2000
#7,568
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,052
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.50
Rare Last name
Maines
Habitational surname derived from the French province of Maine, indicating someone who originated from that region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,383 Americans carry the last name Maines. That puts it at #8,298 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,201 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maines 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 Maines with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,201
Census rank
#8,298
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,822 bearers of the surname Maines in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8298th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maines, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maines
The surname Maines has its origins in medieval England, where it first emerged as a locational name derived from the Old English word "mæne," meaning "common" or "shared." This suggests that the name may have initially identified someone who lived near a common or shared piece of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Maines." This entry indicates that the name was already in use among the Norman aristocracy in England shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, such as Maines, Mayne, and Mayn. These variations likely arose due to dialectal differences and the inconsistent spellings common in medieval times.
In the 13th century, records show a Sir William de Maines, a prominent knight who held lands in Oxfordshire. Another notable bearer of the name was John Maines, a wealthy merchant from Bristol who lived in the late 14th century and served as the city's mayor in 1388.
During the 16th century, the Maines surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. One notable figure from this period was Richard Maines (c. 1510-1578), a member of the influential Maines family of Gloucestershire and a prominent supporter of the Protestant Reformation.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various historical records, including the parish registers of St. Michael's Church in Coventry, where several members of the Maines family were recorded as living in the area.
Notable individuals with the surname Maines include Sir Christopher Maines (1590-1664), an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of Charles I, and John Maines (1662-1739), an English historian and topographer who authored several works on the history of Surrey and Hampshire.
Other notable figures include Edward Maines (1801-1884), an English lawyer and legal writer who published works on ancient law and the history of the English constitution, and George Maines (1840-1912), a British architect known for his designs of several notable buildings in London and the surrounding areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maines
Among Census respondents with the surname Maines, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Maines 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 Maines surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 3,341
- Black or African American4.2% · 161
- Two or more races4.0% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maines
Maines 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
#7,891
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,196
+144 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 323 places
2020
#8,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,822
-374 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 407 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,568 | 4,052 | 1.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,891 | 4,196 | 1.42 | +144 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 323 places |
| 2020 | #8,298 | 3,822 | 1.28 | -374 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 407 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 Maines 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 | #7,891 | #8,298 | -5.2% |
| Count | 4,196 | 3,822 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.42 | 1.28 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maines bearers went from 4,196 to 3,822 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 407 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,891 to #8,298.
FAQ
Maines surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maines?
Name Census estimates that about 4,383 living Americans carry the surname Maines. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,201 residents.
How common is Maines?
Maines ranks #8,298 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 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 3,822 people with the surname Maines. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,383), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 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 Maines.
Has Maines become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maines went from 4,196 recorded bearers to 3,822. That is a decrease of 374 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,891 to #8,298.
What does the Census say about the background of Maines?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maines, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Maines in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (3,341 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maines appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Black (4.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Maines (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 Maines mean?
Habitational surname derived from the French province of Maine, indicating someone who originated from that region. 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 Maines (1.28 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 Maines?
See how many people have the last name Maines on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.