2000
#11,577
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,490
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Maxon
A surname of English origin, derived from either a shortened form of the name Maximus or a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,882 Americans carry the last name Maxon. That puts it at #11,910 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,929 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maxon 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 Maxon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 118,929
Census rank
#11,910
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,513 bearers of the surname Maxon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11910th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maxon, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maxon
The surname Maxon originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "mæcca," which means "son" or "offspring." This name would have been given to the son of someone named Max, which was a common diminutive form of the name Maxwell.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maxon can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in several different spellings, including Makson and Maxsone.
During the 13th century, the name Maxon was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Several historical records from this time period mention individuals with this surname, including a William Maxon who was recorded as a landowner in the village of Fishlake, Yorkshire, in 1275.
In the 14th century, the name Maxon began to appear in other parts of England as well. One notable example is John Maxon, a merchant from Bristol who was granted a license to trade with the Hanseatic League in 1379.
By the 15th century, the Maxon family had established itself as a prominent landowning family in the county of Hertfordshire. Sir William Maxon (1420-1498) was a member of the gentry and served as a justice of the peace during the reign of Henry VII.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, several Maxons achieved notable positions in English society. Thomas Maxon (1550-1616) was a successful lawyer and served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Thetford. His nephew, Edward Maxon (1585-1654), was a renowned scholar and author who wrote several works on theology and philosophy.
As the British Empire expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Maxon name spread to other parts of the world. One prominent figure was Captain James Maxon (1775-1847), a naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a colonial administrator in Australia.
Throughout its history, the surname Maxon has been associated with various place names and older spellings, including Maxon's Green in Hertfordshire, Maxon's Hill in Yorkshire, and the variants Makson, Maxsone, and Maxsoun.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maxon
Among Census respondents with the surname Maxon, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Maxon 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 Maxon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 2,062
- Black or African American7.1% · 178
- Two or more races5.5% · 137
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maxon
Maxon 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
#10,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,044
+554 bearers (+22.2%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 1,041 places
2020
#11,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,513
-531 bearers (-17.4%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 1,374 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,577 | 2,490 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,536 | 3,044 | 1.03 | +554 bearers (+22.2%) | Up 1,041 places |
| 2020 | #11,910 | 2,513 | 0.84 | -531 bearers (-17.4%) | Down 1,374 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 Maxon 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 | #10,536 | #11,910 | -13.0% |
| Count | 3,044 | 2,513 | -17.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 0.84 | -18.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maxon bearers went from 3,044 to 2,513 (-17.4% change). The surname moved down 1,374 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,536 to #11,910.
FAQ
Maxon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maxon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,882 living Americans carry the surname Maxon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,929 residents.
How common is Maxon?
Maxon ranks #11,910 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,513 people with the surname Maxon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,882), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Maxon.
Has Maxon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maxon went from 3,044 recorded bearers to 2,513. That is a decrease of 531 (-17.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,536 to #11,910.
What does the Census say about the background of Maxon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maxon, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Maxon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (2,062 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maxon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.1%), Black (7.1%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Maxon (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 Maxon mean?
A surname of English origin, derived from either a shortened form of the name Maximus or a place name. 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 Maxon (0.84 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 common is the surname Maxon?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Maxon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.