2000
#10,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,702
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Mattes
A German and Czech occupational surname derived from Matthias or Matthäus, referring to someone who was a farmer or harvester.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,928 Americans carry the last name Mattes. That puts it at #11,738 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,061 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mattes 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
2.9K
1 in 117,061
Census rank
#11,738
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,553 bearers of the surname Mattes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11738th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattes, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mattes
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattes, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mattes 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 Mattes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 2,338
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 91
- Two or more races3.1% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 36
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mattes
Mattes 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
#10,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,007
+305 bearers (+11.3%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Up 185 places
2020
#11,738
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,553
-454 bearers (-15.1%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 1,094 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,829 | 2,702 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,644 | 3,007 | 1.02 | +305 bearers (+11.3%) | Up 185 places |
| 2020 | #11,738 | 2,553 | 0.85 | -454 bearers (-15.1%) | Down 1,094 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 Mattes 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 | #10,644 | #11,738 | -10.3% |
| Count | 3,007 | 2,553 | -15.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.85 | -16.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mattes bearers went from 3,007 to 2,553 (-15.1% change). The surname moved down 1,094 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,644 to #11,738.
FAQ
Mattes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mattes?
Name Census estimates that about 2,928 living Americans carry the surname Mattes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,061 residents.
How common is Mattes?
Mattes ranks #11,738 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 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 2,553 people with the surname Mattes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,928), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 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 Mattes.
Has Mattes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mattes went from 3,007 recorded bearers to 2,553. That is a decrease of 454 (-15.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,644 to #11,738.
What does the Census say about the background of Mattes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattes, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Mattes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (2,338 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mattes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Mattes (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 Mattes mean?
A German and Czech occupational surname derived from Matthias or Matthäus, referring to someone who was a farmer or harvester. 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 Mattes (0.85 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 surname Mattes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.