Explore the Family Name Madu

The meaning of Madu

West African (Nigeria): Igbo name, from a short form of a personal name such as Madueke, which is interpreted as ‘humans are not the Creator’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Madu in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Madu" has seen a significant increase from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Madu was the 71,143rd most popular surname in the United States, but by 2010 it had risen to the 48,060th spot, marking an impressive jump of 32.45%. The count of individuals with this surname also rose from 256 to 440 during this period, a surge of 71.88%. Accordingly, the proportion of people named Madu per 100,000 U.S. residents increased from 0.09 to 0.15, reflecting a growth of 66.67%.

20002010Change
Rank#71,143#48,06032.45%
Count25644071.88%
Proportion per 100k0.090.1566.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Madu

In terms of ethnic identity, the 2000 and 2010 Decennial U.S. Census data reveal interesting shifts. In 2000, a whopping 90.23% of individuals with the Madu surname identified as Black, a number that slightly increased to 91.14% by 2010. The percentage of those identifying as White decreased from 3.13% to 2.73%, while the representation of Madus identifying with two or more races dropped by approximately a third from 3.91% to 2.50%. The 2010 Census also registered for the first time Madus identifying as Hispanic, though no data on Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native populations were available, possibly due to suppression for privacy.

20002010Change
Black90.23%91.14%1.01%
White3.13%2.73%-12.78%
Two or More Races3.91%2.5%-36.06%
Hispanic0%2.05%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%