# Mather (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mather/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as an occupation for someone who mowed hay.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 7,621 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,652 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 40,512 people |
| Change since 2000 | +15% (6,602 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* From the Old English mæþere

## Who carries it

Share of people named Mather in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 81% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 14% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Mather in the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

## People named Mather

- John C. Mather, American astrophysicist and cosmologist
- Cotton Mather, American religious minister and scientific writer (1663–1728)
- John Mather, American mathematician (1942–2017)
- Stephen Tyng Mather, American businessman and conservationist (1867–1930)
- Margrethe Mather, American photographer (1886–1952)
- Winifred Holt, American sculptor and welfare worker (1870-1945)

## Similar surnames

Mathur, Madera, Mader, Matter, Mattera, Madero, Mayweather, Mateer, Matera, Madere, Matar, Meador.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.