Explore the Family Name Mew

The meaning of Mew

1. English: nickname from Middle English mew ‘seagull’ (Old English mǣw, mēaw). 2. English (of Norman origin): metonymic occupational name or nickname from Old French mue ‘mew’, possibly denoting someone employed at a mew, i.e. a cage or set of cages for hawks. 3. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 苗 and 繆 (see Miao 1 and 2).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Mew" decreased slightly from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 41,382 but dropped to a rank of 43,369 in 2010 -- a change of -4.8%. Interestingly, despite this decrease in rank, the actual count of individuals with the Mew surname increased marginally by 0.4% from 496 in 2000 to 498 in 2010. The proportion of this surname per 100,000 people also saw a slight decrease of -5.56%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#41,382	#43,369	-4.8%
Count	496	498	0.4%
Proportion per 100k	0.18	0.17	-5.56%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mew

In terms of ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Mew" has seen shifts over the decade. The Asian/Pacific Islander and Black representation decreased by -5.20% and -11.78% respectively from 2000 to 2010. However, the percentages of White and Hispanic individuals with the surname increased by 4.39% and 19.54% respectively during the same period. Additionally, there was a growth of 17.57% in those identifying with two or more races. It's important to note that the percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native stayed the same at 0% in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	54.44%	56.83%	4.39%
Asian/Pacific Islander	20.97%	19.88%	-5.2%
Black	19.35%	17.07%	-11.78%
Hispanic	3.02%	3.61%	19.54%
Two or More Races	2.22%	2.61%	17.57%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%