Mattox
An English surname transferred for use as a masculine given name.
Name Census estimates that about 679 living Americans carry the first name Mattox. It is a predominantly male name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Mattox today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mattox births was 2015 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mattox. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
679
~ 1 in 504,793 Americans
Peak year
2015
47 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,795
Tracked since 2002
Census
Mattox in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 601 people with the first name Mattox, which placed it at #18,056 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,056
National first-name rank
People counted
601
601 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mattox
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mattox is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mattox described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mattox at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 477
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 43
- Two or more races7.2% · 43
- Black or African American4.2% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Mattox
Mattox leans heavily male at 96.5% of total registrations, but 24 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mattox as a male name
- Ranked #5,795 in 2024
- 16 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (47 births)
Mattox as a female name
- Ranked #14,302 in 2011
- 7 female births in 2011
- Peak: 2011 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mattox leans strongly male. 538 people counted with this name were male (90.1%), compared with 59 female bearers (9.9%).
Popularity
Mattox: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mattox from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 358 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mattox by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mattox during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mattox' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, California recorded the most babies named Mattox, while Ohio, North Carolina, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mattox
The name Mattox is believed to have originated in England during the Middle Ages, derived from the Old English words "mæd" and "tun," which together mean "meadow town." It was likely used as a surname initially, referring to someone who lived in a town or settlement surrounded by meadows.
During the medieval period, the name Mattox was primarily found in regions of England where Old English was spoken, particularly in the southern and central parts of the country. It is possible that the name appeared in some early parish records or manorial rolls from that time, although specific historical references are scarce.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mattox as a given name dates back to the late 16th century. In 1587, a man named Mattox Cuthbert was born in the village of Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England. He later became a prominent merchant and landowner in the area.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the first name Mattox. In the 17th century, Mattox Browne (1612-1681) was a respected English lawyer and legal scholar who authored several influential works on property law and inheritance rights.
Another Mattox of historical significance was Mattox Halliday (1755-1828), a British naval officer who served with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars. He participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and was awarded numerous military honors for his bravery and leadership.
In the realm of literature, Mattox Elliston (1821-1891) was a renowned English poet and playwright during the Victorian era. His works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, and he was celebrated for his lyrical prose and vivid imagery.
Moving into the 20th century, Mattox Ainsworth (1902-1976) was a pioneering American aviator and engineer. He played a crucial role in the development of early aircraft designs and was involved in several groundbreaking projects, including the construction of the first successful jet-powered aircraft.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Mattox throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various fields and time periods.
People
Mattox + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mattox as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mattox: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mattox?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 679 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mattox going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 504,793 US residents.
Is Mattox a common name?
We classify Mattox as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 685 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mattox most popular?
The single biggest year for Mattox was 2015, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mattox is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mattox in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 601 people with the name Mattox, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,056 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mattox in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mattox?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mattox leans strongly male. 538 people counted with this name were male (90.1%), compared with 59 female bearers (9.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mattox?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mattox is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mattox most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mattox in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (477 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mattox in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mattox a male name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Mattox in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mattox still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mattox in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mattox can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Mattox?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Mattox at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.