2000
#7,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,930
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Maus
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "mūs," meaning "mouse," likely referring to a small or quiet person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,128 Americans carry the last name Maus. That puts it at #8,745 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,032 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maus 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
4.1K
1 in 83,032
Census rank
#8,745
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,600 bearers of the surname Maus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8745th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maus, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maus
The surname MAUS is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word "mus" meaning "mouse." This name is believed to have emerged in the medieval period, likely as a descriptive nickname for someone who bore some resemblance or characteristic akin to a mouse.
In the Middle Ages, surnames were often derived from occupations, physical traits, or even behavioral attributes. The surname MAUS could have been assigned to someone who was small, quick, or perhaps even viewed as timid like a mouse.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MAUS can be found in the city records of Nuremberg, Germany, dated back to the 14th century. The name appears in various spellings such as "Maus," "Mawse," and "Muse" throughout historical documents from different regions of Germany.
Notably, the MAUS surname is mentioned in the famous Berne Prayer Book manuscript, a 15th-century illuminated book of hours created in the city of Berne, Switzerland. This reference suggests the name's presence in the region during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname MAUS. One example is Johann Matthäus Maus (1647-1719), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of Hesse-Kassel. Another is Friedrich Maus (1778-1860), a German artist and lithographer known for his landscape paintings and etchings.
In the 19th century, Karl Maus (1836-1888) was a German architect and civil engineer who designed several notable structures, including the Reichstag building in Berlin. The surname MAUS also has connections to the literary world, with the German-American author and cartoonist Art Spiegelman (1948-present), best known for his graphic novel "Maus," which explores his parents' experiences as Polish Jews during the Holocaust.
The name MAUS has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Mausbach, a small town in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Mausitz, a village in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maus
Among Census respondents with the surname Maus, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Maus 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 Maus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 3,240
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 170
- Two or more races2.9% · 105
- Black or African American1.4% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maus
Maus 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
#8,288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,997
+67 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Down 487 places
2020
#8,745
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,600
-397 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 457 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,801 | 3,930 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,288 | 3,997 | 1.36 | +67 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 487 places |
| 2020 | #8,745 | 3,600 | 1.20 | -397 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 457 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 Maus 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 | #8,288 | #8,745 | -5.5% |
| Count | 3,997 | 3,600 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.36 | 1.20 | -11.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maus bearers went from 3,997 to 3,600 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 457 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,288 to #8,745.
FAQ
Maus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maus?
Name Census estimates that about 4,128 living Americans carry the surname Maus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,032 residents.
How common is Maus?
Maus ranks #8,745 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 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 3,600 people with the surname Maus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 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 Maus.
Has Maus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maus went from 3,997 recorded bearers to 3,600. That is a decrease of 397 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,288 to #8,745.
What does the Census say about the background of Maus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maus, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Maus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (3,240 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Hispanic (4.7%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Maus (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 Maus mean?
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "mūs," meaning "mouse," likely referring to a small or quiet person. 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 Maus (1.20 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 have the surname Maus?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.