2000
#30,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 723
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.27
Very Rare Last name
Maull
A surname derived from the Middle English word "malle," meaning a heavy wooden hammer or mallet.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 911 Americans carry the last name Maull. That puts it at #31,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 376,240 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maull 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 Maull with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
911
1 in 376,240
Census rank
#31,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
794
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 794 bearers of the surname Maull in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maull, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.3%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (6.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maull
The surname MAULL is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "mulle," meaning a small hill or mound. It is believed to have originated as a topographic name, given to someone who lived near or on a small hill or elevated land.
In the early 13th century, the name was recorded as "de Mulle" in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time in the region of present-day Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MAULL can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, from the year 1347, where a certain Hans Maull is mentioned as a resident.
The MAULL surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Maulbronn, a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, which was initially called "Mulinbrunnen" in the 9th century, meaning "mill by the brook."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname MAULL. One example is Johann Maull (1788-1838), a German engraver and publisher known for his work on maps and atlases.
Another prominent figure was Carl Maull (1858-1940), a German-American painter and illustrator who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for his landscapes and illustrations of the American West.
In the field of music, Max Maull (1873-1964) was a German-American composer and music educator who taught at various universities in the United States and composed works for orchestra and chamber ensembles.
The name MAULL has also been associated with notable scientists, such as Richard Maull (1820-1898), a German-American chemist and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of the soda industry in the United States.
Finally, one cannot overlook the contributions of Paul Maull (1876-1958), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Church of St. Catherine of Siena and the Masonic Hall Temple.
While the surname MAULL has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with bearers of the name making their mark in various fields throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maull
Among Census respondents with the surname Maull, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.3%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (6.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Maull 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 Maull surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.3% · 368
- White43.7% · 347
- Two or more races6.8% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maull
Maull 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
#31,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 748
+25 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Down 550 places
2020
#31,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 794
+46 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.27
Rank movement Down 236 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #30,483 | 723 | 0.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #31,033 | 748 | 0.25 | +25 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 550 places |
| 2020 | #31,269 | 794 | 0.27 | +46 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 236 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 Maull 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 | #31,033 | #31,269 | -0.8% |
| Count | 748 | 794 | 6.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.25 | 0.27 | 6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maull bearers went from 748 to 794 (+6.1% change). The surname moved down 236 positions in the national ranking, going from #31,033 to #31,269.
FAQ
Maull surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maull?
Name Census estimates that about 911 living Americans carry the surname Maull. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 376,240 residents.
How common is Maull?
Maull ranks #31,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 794 people with the surname Maull. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (911), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Maull.
Has Maull become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maull went from 748 recorded bearers to 794. That is an increase of 46 (+6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #31,033 to #31,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Maull?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maull, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.3%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Maull in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.3% (368 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maull appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (46.3%), White (43.7%), Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Maull (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 Maull mean?
A surname derived from the Middle English word "malle," meaning a heavy wooden hammer or mallet. 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 Maull (0.27 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 Maull?
You can see how common the surname Maull is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.