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

Maltais, 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 Maltais surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Maltais in America

Maltais is the 49087th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Maltais surname appeared 429 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Maltais.

We can also compare 2010 data for Maltais 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 Maltais

The surname Maltais has its origins in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. It first emerged in the late 11th century during the Norman conquest of the island. The name is derived from the Latin word "Melita," which was the ancient Roman name for Malta.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Maltais surname can be found in a 1198 manuscript from the Knights of St. John, a Catholic military order that ruled over Malta for several centuries. The document mentions a knight named Robérs Maltais who participated in the Third Crusade.

During the Middle Ages, the Maltais name was sometimes spelled as "Maltese," reflecting the Italian influence on the island. This spelling variation can be seen in a 1362 record from the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which lists a knight named Giovanni Maltese.

In the 15th century, the Maltais surname began to spread beyond Malta as members of the family migrated to other parts of Europe. One notable early bearer of the name was Jacques Maltais, a French explorer who led expeditions to the Caribbean in the 1490s.

Over the centuries, several prominent individuals have carried the Maltais surname. These include:

1. Jean-Baptiste Maltais (1616-1672), a French-Canadian settler and farmer who was one of the first Europeans to establish a permanent residence in what is now Quebec.

2. Marie-Anne Maltais (1738-1812), a French-Canadian midwife who assisted in the delivery of over 4,000 babies during her career.

3. Joseph Maltais (1858-1924), a Canadian politician who served as the Mayor of Quebec City from 1906 to 1908.

4. Louis Maltais (1879-1957), a French artist known for his landscape paintings of the Normandy region.

5. Marie-Claire Maltais (1930-2018), a Canadian novelist and playwright whose works explored themes of identity and belonging in the Francophone community.

While the Maltais name has its roots in the Mediterranean, it has since spread around the world, carried by generations of individuals with diverse backgrounds and accomplishments.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Maltais

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

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

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

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