2000
#43,546
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 467
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Maginn
A surname denoting someone small or puny, from Irish Gaelic "maighin."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 586 Americans carry the last name Maginn. That puts it at #45,147 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 584,905 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maginn 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 Maginn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
586
1 in 584,905
Census rank
#45,147
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
511
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 511 bearers of the surname Maginn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 45147th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maginn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maginn
The surname Maginn is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic name "Mac Inghinn," which means "son of the maiden" or "son of the young girl." This name likely originated in the medieval period, when many Irish surnames were formed by adding the prefix "Mac" (son of) to a personal name or descriptive term.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various Irish annals and records from the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a Feardorcha Mag Inghinn in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, in the year 1407.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the Irish Fiants, a collection of official records from the English administration in Ireland. The Fiants mention several individuals with the surname Maginn, including a Patrick Maginn who received a grant of land in County Antrim in 1629.
The Maginn name has also been associated with various places in Ireland, such as Maginn's Bawn, a townland in County Down, and Maginn's Island in Lough Neagh, County Armagh.
Among notable individuals with the surname Maginn, one of the earliest was William Maginn (1793-1842), an Irish writer, poet, and critic who contributed to various literary publications, including Fraser's Magazine and Blackwood's Magazine. Another notable figure was John Maginn (1794-1857), an Irish-born artist and engraver who worked in London and is known for his etchings and engravings of portraits and landscapes.
Other notable individuals with the Maginn surname include:
1. Bernard Maginn (1837-1916), an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Ogdensburg, New York, from 1887 to 1914.
2. Patrick Maginn (1823-1899), an Irish-born Catholic priest and author who served in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, and wrote several works on Catholic theology.
3. Edward Maginn (1858-1935), an Irish-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Ansonia Hotel and the Riverside Church.
4. John Maginn (1861-1935), an Irish-born journalist and editor who worked for several newspapers in the United States, including the New York Sun and the New York Herald.
5. John Maginn (1892-1982), an Irish-born artist and illustrator known for his woodcuts and illustrations for books and magazines in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maginn
Among Census respondents with the surname Maginn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Maginn 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 Maginn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 474
- Two or more races3.5% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maginn
Maginn 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
#44,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 478
+11 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 1,326 places
2020
#45,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 511
+33 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 275 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,546 | 467 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,872 | 478 | 0.16 | +11 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 1,326 places |
| 2020 | #45,147 | 511 | 0.17 | +33 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 275 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 Maginn 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 | #44,872 | #45,147 | -0.6% |
| Count | 478 | 511 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.17 | 6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maginn bearers went from 478 to 511 (+6.9% change). The surname moved down 275 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,872 to #45,147.
FAQ
Maginn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maginn?
Name Census estimates that about 586 living Americans carry the surname Maginn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 584,905 residents.
How common is Maginn?
Maginn ranks #45,147 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 511 people with the surname Maginn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (586), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Maginn.
Has Maginn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maginn went from 478 recorded bearers to 511. That is an increase of 33 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #44,872 to #45,147.
What does the Census say about the background of Maginn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maginn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Maginn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (474 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maginn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Maginn (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 Maginn mean?
A surname denoting someone small or puny, from Irish Gaelic "maighin." 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 Maginn (0.17 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 Maginn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.