How common is the surname Mather?

7,621 people in the United States had the surname Mather in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 40,512 Americans. It ranked 4,652nd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Mather?

In the 2010 Census, 81% of people named Mather identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

Who is the most famous person named Mather?

John C. Mather, American astrophysicist and cosmologist, followed by Cotton Mather.

Where is the surname Mather most common?

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

Is the surname Mather getting more or less common?

More common. 6,602 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,621 in 2010, up 15%.

Is Mather also a first name?

Yes. Mather is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Mather

An English occupational surname, carried by 7,621 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex M360

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Mather is more common than 97.1% of them.

Origin

English origin

* From the Old English mæþere

Mather is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,621 people named Mather in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 40,512 Americans. That is up 15% since 2000, when the Census counted 6,602.

#4,652

rank among US surnames

7,621

people in 2010

2.6

per 100,000 Americans

+15.4%

change since 2000 (was #4,884)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,648	Driggers	7,641	40,406
#4,649	Fortier	7,634	40,443
#4,650	Stroup	7,627	40,481
#4,652	Mather	7,621	40,512
#4,654	Halsey	7,619	40,523

Who is named Mather

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

81% of people named Mather identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Asian and Pacific Islander and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Mathers

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John C. Mather
American astrophysicist and cosmologist, born 1946
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)

Notable Mathers come mostly from the United States (5) and the Kingdom of Great Britain (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Mather

Mather has the Soundex code M360, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M360.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Mather come from?: * From the Old English mæþere
How common is the surname Mather?: 7,621 people in the United States had the surname Mather in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 40,512 Americans. It ranked 4,652nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Mather?: In the 2010 Census, 81% of people named Mather identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Asian and Pacific Islander.
Who is the most famous person named Mather?: John C. Mather, American astrophysicist and cosmologist, followed by Cotton Mather.
Where is the surname Mather most common?: Wikidata records people named Mather in the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.
What type of surname is Mather?: Mather is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Mather getting more or less common?: More common. 6,602 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,621 in 2010, up 15%.
Is Mather also a first name?: Yes. Mather is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.