2000
#4,884
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,602
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.45
Rare Last name
Mather
One who mows hay or grass, or a dweller near a meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,045 Americans carry the last name Mather. That puts it at #5,470 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,652 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mather 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 Mather with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.0K
1 in 48,652
Census rank
#5,470
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,144 bearers of the surname Mather in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5470th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mather, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mather
The surname Mather is of English origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from an occupational name for a maker of mats or matting, which comes from the Old English word "matt" meaning "mat" or "matting." The name was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Mattere."
During the 13th century, the surname appeared in various records with different spellings such as Mathar, Mathare, and Mather. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is John le Mather, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219.
The Mather family had a strong presence in Lancashire and Yorkshire, where several place names were derived from the surname, including Mather, a township in the parish of Whalley, Lancashire. The name was also found in other parts of England, such as Nottinghamshire and Suffolk.
Notable individuals with the surname Mather include:
1. Richard Mather (1596-1669), an influential Puritan minister in colonial Massachusetts and one of the founders of the Congregational church in New England.
2. Increase Mather (1639-1723), a Puritan minister and author who served as the president of Harvard College from 1685 to 1701.
3. Cotton Mather (1663-1728), a Puritan minister and influential figure in the Salem Witch Trials. He was also a prolific author and is known for his work "Magnalia Christi Americana."
4. Samuel Mather (1626-1671), a Puritan minister and president of Harvard College from 1685 to 1687.
5. William Williams Mather (1804-1859), an American businessman and industrialist who founded the Mather Iron Works in Cleveland, Ohio.
Throughout history, the Mather surname has been associated with individuals who made significant contributions to religious, academic, and industrial fields, particularly in England and colonial America.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mather
Among Census respondents with the surname Mather, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mather 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 Mather surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 5,496
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 239
- Two or more races3.5% · 218
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 83
- Black or African American1.0% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mather
Mather 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
#4,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,621
+1,019 bearers (+15.4%)
Per 100,000 2.58
Rank movement Up 232 places
2020
#5,470
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,144
-1,477 bearers (-19.4%)
Per 100,000 2.06
Rank movement Down 818 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,884 | 6,602 | 2.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,652 | 7,621 | 2.58 | +1,019 bearers (+15.4%) | Up 232 places |
| 2020 | #5,470 | 6,144 | 2.06 | -1,477 bearers (-19.4%) | Down 818 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 Mather 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 | #4,652 | #5,470 | -17.6% |
| Count | 7,621 | 6,144 | -19.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.58 | 2.06 | -20.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mather bearers went from 7,621 to 6,144 (-19.4% change). The surname moved down 818 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,652 to #5,470.
FAQ
Mather surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mather?
Name Census estimates that about 7,045 living Americans carry the surname Mather. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,652 residents.
How common is Mather?
Mather ranks #5,470 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,144 people with the surname Mather. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,045), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mather.
Has Mather become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mather went from 7,621 recorded bearers to 6,144. That is a decrease of 1,477 (-19.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,652 to #5,470.
What does the Census say about the background of Mather?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mather, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (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 Mather in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (5,496 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mather appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (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 Mather (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 Mather mean?
One who mows hay or grass, or a dweller near a meadow. 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 Mather (2.06 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 last name Mather?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Mather at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.