2000
#3,882
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,407
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.12
Uncommon Last name
Maciel
A surname of Portuguese origin, derived from the Latin name Matthaecellus, meaning "gift of God."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,883 Americans carry the last name Maciel. That puts it at #3,127 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,605 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maciel 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
13K
1 in 26,605
Census rank
#3,127
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,235 bearers of the surname Maciel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3127th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maciel, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Black (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maciel
The surname Maciel has its origins in the Galicia region of Spain. It is derived from the Latin personal name Macilius, which is a diminutive form of the Roman family name Macius. The earliest recorded instances of this name date back to the 12th century.
Maciel is considered a patronymic surname, meaning it originally identified someone as the son or descendant of a person named Macilio or Macilius. The prefix "Mac" or "Mc" is a Gaelic term meaning "son of," which was later added to the name as it spread throughout the Celtic regions of Spain and Portugal.
One of the earliest known historical figures with this surname was Rodrigo Maciel, a Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his famous voyage to India in 1498. Another notable bearer of this name was Miguel Maciel, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Maciel surname was well-represented among the Portuguese and Spanish nobility. One prominent example is João Maciel Rebelo, a 17th-century Portuguese nobleman who served as the governor of Madeira Island from 1642 to 1648.
The Maciel name also has a strong presence in Brazil, where it was brought by Portuguese colonists and settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname in Brazil dates back to the 16th century, when João Maciel da Costa, a Portuguese explorer, established a settlement in the northeastern region of the country.
Another notable figure with this surname was Antonio Maciel Parente, a Brazilian politician and military leader who served as the governor of the state of Ceará from 1837 to 1841. During his tenure, he played a crucial role in suppressing the Sabinada Revolt, a separatist movement that sought to establish an independent republic in the northeastern region of Brazil.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maciel
Among Census respondents with the surname Maciel, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Black (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Maciel 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 Maciel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino79.9% · 8,976
- White18.0% · 2,020
- Black or African American0.7% · 80
- Two or more races0.7% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maciel
Maciel 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
#3,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,500
+3,093 bearers (+36.8%)
Per 100,000 3.90
Rank movement Up 740 places
2020
#3,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,235
-265 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 3.76
Rank movement Up 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,882 | 8,407 | 3.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,142 | 11,500 | 3.90 | +3,093 bearers (+36.8%) | Up 740 places |
| 2020 | #3,127 | 11,235 | 3.76 | -265 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 15 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 Maciel 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 | #3,142 | #3,127 | 0.5% |
| Count | 11,500 | 11,235 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.90 | 3.76 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maciel bearers went from 11,500 to 11,235 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,142 to #3,127.
FAQ
Maciel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maciel?
Name Census estimates that about 12,883 living Americans carry the surname Maciel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,605 residents.
How common is Maciel?
Maciel ranks #3,127 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.76 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 11,235 people with the surname Maciel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,883), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.76 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 Maciel.
Has Maciel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maciel went from 11,500 recorded bearers to 11,235. That is a decrease of 265 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,142 to #3,127.
What does the Census say about the background of Maciel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maciel, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Black (0.7%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Maciel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (8,976 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maciel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (79.9%), White (18.0%), Black (0.7%). 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 Maciel (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 Maciel mean?
A surname of Portuguese origin, derived from the Latin name Matthaecellus, meaning "gift of God." 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 Maciel (3.76 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 people have the last name Maciel?
See how many people have the surname Maciel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.