The Maes surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,033 people carried this name — #5,746 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,800 people counted. That is up 7% from 5,640 in 2000.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 23,669 people named Maes live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 2,260 people named Maes.
147 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 66 départements, most often Nord.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 70 people named Maes live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
65 people named Maes live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
20 people named Maes is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Maes in American newspapers,
1887–1958.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,284,601 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Maes,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Engelbert Maes 1545–1630 · judge -
Karel Maes 1607–1610 · Catholic priest -
Nicolaes Maes 1634–1693 · painter -
Godfried Maes 1649–1700 · painter -
Jan Baptist Lodewyck Maes 1794–1856 · painter
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 275 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Maes.
- Madru 145 · U.S. census
- Madry 987 · U.S. census
- Mady 426 · U.S. census
- Maeder 976 · U.S. census
- Maerten 110 · U.S. census
- Maertens 522 · U.S. census
- Maestre 746 · U.S. census
- Maestri 657 · U.S. census
- Maestro 200 · U.S. census
- Maffei 2,187 · U.S. census
- Maffeo 708 · U.S. census
- Maffioli 116 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Maes is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.