2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Magor
A Welsh surname derived from a place name, likely from a farmstead.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Magor. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Magor 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 Magor with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Magor in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Magor, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Magor
The surname Magor originated in Wales during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Welsh word "mawr," meaning "great" or "large," and likely referred to someone of great stature or importance. Magor may also be related to the place name "Magor," a village in Monmouthshire, Wales, suggesting that early bearers of the name may have hailed from this area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Magor can be found in the Register of the Gild of the Corpus Christi in the town of York, England, where a Thomas Magor is mentioned in 1399. This suggests that the name had already spread beyond its Welsh origins by the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various records, such as the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1558, which mentions a William Magor. Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Magor, a Puritan minister and author who was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1573 and died in 1634.
During the 17th century, the surname Magor continued to appear in various records across England and Wales. One notable figure was Sir Samuel Magor, a Welsh lawyer and politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire from 1661 to 1679.
In the 18th century, the name Magor can be found in the parish records of several English counties, such as Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. One notable bearer of the name during this period was John Magor, a Gloucestershire landowner and magistrate who lived from 1706 to 1778.
The 19th century saw the surname Magor spread further across the British Isles and beyond. One notable figure was Samuel Magor, an English surgeon and author who was born in Gloucestershire in 1805 and wrote several medical treatises. Another was William Magor, a Welsh industrialist and coal mine owner who lived from 1817 to 1878.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Magor
Among Census respondents with the surname Magor, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Magor 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 Magor surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 86
- Black or African American10.6% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Magor
Magor 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-23 bearers (-17.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 30,455 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 179 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-17.8%) | Down 30,455 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 179 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 Magor 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 | #153,769 | #153,590 | 0.1% |
| Count | 106 | 104 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Magor bearers went from 106 to 104 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 179 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #153,590.
FAQ
Magor surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Magor?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Magor. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Magor?
Magor ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Magor. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Magor.
Has Magor become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Magor went from 106 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Magor?
Among Census respondents with the surname Magor, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Magor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Magor appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.7%), Black (10.6%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Magor (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 Magor mean?
A Welsh surname derived from a place name, likely from a farmstead. 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 Magor (0.03 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 Magor?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.