Explore the Family Name Mcleish

The meaning of Mcleish

Scottish and northern Irish: Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Iosa, a patronymic from a personal name meaning ‘servant (i.e. devotee) of Jesus’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Mcleish in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Mcleish has seen a rise in popularity from 2000 to 2010. The rank of this surname jumped from 25,775 in 2000 to 24,961 in 2010, marking an increase of 3.16%. In terms of count, the number of individuals bearing the Mcleish surname increased by 11.04%, growing from 897 in 2000 to 996 in 2010. Correspondingly, the proportion per 100,000 people also saw a slight increase of 3.03% over this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#25,775	#24,961	3.16%
Count	897	996	11.04%
Proportion per 100k	0.33	0.34	3.03%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mcleish

The Decennial U.S. Census data provides insight into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Mcleish. While there was no representation among Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian or Alaskan Native communities in both 2000 and 2010, the figures show a significant change among other ethnicities. The percentage of individuals identifying as White decreased by 5.50% over the decade, dropping from 74.58% in 2000 to 70.48% in 2010. Meanwhile, the Black community saw a notable increase in the use of the Mcleish surname, rising from 17.73% in 2000 to 23.09% in 2010, a jump of 30.23%. There was a minor decrease in its prevalence among Hispanic populations, and those identifying with two or more races also saw a decline of 37.77%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	74.58%	70.48%	-5.5%
Black	17.73%	23.09%	30.23%
Hispanic	3.79%	3.61%	-4.75%
Two or More Races	3.23%	2.01%	-37.77%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%