2000
#9,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Maul
A Germanic occupational surname referring to someone who worked in a mill or as a miller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,382 Americans carry the last name Maul. That puts it at #10,391 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,347 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maul 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 Maul with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 101,347
Census rank
#10,391
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,949 bearers of the surname Maul in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10391st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maul, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maul
The surname MAUL originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "mul" which means "mule" or "small horse". This occupational surname was likely first given to a muleteer or someone who worked with mules.
The earliest recorded use of the name MAUL dates back to the 13th century, with mentions found in old parish records and tax rolls from regions like Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest spellings include Maull, Maul, and Mauler. The name was also written as Mul and Muhl in certain areas.
In the 1086 Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct listings of the surname MAUL. However, there are entries for place names like Multon and Muleton, which could be related to the name's origins.
Notable historical figures with the surname MAUL include Johannes Maul (1592-1659), a German theologian and writer from Nuremberg. Another early bearer was Heinrich Maul (1646-1722), a Prussian composer and organist active in Berlin during the Baroque period.
In the 18th century, Johann Wilhelm Maul (1720-1788) was a German theologian and philosopher who published works on logic and metaphysics. Around the same time, Johann Gottfried Maul (1719-1794) was a German pastor and author from Saxony.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England is William Maul, born in 1685 in Devonshire. He later immigrated to the American colonies in the early 1700s and settled in Virginia.
While the surname MAUL originated in Germany, it eventually spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and trade routes. Over time, it evolved into various spellings and regional variations, but its roots can be traced back to the Middle High German word for "mule".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maul
Among Census respondents with the surname Maul, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Maul 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 Maul surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 2,420
- Black or African American8.6% · 254
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 158
- Two or more races2.9% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maul
Maul 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
#10,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,185
+58 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 583 places
2020
#10,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,949
-236 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 272 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,536 | 3,127 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,119 | 3,185 | 1.08 | +58 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 583 places |
| 2020 | #10,391 | 2,949 | 0.99 | -236 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 272 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 Maul 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 | #10,119 | #10,391 | -2.7% |
| Count | 3,185 | 2,949 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 0.99 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maul bearers went from 3,185 to 2,949 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 272 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,119 to #10,391.
FAQ
Maul surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maul?
Name Census estimates that about 3,382 living Americans carry the surname Maul. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,347 residents.
How common is Maul?
Maul ranks #10,391 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 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 2,949 people with the surname Maul. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,382), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 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 Maul.
Has Maul become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maul went from 3,185 recorded bearers to 2,949. That is a decrease of 236 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,119 to #10,391.
What does the Census say about the background of Maul?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maul, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Maul in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (2,420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maul appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.1%), Black (8.6%), Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Maul (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 Maul mean?
A Germanic occupational surname referring to someone who worked in a mill or as a miller. 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 Maul (0.99 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 are called Maul?
You can see how many people have the surname Maul on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.