Parent’s name
McCormick surname meaning
An Irish or Scottish patronymic from Mac Cormaic, “son of Cormac.”
The short story
McCormick is an Irish or Scottish patronymic from Gaelic Mac Cormaic, “son of Cormac.” Cormac is an old personal name whose deeper etymology has been explained in more than one way, including chariot or raven associations; that debate does not affect the surname’s son-of structure. MacCormick, McCormack, and MacCormack are related anglicized forms. Several families can have acquired the surname independently. Parent’s name is the high-confidence catalog type because Mac Cormaic clearly records descent from a person named Cormac.
Also seen as: MacCormick, McCormack, MacCormack, Cormick
Sources used
- Ancestry, last-name entry 'McCormick' (Mac Cormaic patronymic)
- Wikipedia 'McCormick (surname)' (son of Cormac)
- US Census Bureau, Frequently Occurring Last Names in the 2020 Census by Race and Hispanic Origin: Top 1,000 (Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx), released April 2026