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

Mattes, 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 Mattes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mattes in America

Mattes is the 10644th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mattes surname appeared 3,007 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Mattes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mattes 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 Mattes

The surname Mattes has its origins in Germany, specifically in the southern regions near Austria and Switzerland. It first emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is believed to be derived from the German given name Matthias, which itself comes from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, meaning "gift of God."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mattes can be found in the Heidelberg Archives, where a certain Hans Mattes is mentioned as a resident of the city in 1437. The name also appears in various other historical records from the region, such as church registers and municipal records.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Mattes began to spread beyond its original heartland in southern Germany, as families bearing the surname migrated to other parts of the country, as well as neighboring territories. Some variations in spelling also emerged, such as Mattes, Mattess, and Matteß.

In the 18th century, the name Mattes gained prominence through the work of Johann Matthias Mattes (1717-1804), a renowned German physician and botanist. He was born in Kassel and made significant contributions to the study of plant anatomy and physiology.

Another notable figure was Friedrich Mattes (1856-1937), a German architect and urban planner who was instrumental in the development of the city of Mannheim. His designs for residential and commercial buildings, as well as his urban planning concepts, left a lasting impact on the city's landscape.

In the 19th century, the name Mattes also found its way to other parts of Europe, including France and Italy, where it was sometimes adapted to local spellings such as Mattès or Mattesi.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mattes in the United States dates back to the mid-18th century, when Johann Mattes (1732-1805) immigrated from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various regions of the country.

Throughout history, several other individuals with the surname Mattes have made their mark in various fields, including Rudolf Mattes (1890-1971), an Austrian-American physicist known for his contributions to nuclear physics, and Joachim Mattes (1911-1984), a German actor and film director active in the mid-20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mattes

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

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

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

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