2000
#12,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,170
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Mee
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "at the meadow" or "at the boundary."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,570 Americans carry the last name Mee. That puts it at #13,088 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,367 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mee 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 Mee with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,367
Census rank
#13,088
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,241 bearers of the surname Mee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13088th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mee, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mee
The surname "Mee" is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word "mæg" meaning "kinsman" or "relative". The name is believed to have originated in the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in England during the 7th to 9th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Mee" and "Mei". It is thought that the name may have initially been a nickname or descriptive term for someone who was considered a close relative or kinsman in their community.
During the medieval period, the surname was also associated with various place names in England, such as Meaux in Yorkshire and Meole Brace in Shropshire. These place names are thought to have influenced the spelling variations of the surname, including "Meaux", "Meux", and "Mew".
Notable historical figures bearing the surname "Mee" include William Mee (1556-1612), an English poet and translator from Westbury, Wiltshire. Another prominent individual was Sir Henry Mee (1665-1722), a British naval officer who served during the War of the Spanish Succession.
In the 18th century, Robert Mee (1742-1811) was a well-known engraver and publisher of maps and prints in London. His son, John Mee (1782-1858), followed in his footsteps and became a respected engraver and cartographer.
During the 19th century, John Mee (1819-1892) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal School of Mines and the Royal College of Science.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Charles Samuel Mee (1892-1972), an English cricketer who played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club and captained the team from 1920 to 1925.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mee
Among Census respondents with the surname Mee, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mee 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 Mee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.3% · 1,778
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.1% · 227
- Two or more races3.8% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 85
- Black or African American2.5% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mee
Mee 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
#13,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,191
+21 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 839 places
2020
#13,088
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,241
+50 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 710 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,959 | 2,170 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,798 | 2,191 | 0.74 | +21 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 839 places |
| 2020 | #13,088 | 2,241 | 0.75 | +50 bearers (+2.3%) | Up 710 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 Mee 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 | #13,798 | #13,088 | 5.1% |
| Count | 2,191 | 2,241 | 2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.75 | 1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mee bearers went from 2,191 to 2,241 (+2.3% change). The surname moved up 710 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,798 to #13,088.
FAQ
Mee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mee?
Name Census estimates that about 2,570 living Americans carry the surname Mee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,367 residents.
How common is Mee?
Mee ranks #13,088 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,241 people with the surname Mee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,570), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Mee.
Has Mee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mee went from 2,191 recorded bearers to 2,241. That is an increase of 50 (+2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,798 to #13,088.
What does the Census say about the background of Mee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mee, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.3% (1,778 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (10.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Mee (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 Mee mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "at the meadow" or "at the boundary." 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 Mee (0.75 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 Mee?
Find out how common the surname Mee is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.