Mor
Feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "mother" in several languages.
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Mor. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Mor today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mor births was 1991 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mor. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mor with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mor. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1991
7 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
1995 SSA rank
#9,831
Tracked since 1991
Census
Mor in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 725 people with the first name Mor, which placed it at #15,757 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
#15,757
National first-name rank
People counted
725
725 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
37.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mor
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mor is White at 37.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (36.0%) and Black (24.0%). 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 Mor 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 Mor at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White37.4% · 271
- Asian and Pacific Islander36.0% · 261
- Black or African American24.0% · 174
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 13
- Two or more races0.8% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Mor
Mor is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 19 total registrations, 5 (26.3%) were male and 14 (73.7%) were female.
Mor as a male name
- Ranked #9,831 in 1995
- 5 male births in 1995
- Peak: 1995 (5 births)
Mor as a female name
- Ranked #11,296 in 1992
- 7 female births in 1992
- Peak: 1991 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mor on both sides of the split. Of the 726 people counted with this name, 328 were male (45.2%) and 398 were female (54.8%).
Popularity
Mor: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Mor 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 Mor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 14 | 19 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Mor
The name Mor has its origins in the Middle Eastern region, specifically in the Semitic languages spoken in ancient times. It is believed to be derived from the word "mōr" meaning "myrrh," a fragrant resin used in perfumes and incense. The name was likely given to individuals associated with the production or trade of this valuable commodity.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Mor can be found in the Hebrew Bible. In the book of Esther, Mor is listed as one of the seven eunuchs serving King Ahasuerus. This reference dates back to the 5th century BCE, indicating the name's longevity and usage in the region.
During the Byzantine era, the name Mor gained prominence among Christian communities in the Levant. Saint Mor Aho, a 6th-century Syriac monk and scholar, was a notable figure who contributed significantly to the spread of Christianity in Mesopotamia. His legacy as a translator and theologian earned him a lasting reputation.
In the Islamic world, the name Mor was also present. One of the most renowned individuals bearing this name was Mor Kays al-Majnun, a pre-Islamic Arab poet renowned for his passionate love poems dedicated to his beloved Layla. His poetry and tragic story have been immortalized in literature and folklore, captivating generations of readers and listeners.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mor found its way into Europe, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula. Mor Alfaquí, a 13th-century Jewish philosopher and mathematician from Castile, made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and the study of the celestial spheres.
Another notable figure with the name Mor was Mor Vaisiah, a 15th-century Persian poet and mystic from Shiraz. His works, often infused with Sufi themes, earned him a place among the celebrated literary figures of the Persian Renaissance.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Mor throughout history, highlighting its rich cultural heritage and diverse geographical spread across various regions and time periods.
People
Mor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mor 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
Mor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mor 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Mor a common name?
We classify Mor as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mor most popular?
The single biggest year for Mor was 1991, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mor is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mor in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 725 people with the name Mor, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,757 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 Mor 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 Mor?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mor on both sides of the split. Of the 726 people counted with this name, 328 were male (45.2%) and 398 were female (54.8%). 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 Mor?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mor is White at 37.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (36.0%) and Black (24.0%). 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 Mor most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.4% (271 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 Mor in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mor a female name?
Yes, 73.7% of people registered as Mor in the SSA data are female. 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 Mor still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mor 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 Mor 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 common is the name Mor?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.