2000
#3,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,713
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.60
Uncommon Last name
Mauldin
Derived from a place name meaning "hill of the meeting place" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,397 Americans carry the last name Mauldin. That puts it at #3,816 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,967 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mauldin 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
10K
1 in 32,967
Census rank
#3,816
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.1K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,067 bearers of the surname Mauldin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3816th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mauldin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mauldin
The surname MAULDIN is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "mal" meaning "rent" or "tax" and "dun" meaning "hill". It is believed to have originated in the 12th century as a locational name, referring to someone who lived on or near a hill where taxes or rents were collected.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in records from the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire in northern England. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William de Maldun, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1176.
In the 13th century, variations of the name such as Maldon and Malden were found in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The name appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Maldune", referring to a place in Warwickshire.
The MAULDIN name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir Thomas Mauldin (c. 1395-1460), a prominent English landowner and Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire during the reign of Henry VI.
John Mauldin (1561-1622) was an English clergyman and author who served as the Dean of Worcester Cathedral in the early 17th century. He is best known for his work "The Merciful Promise", published in 1616.
Sir Benjamin Mauldin (1672-1738) was a British naval officer who rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and served in several engagements during the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
William Mauldin (1801-1885) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina in the mid-19th century, representing the state's 8th congressional district.
Bill Mauldin (1921-2003) was a renowned American editorial cartoonist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, best known for his iconic World War II cartoons depicting the lives of American soldiers.
The MAULDIN surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Mauldin Grange in Bedfordshire and Mauldin Hill in Lancashire, reflecting its locational origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mauldin
Among Census respondents with the surname Mauldin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mauldin 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 Mauldin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 7,278
- Black or African American10.5% · 956
- Two or more races4.5% · 411
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 321
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mauldin
Mauldin 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
#3,561
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,011
+298 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 3.39
Rank movement Down 195 places
2020
#3,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,067
-944 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 3.03
Rank movement Down 255 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,366 | 9,713 | 3.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,561 | 10,011 | 3.39 | +298 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 195 places |
| 2020 | #3,816 | 9,067 | 3.03 | -944 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 255 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 Mauldin 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 | #3,561 | #3,816 | -7.2% |
| Count | 10,011 | 9,067 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.39 | 3.03 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mauldin bearers went from 10,011 to 9,067 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 255 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,561 to #3,816.
FAQ
Mauldin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mauldin?
Name Census estimates that about 10,397 living Americans carry the surname Mauldin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,967 residents.
How common is Mauldin?
Mauldin ranks #3,816 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,067 people with the surname Mauldin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,397), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mauldin.
Has Mauldin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mauldin went from 10,011 recorded bearers to 9,067. That is a decrease of 944 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,561 to #3,816.
What does the Census say about the background of Mauldin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mauldin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Mauldin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (7,278 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mauldin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.3%), Black (10.5%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Mauldin (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 Mauldin mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hill of the meeting place" in Old English. 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 Mauldin (3.03 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 Mauldin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.