2000
#965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.28
Uncommon Last name
Mayo
A surname of Irish origin, referring to a person descended from the clan of the yew tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 38,489 Americans carry the last name Mayo. That puts it at #1,023 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,905 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mayo 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 Mayo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
38K
1 in 8,905
Census rank
#1,023
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
34K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 33,564 bearers of the surname Mayo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1023rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mayo, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (10.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mayo
The surname "MAYO" is of Spanish origin, derived from the word "mayo" which means "May" in Spanish. It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century as a descriptive surname for someone who was born or baptized in the month of May.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname MAYO can be found in medieval Spanish records and manuscripts from the regions of Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria. It is possible that the name was also adopted by Sephardic Jews who lived in Spain before their expulsion in 1492.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname MAYO was Pedro Mayo, a prominent military leader and conquistador who participated in the Spanish conquest of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico during the 16th century. He was born in Seville, Spain, around 1490 and died in Mérida, Mexico, in 1541.
Another notable person with the surname MAYO was Juan Mayo, a Spanish painter and sculptor who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Burgos, Spain, around 1520 and is best known for his religious works, including several altarpieces and sculptures that can still be found in churches throughout Spain.
In the 17th century, the surname MAYO gained prominence in England and Ireland, possibly due to Spanish immigration or trade connections. One of the earliest recorded instances in England was Robert Mayo, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in London in the late 1600s.
In the 18th century, the surname MAYO was also found in America, with some of the earliest recorded instances being William Mayo, who was born in Virginia in 1733, and John Mayo, who fought in the American Revolutionary War and was born in Massachusetts in 1762.
Other notable individuals with the surname MAYO include Charles Mayo, an American surgeon and co-founder of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was born in 1865 and died in 1939. His brother, William Mayo, also a co-founder of the Mayo Clinic, was born in 1861 and died in 1939.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mayo
Among Census respondents with the surname Mayo, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (10.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mayo 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 Mayo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.7% · 20,374
- Black or African American21.4% · 7,195
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 3,432
- Two or more races4.3% · 1,451
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 829
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 283
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mayo
Mayo 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
#989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,228
+2,102 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 11.94
Rank movement Down 24 places
2020
#1,023
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,564
-1,664 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 11.23
Rank movement Down 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #965 | 33,126 | 12.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #989 | 35,228 | 11.94 | +2,102 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 24 places |
| 2020 | #1,023 | 33,564 | 11.23 | -1,664 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 34 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 Mayo 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 | #989 | #1,023 | -3.4% |
| Count | 35,228 | 33,564 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 11.94 | 11.23 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mayo bearers went from 35,228 to 33,564 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #989 to #1,023.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mayo
FAQ
Mayo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mayo?
Name Census estimates that about 38,489 living Americans carry the surname Mayo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,905 residents.
How common is Mayo?
Mayo ranks #1,023 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 33,564 people with the surname Mayo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (38,489), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Mayo.
Has Mayo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mayo went from 35,228 recorded bearers to 33,564. That is a decrease of 1,664 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #989 to #1,023.
What does the Census say about the background of Mayo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mayo, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (10.2%). 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 Mayo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.7% (20,374 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mayo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.7%), Black (21.4%), Hispanic (10.2%). 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 Mayo (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 Mayo mean?
A surname of Irish origin, referring to a person descended from the clan of the yew tree. 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 Mayo (11.23 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 share the surname Mayo?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.