2000
#8,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,726
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.38
Rare Last name
Mastin
An English occupational surname referring to a stone mason or person who dressed stone.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,188 Americans carry the last name Mastin. That puts it at #8,626 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 81,842 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mastin 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 Mastin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 81,842
Census rank
#8,626
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,652 bearers of the surname Mastin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8626th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mastin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mastin
The surname Mastin has its origins in England, where it first emerged in the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "mæst" meaning "mast" and "tun" meaning "town" or "enclosure," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a mast or in a town where masts were made or stored.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1194, where a person named Walter Mastin is mentioned. The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which lists a Robert Mastin.
In the 14th century, the name is documented in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a John Mastin is mentioned in 1348. This record provides evidence of the name's presence in the north of England during this time period.
The Mastin surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir Thomas Mastin (c. 1370-1430), a Member of Parliament for Staffordshire during the reign of Henry IV. Another prominent figure was Sir Ralph Mastin (c. 1510-1586), who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1558.
During the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records, such as those of St. Giles Cripplegate in London, where a William Mastin is recorded as being married in 1631. The Mastin family also had connections to the village of Stratford-upon-Avon, with several members bearing the name recorded in the local parish registers during this period.
In the 18th century, a notable figure was John Mastin (1718-1786), a prominent London merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. He was also involved in the government's efforts to establish the settlement of Botany Bay in Australia.
Another important figure was Sir Benjamin Mastin (1744-1826), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. He rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and received several honors for his service, including a knighthood.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mastin
Among Census respondents with the surname Mastin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mastin 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 Mastin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 2,936
- Black or African American11.9% · 435
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 129
- Two or more races3.5% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mastin
Mastin 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
#8,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,085
+359 bearers (+9.6%)
Per 100,000 1.38
Rank movement Up 76 places
2020
#8,626
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,652
-433 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 507 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,195 | 3,726 | 1.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,119 | 4,085 | 1.38 | +359 bearers (+9.6%) | Up 76 places |
| 2020 | #8,626 | 3,652 | 1.22 | -433 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 507 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 Mastin 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 | #8,119 | #8,626 | -6.2% |
| Count | 4,085 | 3,652 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.38 | 1.22 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mastin bearers went from 4,085 to 3,652 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 507 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,119 to #8,626.
FAQ
Mastin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mastin?
Name Census estimates that about 4,188 living Americans carry the surname Mastin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 81,842 residents.
How common is Mastin?
Mastin ranks #8,626 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.22 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 3,652 people with the surname Mastin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,188), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.22 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 Mastin.
Has Mastin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mastin went from 4,085 recorded bearers to 3,652. That is a decrease of 433 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,119 to #8,626.
What does the Census say about the background of Mastin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mastin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Mastin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (2,936 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mastin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Black (11.9%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Mastin (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 Mastin mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a stone mason or person who dressed stone. 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 Mastin (1.22 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 share the surname Mastin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.