2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Muthersbaugh
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the elements "mother" and "baugh" (ridge or hill).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Muthersbaugh. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Muthersbaugh 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Muthersbaugh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Muthersbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Muthersbaugh
The surname Muthersbaugh is of German origin, believed to have emerged in the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German words "mutter" meaning mother and "bach" meaning stream or brook, suggesting the name may have referred to someone who lived near a stream known as the "mother stream."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 1587 church registry from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, where a certain Hans Muthersbaugh is listed as a resident. This suggests the name was already established in that region by the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, variants of the name such as Mutterspaw and Muttersbough crop up in records from various German principalities, reflecting the regional spelling variations common at the time. A noteworthy bearer was Johann Muthersbaugh (1612-1687), a master woodcarver renowned for his intricate altarpieces adorning churches across the Rhineland.
As the name spread beyond its German heartlands, it underwent further transformations. In the Netherlands, records from the 1700s show the spelling Mutersbach, while in America, immigrants from the 18th and 19th centuries often anglicized it to Muthersbaugh or Muthersbaugh.
Notable individuals with this surname include Friedrich Muthersbaugh (1739-1811), a Hessian soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Pennsylvania. Another was Johanna Muthersbaugh (1822-1904), a pioneering female physician who practiced in Ohio.
Other bearers of note were the brothers Wilhelm (1857-1933) and Ernst Muthersbaugh (1861-1942), German industrialists who founded a successful machinery company in the late 19th century. In more recent times, there was Hans Muthersbaugh (1903-1987), an acclaimed Austrian composer and conductor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Muthersbaugh
Among Census respondents with the surname Muthersbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Muthersbaugh 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 Muthersbaugh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 118
Timeline
Historical Census data for Muthersbaugh
Muthersbaugh 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+4 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,521 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+10 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,021 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 5,521 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 8,021 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 Muthersbaugh 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 | #151,532 | #143,511 | 5.3% |
| Count | 108 | 118 | 9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Muthersbaugh bearers went from 108 to 118 (+9.3% change). The surname moved up 8,021 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #143,511.
FAQ
Muthersbaugh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Muthersbaugh?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Muthersbaugh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Muthersbaugh?
Muthersbaugh ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Muthersbaugh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Muthersbaugh.
Has Muthersbaugh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Muthersbaugh went from 108 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 10 (+9.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Muthersbaugh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Muthersbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Muthersbaugh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Muthersbaugh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Muthersbaugh (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 Muthersbaugh mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the elements "mother" and "baugh" (ridge or hill). 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 Muthersbaugh (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 are called Muthersbaugh?
Find out how many people have the surname Muthersbaugh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.