Explore the Family Name Maze
The meaning of Maze
1. English (Kent and London): variant of Mays. 2. Irish (Ulster): of uncertain origin. When it is not the English name in 1 above, it may be a variant of Maye. 3. Breton (Mazé; Finistère): from the personal name Mazé, a shortened form of Mazéo, Breton form of Matthew. 4. French (Mazé): habitational name from a place in Maine-et-Loire, named in Latin as Masiacum ‘estate of Masius’, from the personal name Masius + the locative suffix -acum. 5. French (Mazé): from a shortened pet form of the personal name Thomas. 6. French: topographic name from the feminine form of mas ‘farmhouse, house in the country’ (see Mas 1), or a habitational name from a place called La Maze (Ardèche) or Les Maze (Hérault), named with the same word. 7. Slovenian: probably from a shortened vernacular short form of the personal name Tomaž (see Thomas). Alternatively, perhaps a nickname from a derivative of mazati ‘to grease’, also ‘to dirty’. 8. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the Hebrew expression mi zera Aharon ha-Cohen ‘of the seed of Aaron the priest’, a designation of a Jew descending according to the tradition from the Biblical Aaron, the brother of Moses (compare Cohen).
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Maze in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Maze experienced a shift in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the name ranked 6733 in popularity with a count of 4617 people carrying the name, accounting for a proportion of 1.71 per 100,000 people. By 2010, the rank had slipped to 7059 even though the actual count of people with the name increased to 4742. This represents a change of -4.84 in rank and an increase of 2.71 in count, resulting in a slightly lower proportion of 1.61 per 100,000.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,733 | #7,059 | -4.84% |
| Count | 4,617 | 4,742 | 2.71% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.71 | 1.61 | -5.85% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Maze
The ethnicity distribution associated with the surname Maze also saw some changes according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, the majority of individuals identified as White (79.81%), followed by Black (14.99%), Hispanic (1.97%), individuals of two or more races (1.80%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (1.04%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.39%). By 2010, there were shifts in these percentages. The percentage of White individuals decreased slightly to 76.36%, while the percentage of Black individuals rose to 15.98%. Notably, the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders jumped significantly to 0.91%, and those identifying as two or more races increased to 2.17%. The percentage of Hispanic individuals rose to 3.14% and American Indian and Alaskan Natives reached 1.43%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 79.81% | 76.36% | -4.32% |
| Black | 14.99% | 15.98% | 6.6% |
| Hispanic | 1.97% | 3.14% | 59.39% |
| Two or More Races | 1.8% | 2.17% | 20.56% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.04% | 1.43% | 37.5% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.39% | 0.91% | 133.33% |
Maze ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Maze is British & Irish, which comprises 45.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (21.7%) and Ashkenazi Jewish (6.2%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Nigerian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Scandinavian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 45.2% |
| French & German | 21.7% |
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 6.2% |
| Other | 26.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Maze
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Maze have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 70.80% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 70.80% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 70.80% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 70.80% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 70.80% |
What Maze haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Maze is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Maze surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Maze have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Maze" Surname 48.1%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Maze" Surname 30.4%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Maze" Surname 26.7%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Maze" Surname 20.0%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Maze?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Maze are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition