2000
#11,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,516
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Mattis
Derived from the Latin name Matthias, meaning "gift of God," or from the German word for "mathematician."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,019 Americans carry the last name Mattis. That puts it at #11,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,532 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mattis 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 Mattis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,532
Census rank
#11,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,633 bearers of the surname Mattis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattis, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mattis
The surname Mattis has its origins in Germany, with records of the name dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German name "Matheus," which was a variant of the biblical name Matthew. This name likely came from the Hebrew name "Mattithyah," meaning "gift of God."
The earliest known record of the Mattis surname is found in the town of Essen, located in the Ruhr region of Germany, in 1284. This early spelling was "Mattys." Over time, the name spread to other parts of Germany, with variations such as "Matts," "Matte," and "Mattis" appearing in different regions.
One notable historical reference to the Mattis name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 14th century. In this collection, the name "Mattis" is listed as a tenant farmer in the village of Schönhausen in 1375.
Among the earliest recorded individuals with the Mattis surname was Johannes Mattis, born around 1450 in the town of Hildesheim, Lower Saxony. He was a respected merchant and landowner in the region. Another notable figure was Hans Mattis, a master woodcarver born in Nuremberg in 1511, whose intricate works adorned many churches and cathedrals throughout Germany.
In the 17th century, the Mattis name appeared in the town of Altenau, in the Harz Mountains region, where a family of miners and metalworkers bore this surname. One of the most notable members was Johann Mattis (1622-1694), a skilled blacksmith and inventor who developed new techniques for extracting silver from ore.
Another significant figure in the history of the Mattis surname was Carl Mattis (1789-1857), a German painter and art educator from Berlin. He is remembered for his contributions to the development of art education in Prussia and his influential teachings at the Berlin Academy of Arts.
Georg Mattis (1826-1902), a German-American writer and journalist, was born in Darmstadt and later immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. He published several works on German culture and literature and was a prominent figure in the German-American community in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mattis
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattis, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Mattis 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 Mattis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.9% · 1,682
- Black or African American29.1% · 767
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 96
- Two or more races2.6% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mattis
Mattis 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
#11,472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,744
+228 bearers (+9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Up 8 places
2020
#11,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,633
-111 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,480 | 2,516 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,472 | 2,744 | 0.93 | +228 bearers (+9.1%) | Up 8 places |
| 2020 | #11,449 | 2,633 | 0.88 | -111 bearers (-4.0%) | Up 23 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 Mattis 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 | #11,472 | #11,449 | 0.2% |
| Count | 2,744 | 2,633 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.88 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mattis bearers went from 2,744 to 2,633 (-4.0% change). The surname moved up 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,472 to #11,449.
FAQ
Mattis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mattis?
Name Census estimates that about 3,019 living Americans carry the surname Mattis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,532 residents.
How common is Mattis?
Mattis ranks #11,449 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,633 people with the surname Mattis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,019), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Mattis.
Has Mattis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mattis went from 2,744 recorded bearers to 2,633. That is a decrease of 111 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,472 to #11,449.
What does the Census say about the background of Mattis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattis, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Mattis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.9% (1,682 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mattis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.9%), Black (29.1%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Mattis (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 Mattis mean?
Derived from the Latin name Matthias, meaning "gift of God," or from the German word for "mathematician." 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 Mattis (0.88 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 Mattis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.