Moody
Derived from the old English word 'modig' meaning bravery or courage.
Name Census estimates that about 145 living Americans carry the first name Moody. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Moody today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moody births was 1922 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moody. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Moody is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Moodys were born before 1963.
People living today
145
~ 1 in 2,363,823 Americans
Peak year
1922
26 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,517
Tracked since 1882
Census
Moody in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 332 people with the first name Moody, which placed it at #27,518 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,518
National first-name rank
People counted
332
332 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moody
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moody is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Moody described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Moody at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.8% · 202
- Black or African American23.8% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 31
- Two or more races3.9% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 3
Popularity
Moody: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moody from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 203 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moody by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Moody during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Moodys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Moody, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Moody
The given name Moody has its origins in the Old English language, specifically derived from the word "mōdig," which means "brave," "courageous," or "high-spirited." This name emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century in what is now England and parts of southeastern Scotland.
The earliest recorded use of Moody as a given name can be traced back to the 11th century, when it was primarily used as a descriptive nickname for individuals who displayed a bold or resolute nature. Over time, this nickname evolved into a standalone given name, and its popularity spread throughout England and other parts of the British Isles.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Moody can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions several individuals bearing the name Moody or variations thereof, such as Modius and Mody.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the given name Moody. One of the most famous was Moody Sankey (1836-1899), an American gospel singer and hymn composer who worked alongside the renowned evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899), with whom he shared a name but was not related.
Another notable figure was Moody Awori (1932-2019), a Kenyan politician who served as the Vice President of Kenya from 2003 to 2008. Moody Spurr (1786-1866) was a British naval officer and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the Arctic regions in the early 19th century.
In the literary world, Moody Camille Lawler (1939-2019) was an American writer and academic known for her work on Southern literature and culture. Moody Borden (1922-2006) was an American artist and sculptor whose works were exhibited in galleries across the United States.
While the name Moody has its roots in Old English, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and languages over the centuries, reflecting its enduring appeal and the diverse range of individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
People
Moody + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moody as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Moody: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moody?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moody going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,363,823 US residents.
Is Moody a common name?
We classify Moody as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 746 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moody most popular?
The single biggest year for Moody was 1922, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moody is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moody in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 332 people with the name Moody, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,518 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Moody in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Moody?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Moody leans strongly male. 288 people counted with this name were male (84.7%), compared with 52 female bearers (15.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Moody?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moody is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Moody most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Moody in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (202 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Moody in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moody a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moody in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Moody still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moody in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Moody can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Moody?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.