NameCensus.

UK surname

Maul

A Germanic occupational surname referring to someone who worked in a mill or as a miller.

In the 1881 census there were 169 people recorded with the Maul surname, ranking it #14,324 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 74, ranked #33,441, down from #14,324 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lowdham, Glastonbury St Benedict and St John, Street and Newnham. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Havering, Nottingham and Barking and Dagenham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Maul is 194 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 56.2%.

1881 census count

169

Ranked #14,324

Modern count

74

2016, ranked #33,441

Peak year

1891

194 bearers

Map years

7

1851 to 1998

Key insights

  • Maul had 169 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #14,324 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 74 in 2016, ranked #33,441.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 194 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Suburban Professionals.

Maul surname distribution map

The map shows where the Maul surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Maul surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Maul over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 182 #11,209
1861 historical 159 #14,553
1881 historical 169 #14,324
1891 historical 194 #15,277
1901 historical 160 #17,387
1911 historical 122 #20,245
1997 modern 100 #26,901
1998 modern 105 #26,822
1999 modern 114 #25,766
2000 modern 110 #26,248
2001 modern 106 #26,468
2002 modern 112 #26,165
2003 modern 99 #27,871
2004 modern 96 #28,605
2005 modern 94 #28,973
2006 modern 95 #29,113
2007 modern 96 #29,339
2008 modern 86 #31,114
2009 modern 87 #31,489
2010 modern 99 #30,397
2011 modern 96 #30,721
2012 modern 87 #32,180
2013 modern 85 #32,658
2014 modern 82 #32,992
2015 modern 81 #32,975
2016 modern 74 #33,441

Geography

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Where Mauls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lowdham, Glastonbury St Benedict and St John, Street, Newnham, London parishes and Wellesbourne. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Havering, Nottingham, Barking and Dagenham and Croydon. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Lowdham Nottinghamshire
2 Glastonbury St Benedict and St John, Street Somerset
3 Newnham Northamptonshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Wellesbourne Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Havering 013 Havering
2 Nottingham 030 Nottingham
3 Barking and Dagenham 011 Barking and Dagenham
4 Croydon 028 Croydon
5 Havering 025 Havering

Forenames

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First names often paired with Maul

These lists show first names that appear often with the Maul surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Maul

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Maul, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals

Group

Suburban Professionals

Nationally, the Maul surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Suburban Professionals, within Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals. This does not mean every Maul household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Employment in this Group is typically in managerial and professional occupations, and education to degree level is common. Residents are typically of working age, many of whom identify with an Indian ethnicity. Households are unlikely to be of Mixed or Multiple ethnicities, and English is not the main language used in some households. This Group is found on the outskirts of most conurbations as well as in the suburbs of some free-standing towns.

Wider pattern

Those working within the managerial, professional and administrative occupations typically reflect a wide range of ethnic groups, and reside in detached or semi-detached housing. Their residential locations at the edges of cities and conurbations and car-based lifestyles are more characteristic of Supergroup membership than birthplace or participation in child-rearing. Houses are typically owner-occupied and marriage rates are lower than the national average. This Supergroup is found throughout suburban UK.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Maul is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Maul is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Maul falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Maul is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Maul, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Maul

The surname MAUL originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "mul" which means "mule" or "small horse". This occupational surname was likely first given to a muleteer or someone who worked with mules.

The earliest recorded use of the name MAUL dates back to the 13th century, with mentions found in old parish records and tax rolls from regions like Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest spellings include Maull, Maul, and Mauler. The name was also written as Mul and Muhl in certain areas.

In the 1086 Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct listings of the surname MAUL. However, there are entries for place names like Multon and Muleton, which could be related to the name's origins.

Notable historical figures with the surname MAUL include Johannes Maul (1592-1659), a German theologian and writer from Nuremberg. Another early bearer was Heinrich Maul (1646-1722), a Prussian composer and organist active in Berlin during the Baroque period.

In the 18th century, Johann Wilhelm Maul (1720-1788) was a German theologian and philosopher who published works on logic and metaphysics. Around the same time, Johann Gottfried Maul (1719-1794) was a German pastor and author from Saxony.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England is William Maul, born in 1685 in Devonshire. He later immigrated to the American colonies in the early 1700s and settled in Virginia.

While the surname MAUL originated in Germany, it eventually spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and trade routes. Over time, it evolved into various spellings and regional variations, but its roots can be traced back to the Middle High German word for "mule".

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Maul families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Maul surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 27 Mauls recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.76x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 27 1.76x
Surrey 18 2.41x
Staffordshire 16 3.10x
Nottinghamshire 13 6.30x
Somerset 13 5.27x
Wiltshire 13 9.60x
Peeblesshire 11 152.78x
Durham 10 2.19x
Buckinghamshire 5 5.40x
Cheshire 3 0.89x
Suffolk 3 1.61x
Sussex 3 1.16x
Warwickshire 3 0.78x
Hampshire 2 0.64x
Northamptonshire 2 1.39x
Yorkshire 2 0.13x
Denbighshire 1 1.73x
Devon 1 0.31x
Dorset 1 0.99x
Essex 1 0.33x
Fife 1 1.10x
Glamorgan 1 0.38x
Hertfordshire 1 0.95x
Midlothian 1 0.49x
Northumberland 1 0.44x
Oxfordshire 1 1.06x
Perthshire 1 1.46x
Shropshire 1 0.76x
Stirlingshire 1 1.77x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Harborne in Staffordshire leads with 12 Mauls recorded in 1881 and an index of 72.42x.

Place Total Index
Harborne 12 72.42x
Lambeth 12 8.99x
Innerleithen 11 575.92x
Gateshead 10 29.32x
Wroughton 10 854.70x
Glastonbury 9 447.76x
Gunthorpe 6 3529.41x
Hornsey 6 30.98x
Islington London 5 3.37x
Newport Pagnell 5 257.73x
Rotherhithe 5 26.43x
Lenton 4 82.30x
Wells St Cuthbert 4 238.10x
Whitechapel London 4 26.51x
Audlem 3 375.00x
Bethnal Green London 3 4.51x
Cliffe 3 344.83x
Rickinghall Inferior 3 1578.95x
St George In East 3 28.79x
Wednesbury 3 23.22x
Alveston 2 392.16x
Bleasby 2 1250.00x
Pickering 2 104.71x
Southampton St Mary 2 10.13x
St Marylebone London 2 2.45x
Bishop Stortford 1 28.33x
Brokenborough 1 526.32x
Chelsea London 1 2.17x
Colchester St Botolph 1 38.91x
Cuddesdon 1 384.62x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1 1.21x
Ford 1 120.48x
Kingston On Thames 1 5.58x
Longnor 1 909.09x
Markinch 1 32.47x
Merthyr Tydfil 1 3.90x
Methven 1 99.01x
Northampton St Sepulchre 1 13.64x
Nottingham St Mary 1 1.87x
Portland 1 18.52x
Preshute 1 120.48x
St George Bloomsbury 1 11.38x
St George St George 1 588.24x
St Ninians 1 17.86x
St Pancras London 1 0.81x
Towcester 1 67.11x
Wellesbourne Hastings 1 270.27x
Westminster St John 1 5.36x
Withycombe Rawleigh 1 60.24x
Wolverhampton 1 2.52x
Wootton Bassett 1 84.75x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Maul surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 8
Jane 6
Sarah 6
Eliza 5
Emma 4
Hannah 4
Alice 3
Emily 3
Annie 2
Cathrine 2
Edith 2
Kate 2
Laura 2
Ann 1
Anne 1
Augusta 1
Caroline 1
Catharine 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Elisa 1
Elizabeth 1
Elizabth 1
Ellen 1
Eveline 1
Evelyn 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Gertrude 1
Harriett 1
Hester 1
Lilley 1
Martha 1
Milura 1
Mrs 1
Rachel 1
Rutherford 1
Sophia 1
Sybil 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Maul surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 7
Henry 6
James 5
William 5
Albert 4
Thomas 4
Charles 3
Edward 3
George 3
Arthur 2
Richard 2
Walter 2
Albt. 1
Alfred 1
Augs. 1
Doller 1
Edwin 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Frederick 1
Fredk. 1
Henery 1
Herbert 1
Jacob 1
Jas. 1
Jonathan 1
Joseph 1
Paul 1
Peter 1
Robert 1

FAQ

Maul surname: questions and answers

How common was the Maul surname in 1881?

In 1881, 169 people were recorded with the Maul surname. That placed it at #14,324 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Maul surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 74 in 2016. That gives Maul a modern rank of #33,441.

What does the Maul surname mean?

A Germanic occupational surname referring to someone who worked in a mill or as a miller.

What does the Maul map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Maul bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.