2000
#7,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,854
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.43
Rare Last name
Mains
Derived from a Scottish place name or from the Old French demeine, meaning "of the estate" or "belonging to the lord."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,270 Americans carry the last name Mains. That puts it at #8,503 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,270 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mains 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 Mains with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 80,270
Census rank
#8,503
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,724 bearers of the surname Mains in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8503rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mains, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mains
The surname Mains is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Scots word "mains" which means the home farm or principal farm of an estate. It is believed to have emerged as a hereditary surname in the 12th or 13th century, when it was used to identify individuals who lived or worked on the main farm of a feudal lord's lands.
In medieval Scottish records, the surname appears with various spellings, such as Mains, Maynes, and Mayn. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which list a Richard de Mayn as a landowner who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mains surname was particularly prevalent in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the regions of Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, and Renfrewshire. These areas were home to several notable Mains families, including the Mains of Caldwell in Renfrewshire, who held lands from the 13th century onwards.
A prominent figure bearing the Mains surname was Sir William Mains of Caldwell (c.1560-1635), a Scottish landowner and politician who served as a Lord of Parliament during the reign of King James VI. Another notable individual was John Mains (1693-1753), a Scottish minister and theologian who was a prominent figure in the Church of Scotland during the 18th century.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Mains surname was also found in various parts of England, particularly in the northern counties, indicating that some Scottish Mains families had migrated across the border. One example is Thomas Mains (c.1600-1663), an English clergyman who served as the Rector of Stratford-upon-Avon and was acquainted with the famous playwright William Shakespeare.
The surname Mains has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Mainhill in Lanarkshire and Mains of Errol in Perthshire. These place names likely originated from the presence of a significant "mains" or home farm in those areas.
Other notable individuals with the Mains surname include Sir John Mains (1719-1784), a Scottish merchant and politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and James Mains (1834-1906), a Scottish-born Australian politician and businessman who was active in the colony of New South Wales in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mains
Among Census respondents with the surname Mains, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mains 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 Mains surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 3,351
- Two or more races3.8% · 141
- Black or African American2.8% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mains
Mains 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
#8,266
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,010
+156 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Down 301 places
2020
#8,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,724
-286 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Down 237 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,965 | 3,854 | 1.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,266 | 4,010 | 1.36 | +156 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 301 places |
| 2020 | #8,503 | 3,724 | 1.25 | -286 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 237 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 Mains 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 | #8,266 | #8,503 | -2.9% |
| Count | 4,010 | 3,724 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.36 | 1.25 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mains bearers went from 4,010 to 3,724 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 237 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,266 to #8,503.
FAQ
Mains surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mains?
Name Census estimates that about 4,270 living Americans carry the surname Mains. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,270 residents.
How common is Mains?
Mains ranks #8,503 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.25 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 3,724 people with the surname Mains. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,270), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.25 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 Mains.
Has Mains become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mains went from 4,010 recorded bearers to 3,724. That is a decrease of 286 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,266 to #8,503.
What does the Census say about the background of Mains?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mains, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (2.8%). 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 Mains in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (3,351 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mains appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Black (2.8%). 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 Mains (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 Mains mean?
Derived from a Scottish place name or from the Old French demeine, meaning "of the estate" or "belonging to the lord." 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 Mains (1.25 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 Americans have the surname Mains?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.