

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

The last name MacNamara is more frequently found in The United States than any other country or territory. It can occur as:. Click here for other potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name MacNamara? popularity and diffusion

The surname MacNamara is the 91,875th most commonly occurring last name world-wide. It is borne by approximately 1 in 1,399,836 people. This surname is predominantly found in Europe, where 41 percent of MacNamara are found; 39 percent are found in Northern Europe and 39 percent are found in British Isles. MacNamara is also the 1,911,214th most common forename throughout the world. It is borne by 30 people.

This surname is most widespread in The United States, where it is held by 1,098 people, or 1 in 330,108. In The United States it is most common in: California, where 11 percent are found, New York, where 11 percent are found and Florida, where 9 percent are found. Excluding The United States this last name exists in 47 countries. It is also found in Australia, where 20 percent are found and Ireland, where 18 percent are found.

MacNamara Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of MacNamara has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the MacNamara last name increased 665 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Ireland it increased 148 percent between 1901 and 2014.

MacNamara Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the MacNamara surname is primarily Catholic (99%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the MacNamara last name are 11.71% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 58.48% registered to vote for the party.

The amount MacNamara earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 92.73% more than the national average, earning R 457,992 per year; in United States they earn 20.61% more than the national average, earning $52,040 USD per year and in Canada they earn 10.81% more than the national average, earning $55,054 CAD per year.

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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 MacNamara
  • 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