Moua
A name of Hmong origin meaning "lives in the forest".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Moua. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Moua today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moua births was 1989 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moua. 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.
People living today
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1989
19 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2003 SSA rank
#12,142
Tracked since 1981
Census
Moua in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 521 people with the first name Moua, which placed it at #19,995 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
#19,995
National first-name rank
People counted
521
521 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moua
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moua is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (1.2%). 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 Moua 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 Moua at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.1% · 506
- White1.2% · 6
- Black or African American1.2% · 6
- Two or more races0.6% · 3
Popularity
Moua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moua from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moua 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 Moua during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mouas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Moua
The given name Moua has its origins rooted in the Hmong culture, an ethnic group indigenous to the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia, particularly in parts of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. The name is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 10th to 13th centuries.
Moua is derived from the Hmong language, which belongs to the Hmong-Mien language family. The name itself is thought to be a variation or adaptation of the word "mou," which translates to "prosperous" or "flourishing." This linguistic connection suggests that the name Moua was likely bestowed upon individuals with the hope and aspiration for a prosperous and thriving life.
While there are no known direct references to the name Moua in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its cultural significance within the Hmong community can be traced back to oral traditions and folkloric narratives passed down through generations. These stories often depicted individuals bearing the name Moua as embodying resilience, strength, and a deep connection to nature and the land.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Moua dates back to the 16th century, when a Hmong leader and warrior named Moua Lia played a pivotal role in defending his people against invasions and securing their autonomy in the mountainous regions of what is now Vietnam. His legacy as a brave and strategic leader has been celebrated in Hmong folklore and oral histories.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Moua, including:
1. Moua Thao (1924 - 2010), a revered Hmong shaman and spiritual leader who played a significant role in preserving Hmong cultural traditions and practices during the tumultuous period of the Vietnam War.
2. Moua Vue (1937 - 2011), a Hmong refugee and community leader who played a pivotal role in resettling thousands of Hmong families in the United States after the Vietnam War, advocating for their rights and ensuring their cultural preservation.
3. Moua Vang (1952 - present), a renowned Hmong-American artist and sculptor, known for her intricate and symbolic works that celebrate and honor Hmong culture and traditions.
4. Moua Lue (1963 - present), a Hmong-American writer and poet, whose works explore themes of identity, displacement, and the Hmong diaspora experience.
5. Moua Xiong (1975 - present), a Hmong-American educator and activist, who has dedicated her life to promoting education and empowerment within the Hmong community, particularly for women and girls.
These individuals, along with countless others throughout history, have carried the name Moua with pride and have contributed significantly to the preservation and celebration of Hmong culture, heritage, and resilience.
People
Moua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moua 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
Moua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moua 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Moua a common name?
We classify Moua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moua most popular?
The single biggest year for Moua was 1989, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moua is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moua in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 521 people with the name Moua, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,995 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 Moua 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 Moua?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Moua on both sides of the split. Of the 523 people counted with this name, 412 were male (78.8%) and 111 were female (21.2%). 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 Moua?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moua is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (1.2%). 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 Moua most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Moua in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (506 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 Moua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moua a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moua 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 Moua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moua 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 Moua 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 are named Moua?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.