2000
#1,412
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.57
Uncommon Last name
Masters
An occupational surname referring to someone who was a master of their trade or craft.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,849 Americans carry the last name Masters. That puts it at #1,556 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,260 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Masters 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 Masters with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,260
Census rank
#1,556
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,542 bearers of the surname Masters in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1556th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Masters, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Masters
The surname Masters is an English occupational name that originated in the Middle Ages. It derives from the Old English word 'mæster', meaning a person who holds mastery or skilled knowledge in a particular trade or profession.
The name first appeared in records from the 12th century, with early examples found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166. It was a relatively common surname among skilled artisans, craftsmen, and professionals, particularly in urban areas.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to individuals with variations of the name, such as 'Magister' and 'Maistre', which were early forms of the word 'Master'. These entries indicate that the name was already in use before the Norman Conquest.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was Robert le Maistre, who was mentioned in the Curia Regis Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1201. Another notable early bearer was William le Mestre, a landholder in Lincolnshire, whose name appears in the Feet of Fines for that county in 1202.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often associated with individuals who held positions of authority or mastery in various fields, such as education, law, or religious orders. For example, William Masters (c. 1370-1431) was a prominent English scholar and theologian who served as the Chancellor of Oxford University.
In the 16th century, the name was borne by Richard Masters (c. 1480-1535), an English clergyman and theologian who was one of the first Protestants to be burned at the stake for his religious beliefs during the Reformation.
Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Masters (1637-1718), an English settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony who was one of the founders of the town of Watertown and served as a deputy to the General Court.
In the 18th century, the name was held by Sir William Masters (1696-1771), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire.
During the 19th century, the name was borne by Maxwell Tylden Masters (1833-1907), an English botanist and taxonomist who made significant contributions to the study of plant diseases and fungi.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Masters
Among Census respondents with the surname Masters, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Masters 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 Masters surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 19,569
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 952
- Two or more races4.0% · 900
- Black or African American3.3% · 741
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 231
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 149
Timeline
Historical Census data for Masters
Masters 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
#1,524
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,533
+427 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 7.98
Rank movement Down 112 places
2020
#1,556
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,542
-991 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 7.54
Rank movement Down 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,412 | 23,106 | 8.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,524 | 23,533 | 7.98 | +427 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 112 places |
| 2020 | #1,556 | 22,542 | 7.54 | -991 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 32 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 Masters 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 | #1,524 | #1,556 | -2.1% |
| Count | 23,533 | 22,542 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 7.98 | 7.54 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Masters bearers went from 23,533 to 22,542 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,524 to #1,556.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Masters
FAQ
Masters surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Masters?
Name Census estimates that about 25,849 living Americans carry the surname Masters. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,260 residents.
How common is Masters?
Masters ranks #1,556 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,542 people with the surname Masters. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,849), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Masters.
Has Masters become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Masters went from 23,533 recorded bearers to 22,542. That is a decrease of 991 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,524 to #1,556.
What does the Census say about the background of Masters?
Among Census respondents with the surname Masters, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Masters in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (19,569 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Masters appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Masters (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 Masters mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who was a master of their trade or craft. 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 Masters (7.54 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 Masters?
See how many Americans have the surname Masters on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.