2000
#12,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,337
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Moak
Anglicized form of Irish surname Ó Módhóc, meaning "descendant of Módhóc," a diminutive of Módh, meaning "proud."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,566 Americans carry the last name Moak. That puts it at #13,103 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,575 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moak surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,575
Census rank
#13,103
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,238 bearers of the surname Moak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13103rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moak
The surname MOAK has its origins in the Low Countries, specifically in the Netherlands and Belgium regions during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch word "mooke," which means "muddy soil" or "marshy land." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have resided in or near marshy areas or wetlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the MOAK surname can be found in the Gelderse Leenaktenboeken, a collection of Dutch feudal records from the 14th century. In these records, a person named Hendrik van der Mooke is mentioned, indicating that the name may have originated as a locative surname, referring to someone from a place called "Mooke."
Another early reference to the MOAK name appears in the Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland, a collection of charters and documents from the Dutch provinces of Holland and Zeeland. In this collection, a certain Jan Moak is recorded as a resident of Delft in the year 1436.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the MOAK surname began to spread beyond the Low Countries as Dutch and Flemish settlers migrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable bearer of this name was Pieter Moak, a Dutch explorer and navigator who accompanied the expedition of Willem Barentsz to the Arctic regions in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, a branch of the MOAK family settled in the British North American colonies, with records showing a William Moak among the early settlers of New Netherland (present-day New York) in the 1630s. Another early American bearer of this name was John Moak, who was born in Virginia in 1692.
As the centuries progressed, the MOAK surname continued to spread across various regions, with notable individuals bearing this name including Johann Moak, a German composer and organist born in 1737, and Johanna Moak, a Dutch painter who lived in the late 18th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moak
Among Census respondents with the surname Moak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Moak bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Moak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 2,098
- Two or more races2.5% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- Black or African American0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moak
Moak appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,416
+79 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 551 places
2020
#13,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,238
-178 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 331 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,221 | 2,337 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,772 | 2,416 | 0.82 | +79 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 551 places |
| 2020 | #13,103 | 2,238 | 0.75 | -178 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 331 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Moak surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,772 | #13,103 | -2.6% |
| Count | 2,416 | 2,238 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.75 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moak bearers went from 2,416 to 2,238 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 331 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,772 to #13,103.
FAQ
Moak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moak?
Name Census estimates that about 2,566 living Americans carry the surname Moak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,575 residents.
How common is Moak?
Moak ranks #13,103 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,238 people with the surname Moak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,566), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Moak.
Has Moak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moak went from 2,416 recorded bearers to 2,238. That is a decrease of 178 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,772 to #13,103.
What does the Census say about the background of Moak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Moak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (2,098 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (2.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Moak (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Moak mean?
Anglicized form of Irish surname Ó Módhóc, meaning "descendant of Módhóc," a diminutive of Módh, meaning "proud." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Moak (0.75 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Moak?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.