2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Maake
An occupational surname from southern Africa referring to someone who works with crops.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Maake. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maake surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Maake in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maake, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.4%) and Two or More Races (9.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maake
The surname MAAKE has its origins in the Netherlands, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "maak," which means "to make" or "to create," suggesting that the name may have been given to an individual who was a skilled craftsman or maker of goods.
One of the earliest known references to the MAAKE surname can be found in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam, where a baptism record from 1592 lists a child named Jan Maake. This suggests that the name was already established in the Netherlands by the late 16th century.
The MAAKE surname was particularly prevalent in the provinces of North Holland and South Holland, where many families bearing this name lived and worked as artisans, craftsmen, and tradesmen. Some notable individuals with the MAAKE surname from this region include:
1. Pieter Maake (1620-1687), a renowned Dutch painter known for his still-life compositions and landscapes.
2. Cornelis Maake (1674-1738), a successful merchant and shipowner based in Amsterdam.
3. Johanna Maake (1712-1782), a well-respected midwife who practiced in the city of Rotterdam for over four decades.
As Dutch settlers began to migrate to other parts of the world in the 17th and 18th centuries, the MAAKE surname spread to various regions, including North America and South Africa. One notable individual with this surname from South Africa was:
4. Willem Maake (1835-1912), a prominent Afrikaner farmer and landowner in the Cape Colony.
In North America, particularly in the United States and Canada, the MAAKE surname underwent various spelling variations, such as Maak, Mack, and Meck, as a result of anglicization and phonetic adaptations. One notable American with this surname was:
5. John Meck (1787-1861), a pioneer and early settler in the state of Tennessee, who founded the town of Mecklenburg.
Throughout its history, the MAAKE surname has been associated with skilled craftspeople, entrepreneurs, and pioneers, reflecting the industrious and hardworking nature of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maake
Among Census respondents with the surname Maake, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.4%) and Two or More Races (9.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Maake bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Maake surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander64.5% · 71
- White16.4% · 18
- Two or more races9.1% · 10
- Black or African American5.5% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maake
Maake appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,193 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,193 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Maake surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #147,253 | #149,446 | -1.5% |
| Count | 112 | 110 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maake bearers went from 112 to 110 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,193 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #149,446.
FAQ
Maake surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maake?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Maake. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Maake?
Maake ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Maake. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Maake.
Has Maake become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maake went from 112 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Maake?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maake, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.4%) and Two or More Races (9.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Maake in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.5% (71 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maake appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (64.5%), White (16.4%), Two or More Races (9.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Maake (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Maake mean?
An occupational surname from southern Africa referring to someone who works with crops. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Maake (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Maake?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Maake is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.