Explore the Family Name Mean
The meaning of Mean
1. Cambodian: written មាន, from a Khmer word meaning e.g. ‘to be rich’. 2. English: nickname from Middle English mene ‘inferior, lowly; poor; unpleasant’. 3. English: from the Middle English personal name Mene, of uncertain origin. In mid-9th-century France a rare female name Menia is recorded, which might ultimately derive from Latin Maenia, a Roman surname. However, there is no evidence available to suggest that this name was introduced to England by the Normans. 4. English: habitational name from East and West Meon (Hampshire), but it is not known if this name survived into the modern period. The places take their names from the river Meon (of uncertain origin). 5. French and Walloon (Méan): topographic name derived from Latin medianus ‘located in the middle, halfway’, or a habitational name from a place in Wallonia (Belgium) called Méan, named with the same word.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Mean in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname 'Mean' experienced a slight increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 55,732 in the United States, but by 2010 it had moved up slightly to rank 55,619. This change represented a minor growth of 0.2%. The actual count of people with this surname also increased during the same period from 344 individuals in 2000 to 369 in 2010, representing an increase of 7.27%. However, when looking at the proportion per 100,000 people, the popularity of the surname 'Mean' remained stable at 0.13.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #55,732 | #55,619 | 0.2% |
| Count | 344 | 369 | 7.27% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mean
As for its ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census shows that most people with the surname 'Mean' identify as Asian/Pacific Islander. In 2000, 65.41% of individuals with this surname identified as such, but by 2010, this figure had increased by 16.42% to 76.15%. During the same decade, there were decreases in the number of people identifying as White (from 16.57% to 10.57%) and Black (from 8.14% to 7.05%), representing changes of -36.21% and -13.39%, respectively. The percentage of people with the 'Mean' surname identifying as having two or more races also decreased significantly from 8.14% to 4.34%. Notably, no one with the 'Mean' surname identified as Hispanic or American Indian and Alaskan Native in both 2000 and 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 65.41% | 76.15% | 16.42% |
| White | 16.57% | 10.57% | -36.21% |
| Black | 8.14% | 7.05% | -13.39% |
| Two or More Races | 8.14% | 4.34% | -46.68% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |