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

Maness, 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 Maness surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Maness in America

Maness is the 4393rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Maness surname appeared 8,095 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Maness.

We can also compare 2010 data for Maness 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 Maness

The surname Maness finds its origins in the Brittany region of northwestern France, specifically in the areas surrounding the city of Rennes. The name is derived from the Old Breton word "manac'h," meaning "monk" or "monastic." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have been associated with a monastic order or lived in close proximity to a monastery.

Records dating back to the 13th century show instances of the name being spelled as "Manec," "Manach," and "Manac'h," reflecting the linguistic evolution of the region. One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the "Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Aubin des Bois," a 13th-century manuscript that chronicles the history of a Benedictine abbey in the Brittany region.

As the name spread beyond its place of origin, it underwent various spelling variations, including "Manesse," "Manés," and eventually "Maness." In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Jean Maness, a master glassmaker from the town of Nantes, whose intricate stained glass work adorned several churches in the region.

Moving into the 17th century, historical records mention a certain Guillaume Maness, a nobleman from the village of Plouzané, who served as a captain in the French army during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Another individual of note was Marie-Anne Maness, a renowned author and poet born in Rennes in 1683, whose works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.

In the 18th century, the Maness surname gained prominence in the New World, with several individuals bearing the name arriving in the American colonies from France. One such individual was Pierre Maness, a French Huguenot who settled in South Carolina in the 1730s, where he established a successful plantation and became a prominent member of the local community.

As the 19th century dawned, the Maness family continued to leave their mark on various fields. Joseph Maness, born in 1812 in Louisiana, was a pioneering botanist who contributed significantly to the study of the flora native to the Gulf Coast region. Another notable figure was Émilie Maness, a Parisian artist born in 1845, whose impressionistic landscapes and portraits garnered widespread acclaim during her lifetime.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Maness

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

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

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

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