2000
#40,987
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 502
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Mahin
An Arabic surname meaning "intelligent" or "skilled".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 721 Americans carry the last name Mahin. That puts it at #37,959 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 475,387 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mahin 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.
Bearers in the US
721
1 in 475,387
Census rank
#37,959
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
629
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 629 bearers of the surname Mahin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 37959th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mahin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mahin
The surname MAHIN is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name O'Maidhin, which means "the descendant of Maidhin". Maidhin was a personal name derived from the Irish word "maidean", meaning "morning".
The name can be traced back to the 11th century, when it was first recorded in County Mayo, Ireland. It is believed that the name originated from a clan or family that settled in the area around that time.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Domnall O'Maidhin, a chieftain who lived in the 12th century. He is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of documents related to land grants and appointments in Ireland. One entry from 1587 mentions a Dermott O'Mahin from County Sligo.
As the name spread beyond Ireland, it underwent various spelling changes, including Mahin, Mahon, and Mahein. In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the Plantation of Ulster, a planned process of colonizing Ulster with Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Mahin (1658-1721), an Irish politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for County Leitrim in the early 18th century.
Another prominent figure was Reverend Michael Mahin (1779-1861), an Irish-American Methodist minister and educator. He was a co-founder of Madison College (now Colgate University) in New York.
In the 19th century, the name was carried by James Mahin (1823-1892), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the 26th Mayor of Chicago from 1887 to 1889.
John Lee Mahin (1899-1983) was an American screenwriter and novelist, best known for his work on the films "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Merton of the Movies".
More recently, John Mahin (born 1964) is an American screenwriter and director, known for his work on films such as "The Ugly Truth" and "Overboard".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahin
Among Census respondents with the surname Mahin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mahin 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 Mahin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.9% · 471
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.2% · 83
- Two or more races4.1% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 25
- Black or African American3.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mahin
Mahin 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
#47,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 442
-60 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 6,891 places
2020
#37,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 629
+187 bearers (+42.3%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Up 9,919 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #40,987 | 502 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #47,878 | 442 | 0.15 | -60 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 6,891 places |
| 2020 | #37,959 | 629 | 0.21 | +187 bearers (+42.3%) | Up 9,919 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 Mahin 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 | #47,878 | #37,959 | 20.7% |
| Count | 442 | 629 | 42.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.21 | 40.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mahin bearers went from 442 to 629 (+42.3% change). The surname moved up 9,919 positions in the national ranking, going from #47,878 to #37,959.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mahin
FAQ
Mahin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mahin?
Name Census estimates that about 721 living Americans carry the surname Mahin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 475,387 residents.
How common is Mahin?
Mahin ranks #37,959 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.21 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 629 people with the surname Mahin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (721), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.21 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 Mahin.
Has Mahin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mahin went from 442 recorded bearers to 629. That is an increase of 187 (+42.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #47,878 to #37,959.
What does the Census say about the background of Mahin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mahin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Mahin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (471 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mahin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Mahin (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 Mahin mean?
An Arabic surname meaning "intelligent" or "skilled". 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 Mahin (0.21 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 Mahin?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Mahin? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.