Maki Family History

Finnish (Mäki): ornamental name from mäki ‘hill’ adopted as a hereditary surname in the late 19th century in western and southern Finland. During the name-changing campaigns of the early 20th century, it was frequently substituted for Swedish surnames, especially those formed with berg ‘mountain, hill’ or back ‘hill(side)’. In a few cases, Mäki is a habitational name from farms so named with reference to their location.

It has been a hereditary surname since the 19th century, mainly in western Finland and in the Torne Valley. In North America, the surname Maki may also be a shortened form of Mäkinen (see Makinen) or other surnames based on the element mäki. It has sometimes been translated into English as Hill.

Japanese: written 牧 ‘pasture’. It is found in the island of Kyūshū but is not common in Japan proper; it appears to originate in the Ryūkyūan island of Amami. It can also be written several ways phonetically, such as 真木, 万木, and others.