2000
#14,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,921
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Mattocks
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or user of a tool similar to a pickaxe.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,357 Americans carry the last name Mattocks. That puts it at #14,034 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 145,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mattocks 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 Mattocks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 145,420
Census rank
#14,034
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,055 bearers of the surname Mattocks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14034th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattocks, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mattocks
The surname Mattocks has its origins in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "mattoc," which was a type of tool or implement used for digging or cutting. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked with such tools, perhaps as a farmer or agricultural laborer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named William Mattok is mentioned. This spelling variation is indicative of how surnames were often fluid and varied in their spellings during that time period.
The Mattocks surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, where a William Mattok is listed. This record provides further evidence of the name's presence in medieval England.
In the 14th century, the name Mattocks can be found in the Court Rolls of Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire, where a John Mattok is recorded as a resident in 1349. This suggests that the surname had spread to different regions of the country by this point.
A notable individual bearing the Mattocks surname was Sir Isaac Mattocks, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was a member of the English gentry and served as a Justice of the Peace in Gloucestershire. His birth and death dates are not precisely recorded, but he was active during the reign of King James I.
Another notable figure was Richard Mattocks, a 17th-century English author and clergyman. He was born in 1637 and published several works, including a book titled "The Life of Christ" in 1676. Mattocks served as the vicar of Dittingdale in Shropshire until his death in 1701.
In the 18th century, the Mattocks surname can be found in various parish records across England. One example is John Mattocks, who was born in Warwickshire in 1724 and later became a successful merchant in London.
Another individual of note was Thomas Mattocks, an English artist and engraver who lived from 1753 to 1831. He was known for his landscape paintings and etchings, and his works were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London.
A final example from history is Robert Mattocks, a British naval officer who lived from 1780 to 1862. He served in the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral, participating in several important battles during the Napoleonic Wars.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mattocks
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattocks, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mattocks 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 Mattocks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.2% · 1,258
- Black or African American30.0% · 616
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 79
- Two or more races3.8% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mattocks
Mattocks 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
#14,113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,129
+208 bearers (+10.8%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 189 places
2020
#14,034
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,055
-74 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 79 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,302 | 1,921 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,113 | 2,129 | 0.72 | +208 bearers (+10.8%) | Up 189 places |
| 2020 | #14,034 | 2,055 | 0.69 | -74 bearers (-3.5%) | Up 79 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 Mattocks 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 | #14,113 | #14,034 | 0.6% |
| Count | 2,129 | 2,055 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.69 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mattocks bearers went from 2,129 to 2,055 (-3.5% change). The surname moved up 79 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,113 to #14,034.
FAQ
Mattocks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mattocks?
Name Census estimates that about 2,357 living Americans carry the surname Mattocks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 145,420 residents.
How common is Mattocks?
Mattocks ranks #14,034 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,055 people with the surname Mattocks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Mattocks.
Has Mattocks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mattocks went from 2,129 recorded bearers to 2,055. That is a decrease of 74 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,113 to #14,034.
What does the Census say about the background of Mattocks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mattocks, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Mattocks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.2% (1,258 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mattocks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.2%), Black (30.0%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Mattocks (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 Mattocks mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or user of a tool similar to a pickaxe. 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 Mattocks (0.69 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 share the surname Mattocks?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.