2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Madle
A locational name denoting someone from a place called Madeley or Madle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Madle. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Madle 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 Madle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Madle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Madle, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Madle
The surname Madle is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest documented use dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Middle German word "madel," meaning a young maiden or girl. This likely indicates that the name was initially a descriptive nickname for someone who was unmarried or youthful in appearance.
In the early 1500s, the name Madle can be found recorded in various German church records and municipal documents, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest known references is to a Konrad Madle, a landowner in the village of Großolbersdorf, near Chemnitz, in 1521.
The Madle surname also appears in some of the earliest German-language genealogical records, such as the "Stammbuch" (family book) of the Madle family from Nuremberg, which traces the lineage back to the late 15th century. This suggests that the name had already become established as a hereditary surname by that time.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Madle name continued to spread across various parts of Germany, as evidenced by records of individuals bearing the surname in cities like Berlin, Leipzig, and Cologne. One notable figure from this period was Hans Madle (1540-1612), a renowned clockmaker and inventor from Nuremberg.
As German settlers began to migrate to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Madle surname traveled with them. Johann Georg Madle (1701-1782), a Lutheran pastor from Saxony, was among the first known Madles to settle in Pennsylvania in the 1730s.
Other notable individuals with the Madle surname include Karl Madle (1807-1873), a German-American journalist and publisher who founded the Cincinnati Volksblatt newspaper, and Friedrich Madle (1875-1942), an Austrian painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and depictions of rural life.
While the Madle name has maintained a presence in various parts of Germany and across German-American communities, it remains a relatively uncommon surname globally. However, its origins as a descriptive nickname for a young woman serve as a reminder of the rich history and cultural significance often embedded within surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Madle
Among Census respondents with the surname Madle, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Madle 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 Madle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 118
Timeline
Historical Census data for Madle
Madle 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
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,283 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 4,283 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 Madle 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 | #139,228 | #143,511 | -3.1% |
| Count | 120 | 118 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Madle bearers went from 120 to 118 (-1.7% change). The surname moved down 4,283 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #143,511.
FAQ
Madle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Madle?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Madle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Madle?
Madle ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Madle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Madle.
Has Madle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Madle went from 120 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Madle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Madle, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Madle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Madle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Madle (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 Madle mean?
A locational name denoting someone from a place called Madeley or Madle. 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 Madle (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 Madle?
Find out how common the surname Madle is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.