Explore the Family Name Mcgovern
The meaning of Mcgovern
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mag Shamhradháin, a patronymic from the personal name Samhradhán, a diminutive of samhradh ‘summer’. The family were chieftains in Cavan. Some characteristic forenames: Irish Brendan, Eamon, Ciaran, Dermot, Dierdra, Kevin Patrick, Liam, Niall, Padraic.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Mcgovern in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname "McGovern" saw a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. Ranked 1,979th in 2000, it dropped to 2,095th in 2010, marking a change of -5.86 in ranking. However, the count of individuals carrying this surname increased slightly by 3.09 percent, from 16,739 in 2000 to 17,257 in 2010. The proportion per 100,000 in the population dipped marginally by -5.8 from 6.21 in 2000 to 5.85 in 2010.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | #1,979 | #2,095 | -5.86% |
Count | 16,739 | 17,257 | 3.09% |
Proportion per 100k | 6.21 | 5.85 | -5.8% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mcgovern
The ethnic identity associated with the surname "McGovern" has also seen some shifts between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The majority of McGoverns identify as White, although this percentage decreased slightly from 96.51 percent in 2000 to 94.81 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, there was an increase in the number of individuals identifying as Hispanic, rising from 1.39 percent to 2.44 percent, indicating a substantial growth of 75.54 percent. There were minor increases among those who identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native. In particular, the group identifying as two or more races saw a significant rise of 46.46 percent.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 96.51% | 94.81% | -1.76% |
Hispanic | 1.39% | 2.44% | 75.54% |
Two or More Races | 0.99% | 1.45% | 46.46% |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.48% | 0.56% | 16.67% |
Black | 0.44% | 0.49% | 11.36% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.21% | 0.25% | 19.05% |
Mcgovern ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Mcgovern is British & Irish, which comprises 62.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (14.5%) and Italian (5.5%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, Scandinavian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.
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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
---|---|
British & Irish | 62.4% |
French & German | 14.5% |
Italian | 5.5% |
Other | 17.6% |
Possible origins of the surname Mcgovern
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Mcgovern have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
---|---|
Greater London, United Kingdom | 88.90% |
Merseyside, United Kingdom | 88.70% |
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 88.70% |
Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 88.70% |
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom | 88.10% |
What Mcgovern haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Mcgovern is R-A260, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-A260 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-M222 and R-S660, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Masterson, Reilly, Kiernan, Geraghty, O'Reilly, Fannin, Mcdonough, Fallon, Tighe.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Mcgovern surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Niall of the Nine Hostages
The spread of haplogroup R-M222 in northern Ireland and Scotland was likely aided by men like Niall of the Nine Hostages. Perhaps more myth than man, Niall is said to have been a King of Tara in northwestern Ireland in the late 4th century C.E. His name comes from a tale of nine hostages that he held from the regions he ruled over. Though the legendary stories of his life may have been invented hundreds of years after he died, genetic evidence suggests that the Uí Néill dynasty, whose name means "descendants of Niall," did in fact trace back to just one man who likely bore haplogroup R-M222, a branch of R-M269.The Uí Néill ruled to various degrees as kings of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century C.E. In the highly patriarchal society of medieval Ireland, their status allowed them to have outsized numbers of children and spread their paternal lineage each generation. In fact, researchers have estimated that between 2 and 3 million men with roots in north-west Ireland are paternal-line descendants of Niall.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Mcgovern have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Traits
Habits
Wellness
Are health conditions linked to the last name Mcgovern?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Mcgovern are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition