2000
#8,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,422
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Mauk
A German occupational surname referring to a stonemason or bricklayer, derived from the Middle High German word "mûraere."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,594 Americans carry the last name Mauk. That puts it at #9,847 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 95,368 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mauk 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
3.6K
1 in 95,368
Census rank
#9,847
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,134 bearers of the surname Mauk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9847th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mauk, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mauk
The surname Mauk originates from Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Low German word "mouk," which translates to "thick" or "clumsy," potentially referring to a person's physical stature or demeanor.
The name Mauk was primarily concentrated in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia, where it first appeared in historical records. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the 1589 tax records of the town of Merseburg, which mentions a certain "Hans Mauk."
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Mauk surname began to spread across various parts of Germany, with some families migrating to neighboring countries like Poland and the Netherlands. In the 1660s, a notable figure named Johann Mauk (1630-1701) was recorded as a prominent Lutheran theologian and author in the city of Wittenberg.
In the early 19th century, a branch of the Mauk family settled in the United States, with one of the earliest recorded instances being the arrival of Johann Mauk (1785-1862) in Pennsylvania in 1812. Another notable individual with this surname was Wilhelm Mauk (1865-1934), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and depictions of rural life.
Other notable individuals bearing the surname Mauk include:
1. Johann Friedrich Mauk (1745-1818), a German author and educator who published several works on geography and history.
2. Heinrich Mauk (1823-1897), a German-American painter and lithographer who documented scenes from the American Civil War.
3. Nikolaus Mauk (1869-1942), an Austrian composer and music teacher who contributed to the development of church music in the early 20th century.
4. Gerhard Mauk (1908-1983), a German lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament.
5. Dieter Mauk (born 1941), a German football player and coach who played for several clubs in Germany's top divisions.
While the surname Mauk may have originated from a descriptive term, it has evolved to represent a distinct lineage with a rich history spanning various regions and professions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mauk
Among Census respondents with the surname Mauk, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mauk 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 Mauk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 2,851
- Two or more races3.5% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 79
- Black or African American1.4% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mauk
Mauk 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
#8,784
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,733
+311 bearers (+9.1%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Up 31 places
2020
#9,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,134
-599 bearers (-16.0%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Down 1,063 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,815 | 3,422 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,784 | 3,733 | 1.27 | +311 bearers (+9.1%) | Up 31 places |
| 2020 | #9,847 | 3,134 | 1.05 | -599 bearers (-16.0%) | Down 1,063 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 Mauk 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 | #8,784 | #9,847 | -12.1% |
| Count | 3,733 | 3,134 | -16.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.05 | -17.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mauk bearers went from 3,733 to 3,134 (-16.0% change). The surname moved down 1,063 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,784 to #9,847.
FAQ
Mauk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mauk?
Name Census estimates that about 3,594 living Americans carry the surname Mauk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 95,368 residents.
How common is Mauk?
Mauk ranks #9,847 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.05 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 3,134 people with the surname Mauk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,594), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.05 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 Mauk.
Has Mauk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mauk went from 3,733 recorded bearers to 3,134. That is a decrease of 599 (-16.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,784 to #9,847.
What does the Census say about the background of Mauk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mauk, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Mauk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (2,851 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mauk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Mauk (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 Mauk mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a stonemason or bricklayer, derived from the Middle High German word "mûraere." 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 Mauk (1.05 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 Americans have the surname Mauk?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.