2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Maxner
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word 'manec' meaning money or wealth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Maxner. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maxner 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Maxner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maxner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maxner
The surname Maxner is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where it was initially spelled as "Maxner" or "Maxnor". The name is thought to be derived from the German word "maxen", meaning "to braid" or "to plait", suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been engaged in occupations related to weaving or braiding.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maxner can be found in the tax records of the town of Nuremberg, dated around 1530. These records mention a certain "Hans Maxner", who was a weaver by trade. Another early reference to the name appears in the church records of the town of Augsburg, where a "Michael Maxner" was listed as a member of the local guild of weavers in 1558.
In the 17th century, the Maxner surname began to spread beyond Bavaria and into other parts of Germany. During this period, the name appeared in various historical documents, including the baptismal records of the city of Dresden, where a "Johann Maxner" was listed in 1642. Additionally, a "Friedrich Maxner" was mentioned in the military records of the Prussian army in 1678, indicating that some bearers of the name had entered into military service.
As the centuries progressed, the Maxner surname continued to be found across Germany and beyond. Notable individuals with this surname include Johann Maximilian Maxner (1722-1798), a renowned composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Bavaria. Another prominent figure was Friedrich Wilhelm Maxner (1785-1854), a German politician and statesman who played a significant role in the unification of Germany in the 19th century.
Other individuals of note bearing the Maxner surname include Karl Maxner (1878-1942), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and Munich, and Hans Maxner (1901-1976), a German-born American artist known for his landscape paintings and etchings.
Throughout its history, the Maxner surname has retained its distinctive spelling, with only minor variations such as "Maxnor" or "Maxner-Schmidt" appearing in some cases. While the name has spread across various regions and countries, its origins can be traced back to the German-speaking regions of Bavaria and the occupations associated with weaving and braiding in the early modern period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maxner
Among Census respondents with the surname Maxner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Maxner 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 Maxner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 107
- Two or more races5.2% · 6
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maxner
Maxner 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,734 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-12 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,709 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 9,734 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 12,709 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 Maxner 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 | #133,048 | #145,757 | -9.6% |
| Count | 127 | 115 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maxner bearers went from 127 to 115 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 12,709 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #145,757.
FAQ
Maxner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maxner?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Maxner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Maxner?
Maxner ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Maxner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Maxner.
Has Maxner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maxner went from 127 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Maxner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maxner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Maxner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maxner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Two or More Races (5.2%), Black (1.7%). 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 Maxner (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 Maxner mean?
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word 'manec' meaning money or wealth. 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 Maxner (0.04 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 last name Maxner?
Want to know how common the surname Maxner is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.