Find out how popular the last name Mah is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Mah.

Mah, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Mah surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mah in America

Mah is the 12124th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mah surname appeared 2,571 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Mah.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mah to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Mah

The surname MAH originated in northern Germany, likely emerging during the Middle Ages between 1000-1300 CE. It may be derived from the Old German word "mahha" meaning "kinsman" or "relative". Alternatively, it could stem from a place name like Mahndorf or Mahlendorf, villages in Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg respectively.

Early records of the name can be found in 15th century tax rolls and parish registers across Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Mahe family is listed in a 1498 census of Lübeck, one of the principal cities of the Hanseatic League. Johan Mahe, a merchant and alderman, is noted as a signatory on a 1525 trade agreement with Danish authorities.

The Domesday Book, a great Norman census from 1086, does not reference MAH as it primarily covers England. However, variants like Maa and Mahe appear in Dutch and French records from that era. Willems Maa is recorded as a shipwright in Rotterdam in 1235. Giles de Mahe held lands near Picardy, France in the late 12th century according to monastic charters.

Notable bearers of the name over time include Hans Mah (c.1475-1541), a master baker in Rostock renowned for his gingerbread recipes. Johann Bernhard Mah (1718-1783) was a Lutheran pastor in Stargard, Prussia and published several volumes of sermons. During the Napoleonic Wars, Prussian cavalry officer Friedrich von Mah (1779-1857) fought at Borodino and Leipzig.

In the 19th century, Carl Mah (1832-1887) emigrated from Mecklenburg to Australia where he became a prosperous sheep rancher near Ballarat. His descendant Alfred Mah (1870-1939) held a seat in the Australian House of Representatives. Serving in both World Wars, British general Sir Wilfred Mah (1892-1967) commanded forces in Egypt and Italy during World War 2.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mah

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Mah.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Mah was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Mah has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Mah was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mah, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!