2010
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Mator
A Latin surname derived from the term "mater" meaning mother.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Mator. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mator 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.
Bearers in the US
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Mator in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mator, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mator
The surname MATOR has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Rome. It is derived from the Latin word "mator," which means "one who is early" or "one who arrives early." The name likely referred to someone who was an early riser or an early worker.
During the Roman Empire, the name MATOR may have been used as a nickname or a cognomen, which was a personal name added to a Roman citizen's name to identify their family or branch of the family. However, there are no specific historical records or manuscripts that directly mention the name MATOR from this period.
The earliest recorded instances of the name MATOR date back to the Middle Ages in parts of Europe, particularly in regions that were heavily influenced by Latin culture and language. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Petrus MATOR, a merchant from the city of Florence, Italy, who lived in the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name MATOR appeared in several records in the French region of Normandy, where it was likely derived from the Norman French word "matour," which had a similar meaning to the Latin "mator." One notable figure from this period was Jean MATOR, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War between France and England.
In the 16th century, the name MATOR was also found in parts of England, particularly in the county of Somerset. This may have been due to the influence of French and Norman culture after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. One of the earliest recorded English bearers of the name was William MATOR, a landowner from the village of Shepton Mallet, who was born around 1520.
Another notable figure with the surname MATOR was Giovanni MATOR, an Italian artist and architect from the city of Verona, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was known for his work on several churches and palaces in Verona and the surrounding region.
In the 17th century, the name MATOR was also found in parts of Spain and Portugal, where it may have been influenced by the Latin roots of the name. One example is Pedro MATOR, a Spanish explorer and navigator who sailed with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on his famous circumnavigation of the globe in the early 1500s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mator
Among Census respondents with the surname Mator, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Mator 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 Mator surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.1% · 80
- Black or African American32.2% · 39
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mator
Mator appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+7 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,911 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.1%) | Up 3,911 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 Mator 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 | #145,220 | #141,309 | 2.7% |
| Count | 114 | 121 | 6.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mator bearers went from 114 to 121 (+6.1% change). The surname moved up 3,911 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #141,309.
FAQ
Mator surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mator?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Mator. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Mator?
Mator ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Mator. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mator.
Has Mator become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mator went from 114 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 7 (+6.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #145,220 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Mator?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mator, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Mator in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.1% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mator appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.1%), Black (32.2%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Mator (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 Mator mean?
A Latin surname derived from the term "mater" meaning mother. 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 Mator (0.04 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 are called Mator?
See how many Americans have the surname Mator on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.