How common is the surname Maher?

23,222 people in the United States had the surname Maher in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 13,295 Americans. It ranked 1,549th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Maher?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Maher identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Maher?

Bill Maher, American stand-up comedian and television host, followed by Kaitlyn Maher.

Where is the surname Maher most common?

Wikidata records people named Maher in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Maher?

Maher is /ˈmɑː(ɹ)/, one syllable.

Is the surname Maher getting more or less common?

More common. 22,503 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 23,222 in 2010, up 3.2%.

The surname Maher

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 23,222 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈmɑː(ɹ)/ 1 syllable Soundex M600

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Maher is more common than 99% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Meachair (“descendant of Meachar”), a personal name meaning "fine", "majestic".

Maher is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 23,222 people named Maher in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 13,295 Americans. That is up 3.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 22,503.

#1,549

rank among US surnames

23,222

people in 2010

7.9

per 100,000 Americans

+3.2%

change since 2000 (was #1,456)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,540	Feldman	23,356	13,219
#1,541	Coker	23,348	13,224
#1,542	Dickey	23,320	13,240
#1,543	Pollock	23,310	13,245
#1,544	Kimball	23,293	13,255
#1,545	Rainey	23,291	13,256
#1,546	Ivey	23,263	13,272

Who is named Maher

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

94% of people named Maher identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.6% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.2%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Mahers

13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Bill Maher
American stand-up comedian and television host, born 1956
Kaitlyn Maher
American actress, born 2004
Sean Maher
American actor, born 1975
Ben Maher
British equestrian, born 1983
Ilona Maher
American rugby player, born 1996
Allan Maher
Australian soccer player, born 1950
Bill Maher
American rower, born 1946
Fred Maher
American musician, born 1964
Brett Maher
Australian basketball player (born 1973)
Matthew Maher
American actor, born 1974
George W. Maher
American architect (1864–1926)
Matt Maher
American contemporary Christian musician, born 1974

Notable Mahers come mostly from the United States (8), Australia (3) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Mahar
Mayher
Meagher

Surnames that sound like Maher

Maher has the Soundex code M600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M600.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Maher come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Meachair (“descendant of Meachar”), a personal name meaning "fine", "majestic".
How common is the surname Maher?: 23,222 people in the United States had the surname Maher in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 13,295 Americans. It ranked 1,549th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Maher?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Maher identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Maher?: Bill Maher, American stand-up comedian and television host, followed by Kaitlyn Maher.
Where is the surname Maher most common?: Wikidata records people named Maher in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Maher?: Maher is /ˈmɑː(ɹ)/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Maher?: Maher is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Maher getting more or less common?: More common. 22,503 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 23,222 in 2010, up 3.2%.
What are other spellings of Maher?: Mahar, Mayher and Meagher.