Moss
Small, lush, green plant covering naturally occurring surfaces.
Name Census estimates that about 314 living Americans carry the first name Moss. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Moss today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moss births was 2023 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moss. 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 Moss with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
314
~ 1 in 1,091,574 Americans
Peak year
2023
20 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,065
Tracked since 1891
Census
Moss in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 465 people with the first name Moss, which placed it at #21,716 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
#21,716
National first-name rank
People counted
465
465 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moss
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moss is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Moss 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 Moss at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 350
- Black or African American9.2% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 24
- Two or more races4.7% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 6
Popularity
Moss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moss from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 82 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moss 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 Moss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Moss' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Moss
The given name Moss has its roots in the Old English word 'mos', which referred to the small flowerless plants that typically grow in dense green clumps or mats, particularly in damp or shaded locations. This name is derived from the natural surroundings and environment, reflecting a connection to nature and the earth.
Moss as a given name dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century. It was used as a surname initially, often referring to someone who lived near or worked with moss, before eventually being adopted as a first name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moss can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation conducted in England in 1086 under the reign of William the Conqueror. The name appears as a surname in this historical document.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Moss. One of the earliest was Moss Hart, an American playwright and theatre director born in 1904 and known for his works such as "You Can't Take It With You" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner".
Another prominent figure was Moss Kendrix, an African-American activist and co-founder of the Republic of Mali, a short-lived Black separatist colony established in Oklahoma in the early 20th century. Kendrix was born in 1891 and played a significant role in the movement for Black self-determination and empowerment.
In the realm of sports, Moss Kent was a notable baseball player from the early 20th century. Born in 1884, he played as an outfielder for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Cleveland Naps and the New York Highlanders (later known as the Yankees).
Moss Mabry, born in 1858, was a notable figure in the American Old West. He was a rancher, lawman, and gunfighter who gained notoriety for his involvement in several gunfights and his role as a deputy sheriff in the New Mexico Territory.
Another individual of historical significance was Moss Evans, a British soldier and explorer born in 1849. He was known for his expeditions in Africa, particularly his exploration of the Gambia River region in West Africa during the late 19th century.
While the name Moss has been less common in recent times, it remains a unique and distinct name with a rich historical background, reflecting a connection to nature and the natural world.
People
Moss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moss 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
Moss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moss 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 1,091,574 US residents.
Is Moss a common name?
We classify Moss as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 501 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moss most popular?
The single biggest year for Moss was 2023, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moss is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moss in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 465 people with the name Moss, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,716 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 Moss 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 Moss?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Moss leans strongly male. 401 people counted with this name were male (87.7%), compared with 56 female bearers (12.3%). 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 Moss?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moss is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Moss most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Moss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (350 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 Moss in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moss a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moss 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 Moss still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moss 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 Moss 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 Americans are named Moss?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.