Masich last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Masich

A surname potentially derived from a Slavic place name or occupation.

Masich, 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 Masich surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Masich in America

Masich is the 101247th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Masich surname appeared 178 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 Masich.

We can also compare 2010 data for Masich 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank1012478954912.26%
Count178192-7.57%
Proportion per 100k0.060.07-15.38%

The history of the last name Masich

The surname MASICH is believed to have originated in the Slavic regions of Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the areas that are now modern-day Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The name is thought to have derived from the Slavic root word "mas," which means "fat" or "plump."

In the Middle Ages, surnames were often derived from physical characteristics, occupations, or nicknames, and the name MASICH likely referred to someone who was portly or stout. The suffix "-ich" is a common Slavic patronymic ending, indicating that the name was originally a patronymic, or a name derived from the father's given name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name MASICH appears in a 14th-century manuscript from the Dubrovnik Republic (now part of Croatia), where a man named Ivan Masich is mentioned as a merchant and landowner.

In the 16th century, there are records of a prominent family named MASICH living in the town of Kotor (now in Montenegro), which was then part of the Venetian Republic. A notable member of this family was Nikola Masich (1525-1601), a successful trader and ship owner who played a significant role in the maritime commerce of the Adriatic Sea.

Another notable figure bearing the surname MASICH was Matija Masich (1670-1746), a Franciscan friar and philosopher from the town of Slavonski Brod (now in Croatia). Masich was a prolific writer and scholar, contributing to the fields of theology, logic, and metaphysics.

In the 18th century, the MASICH name is found in various records from the Habsburg Monarchy, which ruled over much of Central Europe at the time. One such record mentions a Joseph Masich (1738-1801), a military officer who served in the Austrian army during the wars against the Ottoman Empire.

During the 19th century, the MASICH name spread across the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and there are records of individuals with this surname living in various regions, including Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. One notable figure from this period was Jovan Masich (1829-1902), a Serbian writer and poet who contributed significantly to the development of Serbian literature.

As the Slavic regions underwent political and social changes throughout the 20th century, the MASICH surname continued to be present, although its prevalence and distribution may have shifted due to migration patterns and other historical events.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Masich

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

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 Masich was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only97.19%173
Non-Hispanic Black Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

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 Masich has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White97.19%97.40%-0.22%
Black0.00%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander0.00%0.00%0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.00%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic(S)%(S)%(S)%

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

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

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