Mossie
A diminutive of Moss, which may refer to the soft green plant.
Name Census estimates that about 76 living Americans carry the first name Mossie. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Mossie today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mossie births was 1921 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mossie. 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 Mossie is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Mossies were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mossie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
76
~ 1 in 4,509,926 Americans
Peak year
1921
35 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1919 SSA rank
#4,591
Tracked since 1884
Census
Mossie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Mossie, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mossie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mossie is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Mossie 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 Mossie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.5% · 111
- Black or African American24.7% · 40
- Two or more races4.3% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Mossie
Out of the 1,056 babies given the name Mossie since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Mossie as a male name
- Ranked #4,591 in 1919
- 5 male births in 1919
- Peak: 1919 (5 births)
Mossie as a female name
- Ranked #7,250 in 1962
- 5 female births in 1962
- Peak: 1921 (35 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mossie leans strongly female. 144 people counted with this name were female (88.3%), compared with 19 male bearers (11.7%).
Popularity
Mossie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mossie from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 254 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mossie 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 Mossie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mossies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mossie
The given name Mossie finds its origins in the English language, derived from the surname Moss, which itself has roots in the Old English word 'mos' meaning moss, a small flowerless plant that grows in dense clusters. This name likely originated in the medieval period, when surnames were often derived from physical or occupational attributes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mossie can be traced back to the 16th century, when it was used as a diminutive or nickname for individuals with the surname Moss. Over time, it transitioned from being a nickname to a given name in its own right.
While the name Mossie does not have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is worth noting that moss has been a recurring motif in various cultures, often symbolizing resilience, humility, and a connection to nature.
Among the notable individuals who bore the name Mossie throughout history, one can find Mossie Hancock (1892-1975), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Another prominent figure was Mossie Smith (1925-2005), an American blues musician and guitarist from Mississippi, known for his contributions to the Chicago blues scene.
Mossie Seddon (1904-1994) was a New Zealand politician who served as a member of parliament for the Labour Party, representing the Westland electorate from 1957 to 1975. Mossie Donegan (1919-1976) was an Irish jazz and traditional musician, renowned for his skill on the tin whistle and his lively performances.
Lastly, Mossie Kilraine (1896-1972) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Waterford senior hurling team, winning the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1959.
People
Mossie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mossie 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
Mossie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mossie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 76 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mossie 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 4,509,926 US residents.
Is Mossie a common name?
We classify Mossie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,056 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mossie most popular?
The single biggest year for Mossie was 1921, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mossie is about 86 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mossie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Mossie, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Mossie 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 Mossie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mossie leans strongly female. 144 people counted with this name were female (88.3%), compared with 19 male bearers (11.7%). 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 Mossie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mossie is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Mossie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mossie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.5% (111 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 Mossie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mossie a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Mossie 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 Mossie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mossie 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 Mossie 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 have Mossie as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.