2000
#16,444
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,611
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Makin
Derived from a place name meaning "a settlement" in Old English, likely referring to the village of Machen, Wales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,914 Americans carry the last name Makin. That puts it at #16,676 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 179,078 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Makin 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 Makin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.9K
1 in 179,078
Census rank
#16,676
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,669 bearers of the surname Makin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16676th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Makin, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makin
Among Census respondents with the surname Makin, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Makin 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 Makin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.7% · 1,397
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 94
- Two or more races4.6% · 77
- Black or African American3.0% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Makin
Makin 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
#12,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,538
+927 bearers (+57.5%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Up 4,189 places
2020
#16,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,669
-869 bearers (-34.2%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Down 4,421 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,444 | 1,611 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,255 | 2,538 | 0.86 | +927 bearers (+57.5%) | Up 4,189 places |
| 2020 | #16,676 | 1,669 | 0.56 | -869 bearers (-34.2%) | Down 4,421 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 Makin 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 | #12,255 | #16,676 | -36.1% |
| Count | 2,538 | 1,669 | -34.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.56 | -35.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Makin bearers went from 2,538 to 1,669 (-34.2% change). The surname moved down 4,421 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,255 to #16,676.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Makin
FAQ
Makin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Makin?
Name Census estimates that about 1,914 living Americans carry the surname Makin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 179,078 residents.
How common is Makin?
Makin ranks #16,676 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.56 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 1,669 people with the surname Makin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,914), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.56 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 Makin.
Has Makin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Makin went from 2,538 recorded bearers to 1,669. That is a decrease of 869 (-34.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,255 to #16,676.
What does the Census say about the background of Makin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Makin, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Makin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (1,397 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Makin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.7%), Hispanic (5.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Makin (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 Makin mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "a settlement" in Old English, likely referring to the village of Machen, Wales. 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 Makin (0.56 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 people have the surname Makin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.