Maki Family History
Maki Name Meaning
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.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
