Explore the Family Name Murrah

The meaning of Murrah

Probably an altered form of Scottish Murray.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname "Murrah" ranked 20,284th in popularity in 2000 and slightly decreased to 20,818th by 2010. This represents a 2.63% decline in rank over the decade. Despite the drop in rank, the number of individuals bearing this surname actually increased from 1,220 in 2000 to 1,268 in 2010, marking a 3.93% growth. However, when considering the proportion of people with the Murrah surname per 100,000 residents, there was a slight decrease from 0.45 in 2000 to 0.43 in 2010, indicating a -4.44% change.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#20,284	#20,818	-2.63%
Count	1,220	1,268	3.93%
Proportion per 100k	0.45	0.43	-4.44%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Murrah

The Decennial U.S. Census also provides insight into the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Murrah". In 2000, the majority of those bearing the surname identified as White (83.36%) followed by Black at 12.87%. By 2010, there was a small decrease in the percentage identifying as White to 79.57%, while those identifying as Black increased to 15.38%. Additionally, there were increases in all other reported ethnic categories including Asian/Pacific Islander (from 0.41% to 0.47%), individuals of two or more races (from 0.98% to 1.34%), Hispanic (from 1.89% to 2.37%) and American Indian and Alaskan Native (from 0.49% to 0.87%). The most notable increase was seen in the American Indian and Alaskan Native category, with a 77.55% rise over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
White	83.36%	79.57%	-4.55%
Black	12.87%	15.38%	19.5%
Hispanic	1.89%	2.37%	25.4%
Two or More Races	0.98%	1.34%	36.73%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.49%	0.87%	77.55%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.41%	0.47%	14.63%