McNab Surname

61,370th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 8,195 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

McNab Surname Definition:

(Celtic+ Latin-Greek-Syr.) Son of THE Abbot [Gaelic Mac-an-Aba - mac, son+an, of the+aba(dh, genit. of ab, abbot-Latin abbas, Greek άββάς, Syr. abbá, a father] Cp. Mac Cabe.

Abair tri uairean Mac-an-Aba gun do chab a dhùnadh (Say three times Mac Nab(b without shutting your mouth).

Read More About This Surname

McNab Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,3821:152,16615,625
Scotland1,8871:2,837522
Australia1,7881:15,0982,149
Canada1,4741:24,9973,370
England1,4521:38,3734,991
New Zealand5291:8,5601,476
Jamaica3821:7,513886
Honduras3111:28,349966
Namibia2501:9,6381,869
South Africa1231:440,46937,524
Belize981:3,627699
Wales571:54,2904,971
Ireland451:104,6435,503
Northern Ireland381:48,5544,148
Thailand181:3,924,352328,346
Chile181:978,69319,774
Isle of Man131:6,6021,513
Netherlands131:1,299,01473,030
France121:5,535,227269,324
Malaysia81:3,686,778134,908
Belgium81:1,437,08092,692
Switzerland71:1,173,27469,697
Qatar61:393,00055,922
Monaco51:7,4131,114
Sweden51:1,969,351134,077
Brazil51:42,814,866547,158
Saudi Arabia41:7,713,95437,548
Philippines41:25,309,556279,062
Norway31:1,714,09579,528
Germany21:40,252,730481,636
Czechia21:5,316,734169,646
Finland21:2,748,35172,663
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Bahamas21:195,8761,708
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Guatemala11:16,082,66812,169
Zambia11:15,849,92253,989
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Yemen11:26,425,29455,147
Bosnia and Herzegovina11:3,536,40219,532
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland621:71,4495,226
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland2,7821:1,346241
England3791:64,3157,406
Wales71:224,0598,079
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States7031:71,4357,672

McNab (12) may also be a first name.

McNab Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(Celtic+ Latin-Greek-Syr.) Son of THE Abbot [Gaelic Mac-an-Aba - mac, son+an, of the+aba(dh, genit. of ab, abbot-Latin abbas, Greek άββάς, Syr. abbá, a father] Cp. Mac Cabe.

Abair tri uairean Mac-an-Aba gun do chab a dhùnadh (Say three times Mac Nab(b without shutting your mouth).—St. Columbus’s Conundrums.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish) The son of the Abbot.

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

The son of Nab. Nab, the summit of a mountain or rock. The son of the Abbot? Nab, Persic, a chief, a prince.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

McNab Last Name Facts

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

The surname McNab is found in The United States more than any other country or territory. It may also occur in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name McNab? popularity and diffusion

The surname McNab is the 61,370th most common last name worldwide, held by approximately 1 in 889,267 people. The last name occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 52 percent of McNab reside; 43 percent reside in Northern Europe and 43 percent reside in British Isles. McNab is also the 3,306,491st most frequently held first name globally It is held by 12 people.

This surname is most frequently used in The United States, where it is held by 2,382 people, or 1 in 152,166. In The United States McNab is primarily concentrated in: California, where 15 percent are found, Florida, where 13 percent are found and Minnesota, where 6 percent are found. Outside of The United States it exists in 48 countries. It is also found in Scotland, where 23 percent are found and Australia, where 22 percent are found.

McNab Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of McNab has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the McNab surname rose 339 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it fell 32 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it rose 383 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it rose 814 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it fell 27 percent between 1901 and 2014.

McNab Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the surname is predominantly Presbyterian (68%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the McNab last name are 12.36% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 59.13% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount McNab earn in different countries varies somewhat. In South Africa they earn 7.59% less than the national average, earning R 219,612 per year; in United States they earn 5.08% more than the national average, earning $45,339 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.1% more than the national average, earning $49,731 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
McNabb9115,952/
MacNab913,154/
MacNabd832/
McNap801/
Maknab733/
MacNeb731/
Macnap731/
Macknapp6219/
Mashknab621/
Macnev5521/
Macněv553/
Macnov551/
MacNop551/
Maknapp501/

Search for Another Surname

McNab Reference & Research

McNabb FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

McNabb FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

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 McNab
  • 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