2000
#8,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,497
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.30
Rare Last name
Mager
A German occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold poppy seed rolls or cakes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,106 Americans carry the last name Mager. That puts it at #11,173 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,352 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mager 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 Mager with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 110,352
Census rank
#11,173
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,709 bearers of the surname Mager in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11173rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mager, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mager
The surname Mager is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Middle High German word "mager," which means "thin" or "lean." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone of a slender build.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mager can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in the Bürgermatrikel, the citizen registers of various German cities from the 14th and 15th centuries.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name Mager was Johann Mager, a German theologian and reformer born in 1492. He was a follower of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
During the 17th century, the name Mager appeared in various records across Germany, including church registers and land deeds. One example is Hans Mager, a landowner from the town of Erfurt, who is mentioned in a document from 1638.
In the 18th century, Johann Georg Mager, a German composer and organist, was born in 1719. He was renowned for his works in the Baroque style and served as the court organist for the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.
The 19th century saw the name Mager spread beyond Germany, with individuals bearing this surname migrating to other parts of Europe and North America. One notable figure from this period was Karl Mager, a German-American artist and lithographer born in 1819, known for his intricate landscape paintings.
Another historical figure with the surname Mager was Theodor Mager, a German historian and genealogist born in 1842. He authored several books on the history and genealogy of noble families in Germany, contributing significantly to the study of family lineages.
As the name Mager has its roots in Germany, it is often associated with place names and geographic features in that region. For example, the town of Magerau in Bavaria may be related to the surname, as well as the Magerbach, a small river in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mager
Among Census respondents with the surname Mager, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mager 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 Mager surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 2,485
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 71
- Two or more races2.5% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 45
- Black or African American1.1% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mager
Mager 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
#10,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,980
-517 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 2,064 places
2020
#11,173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,709
-271 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 452 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,657 | 3,497 | 1.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,721 | 2,980 | 1.01 | -517 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 2,064 places |
| 2020 | #11,173 | 2,709 | 0.91 | -271 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 452 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 Mager 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 | #10,721 | #11,173 | -4.2% |
| Count | 2,980 | 2,709 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.91 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mager bearers went from 2,980 to 2,709 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 452 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,721 to #11,173.
FAQ
Mager surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mager?
Name Census estimates that about 3,106 living Americans carry the surname Mager. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,352 residents.
How common is Mager?
Mager ranks #11,173 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,709 people with the surname Mager. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,106), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mager.
Has Mager become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mager went from 2,980 recorded bearers to 2,709. That is a decrease of 271 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,721 to #11,173.
What does the Census say about the background of Mager?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mager, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Mager in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (2,485 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mager appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Mager (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 Mager mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold poppy seed rolls or cakes. 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 Mager (0.91 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 share the surname Mager?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.