boy's name
Mac
MAK
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 12,779
the United States
#696
2025 births
Mac is a boy's name from the Gaelic word for son, which appears in every Mc- and Mac- surname there is. It ranks 139th in Scotland and 696th in the United States, and it is rising.
- Mac is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 470 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 8,393 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Mac over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 45 |
| 1890s | 53 |
| 1900s | 128 |
| 1910s | 504 |
| 1920s | 686 |
| 1930s | 750 |
| 1940s | 1,634 |
| 1950s | 929 |
| 1960s | 541 |
| 1970s | 647 |
| 1980s | 383 |
| 1990s | 431 |
| 2000s | 710 |
| 2010s | 1,691 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,323 |
What Mac means
Mac means son. It is the ordinary Gaelic word, and as a name it stands either for that word directly or as a short form of any surname built on it — MacKenzie, MacArthur, McCoy.
Where Mac comes from
Mac is the Gaelic mac, a son, the element in hundreds of Irish and Scottish surnames: MacDonald is son of Donald, MacKenzie son of Coinneach, and the Irish Mc is the same word abbreviated rather than a different one. The Irish Ó, by contrast, means grandson or descendant, which is why O'Brien and MacBride are formed differently. As a given name Mac is either a direct use of the word or a short form of one of those surnames, and it belongs to the same modern pattern as Mack, Max and Finn. It is unrelated to the Mac of Macintosh computers, which is named for an apple variety spelled McIntosh, itself a surname — so the loop closes, but by a different route.
Mac in use
Mac ranks 139th in Scotland with 34 births in 2024 and 696th in the United States with 395 births, and it is rising in our data, with its peak in our records in 2022. Our records carry it from 1880. It holds 794th in England and Wales. Mack appears separately in every register, and the two together stand higher than either alone.
How popular is Mac?
In 2025, Mac was given to 395 babies in the United States, ranking #696 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Mac is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Mac
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mac also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mac over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Mac in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Mac
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mac — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mac
What does the name Mac mean?
Mac means "son" — the ordinary Gaelic word behind every Mac- and Mc- surname.
What is the difference between Mac and Mc?
None. Mc is simply an abbreviation of Mac, not a separate word.
How is Mac different from O'?
Mac means son; Ó means grandson or descendant. That is why O'Brien and MacBride are formed differently.
How popular is Mac?
139th in Scotland and 696th in the United States.
Is Mac a girl's or a boy's name?
Mac is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mac?
Mac has 1 syllable.
Is Mac a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mac currently ranks #139 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.