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

Makin, 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 Makin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Makin in America

Makin is the 12255th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Makin surname appeared 2,538 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 Makin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Makin 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 Makin

The surname Makin originated in the area of Mackinaw in northern Michigan, which was named after the indigenous Obijwe word "michillimakinang" meaning "place of giant turtles." The name is believed to have derived from this place name during the early 18th century when French fur traders and settlers began arriving in the region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Makin surname can be found in the 1790 census records of Quebec, where a Jacques Makin is listed as residing in the parish of Saint-Eustache. It is likely that Jacques was a French Canadian whose ancestors adopted the surname after arriving in the Mackinaw region from France.

Another early record of the name comes from the 1810 baptismal records of the Catholic Church in Detroit, where a child named Marie-Anne Makin was baptized. This suggests that the Makin family had spread from the Mackinaw region to the nearby settlements of what was then the Michigan Territory.

In the 19th century, the Makin surname began appearing in various parts of the United States and Canada as families migrated westward. One notable bearer of the name was John Makin (1819-1892), a pioneer settler in Iowa who established the town of Makinville in 1855.

Another prominent individual with the Makin surname was William Makin (1845-1923), a British politician and businessman who served as a Member of Parliament for the Wallasey constituency from 1900 to 1906.

Other historical figures with the Makin surname include:

1. Robert Makin (1648-1718), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.
2. Bathsheba Makin (1608-1675), an English writer and early advocate for women's education.
3. Thomas Makin (1766-1836), an American Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia.
4. James Makin (1823-1890), a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
5. Alfred Makin (1870-1953), an Australian politician who served as a Member of Parliament and Minister for Customs in the 1920s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Makin

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

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 Makin 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 Makin 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 Makin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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