Mozell
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a variant of Moselle.
Name Census estimates that about 611 living Americans carry the first name Mozell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Mozell today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mozell births was 1922 (132 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mozell. 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 Mozell is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Mozells were born before 1960.
People living today
611
~ 1 in 560,973 Americans
Peak year
1922
132 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
2005 SSA rank
#11,040
Tracked since 1891
Gender
Gender distribution for Mozell
Mozell leans heavily female at 86.3% of total registrations, but 484 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mozell as a male name
- Ranked #11,040 in 2005
- 6 male births in 2005
- Peak: 1927 (16 births)
Mozell as a female name
- Ranked #13,876 in 1999
- 6 female births in 1999
- Peak: 1925 (121 births)
Popularity
Mozell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mozell from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,055 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
Mozell 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 Mozell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mozells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Mozell, while Florida, Virginia, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 179 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mozell
The given name Mozell is a relatively uncommon first name of uncertain origin. It may have derived from the French word "moiselle," which was a female variant of the word "monsieur" used in the 17th and 18th centuries. This term was sometimes shortened to "moz'elle" in informal contexts, which could have evolved into the name Mozell over time.
Another theory suggests that Mozell may have roots in the Germanic language family, potentially stemming from a combination of the Old High German words "muozan" (meaning "to be able") and "selli" (meaning "good" or "blessed"). This would give the name a connotation of being capable or fortunate.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Mozell date back to the late 19th century in the United States. One of the earliest known individuals with this first name was Mozell Booker, an African American schoolteacher and community leader from Mississippi, born in 1884.
Another notable figure was Mozell Hill, an American blues singer and songwriter active in the 1920s and 1930s. Her recordings, such as "Whoopee Blues" and "Ain't Gonna Be No Monkey Man," were influential in the development of early blues music.
In the realm of literature, Mozell Sawyer was an American writer and educator born in 1900. She authored several books, including the novel "The Rosanna" and the short story collection "The Burning of Atlanta."
Moving to the field of sports, Mozell Towe was an American basketball player who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s. She was inducted into the league's Players' Association Hall of Fame in 1998.
Lastly, Mozell Cofer was an American gospel singer and songwriter active in the mid-20th century. She was known for her collaborations with notable gospel groups and her contributions to the genre's development.
While the name Mozell remains relatively uncommon, these individuals and their accomplishments have contributed to its recognition throughout history.
People
Mozell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mozell 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
Mozell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mozell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 611 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mozell 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 560,973 US residents.
Is Mozell a common name?
We classify Mozell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,534 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mozell most popular?
The single biggest year for Mozell was 1922, when 132 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mozell is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mozell a female name?
Yes, 86.3% of people registered as Mozell 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.
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.