2000
#2,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.49
Uncommon Last name
Mace
A nickname-derived surname referring to someone of a warlike disposition or a mace-bearer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,459 Americans carry the last name Mace. That puts it at #2,998 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,467 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mace 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mace with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 25,467
Census rank
#2,998
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,737 bearers of the surname Mace in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2998th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mace, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mace
The surname MACE is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "mace," meaning a heavy staff or club used as a weapon in medieval times. This surname likely originated in the 11th or 12th century and was initially an occupational name, given to those who made or carried maces.
The earliest known record of the name MACE dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as "Macia" in Bedfordshire, England. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have been derived from the personal name "Mace" or "Machi," which were common in Norman France during that period.
By the 13th century, the surname MACE had become more widespread across England, with various spellings such as Mace, Maces, and Macey. One notable historical figure was Sir Henry Mace (c. 1370-1415), a Welsh soldier and landowner who fought alongside Henry V in the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, the name MACE was also found in Scotland, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. One example is Thomas Mace (1612/13-1706), an English lutenist, viol instructor, and writer on music, who published the influential work "Musick's Monument" in 1676.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name MACE continued to be prominent in England, with several notable individuals bearing the surname. These include William Mace (1676-1736), an English playwright and satirist, and Thomas Mace (1619-1699), an English Presbyterian minister and author.
Another significant figure was John Mace (1785-1859), an English-born American Baptist minister and abolitionist. He was actively involved in the anti-slavery movement and served as the fourth president of the American Anti-Slavery Society from 1837 to 1839.
As the name spread across the British Empire, it also found its way to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia. One notable Australian bearer of the surname was Henry Darlington Mace (1854-1937), a pioneering medical practitioner and surgeon who played a significant role in the development of healthcare in Western Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mace
Among Census respondents with the surname Mace, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Mace 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 Mace surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 10,137
- Two or more races4.5% · 533
- Black or African American3.7% · 435
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 430
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 152
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mace
Mace appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,222
+108 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 4.14
Rank movement Down 199 places
2020
#2,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,737
-485 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 3.93
Rank movement Down 65 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,734 | 12,114 | 4.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,933 | 12,222 | 4.14 | +108 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 199 places |
| 2020 | #2,998 | 11,737 | 3.93 | -485 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 65 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 Mace 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 | #2,933 | #2,998 | -2.2% |
| Count | 12,222 | 11,737 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 4.14 | 3.93 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mace bearers went from 12,222 to 11,737 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 65 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,933 to #2,998.
FAQ
Mace surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mace?
Name Census estimates that about 13,459 living Americans carry the surname Mace. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,467 residents.
How common is Mace?
Mace ranks #2,998 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,737 people with the surname Mace. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,459), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Mace.
Has Mace become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mace went from 12,222 recorded bearers to 11,737. That is a decrease of 485 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,933 to #2,998.
What does the Census say about the background of Mace?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mace, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (3.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mace in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (10,137 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mace appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Black (3.7%). 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 Mace (2000, 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 Mace mean?
A nickname-derived surname referring to someone of a warlike disposition or a mace-bearer. 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 Mace (3.93 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 many Americans have the surname Mace?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.