Find out how popular the last name Moar is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Moar.

Moar, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Moar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moar in America

Moar is the 105079th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moar surname appeared 170 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Moar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moar to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Moar

The surname MOAR is believed to have originated in the Shetland Islands, an archipelago located in the Northern Isles of Scotland. The earliest records of this name date back to the 16th century, where it was often spelled as "Moir" or "Moir-Car". The name is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "mōr", meaning "moorland" or "heath".

In the 17th century, the name MOAR started appearing in various parish records and legal documents across the Shetland Islands. One notable mention is in the Shetland Court Books from 1615, which references a certain "Magnus Moar" who was involved in a land dispute.

The name MOAR is closely associated with the island of Unst, which is part of the Shetland archipelago. In the 18th century, there were several families with the surname MOAR residing in the village of Norwick on the island of Unst. The oldest known record of this name from Unst is a birth record from 1726, listing the baptism of "James Moar".

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname MOAR was John Moar, who was born in 1702 in the village of Balliasta on the island of Unst. He was a prominent figure in the local community and served as a parish clerk for several decades.

Another notable figure with the MOAR surname was Magnus Moar (1793-1875), a renowned poet and storyteller from the island of Unst. He is often credited with preserving many traditional Shetland tales and ballads through his writings and oral recitations.

In the 19th century, the MOAR surname began to spread beyond the Shetland Islands as families migrated to other parts of Scotland and even further afield. One such individual was Alexander Moar (1815-1892), who was born in Unst but later settled in Dundee, where he worked as a shipwright.

Another individual of note is William Moar (1871-1938), a Scottish artist and painter who was born in Aberdeenshire. Although not directly from the Shetland Islands, his surname likely has origins in the same Old Norse root as the Shetland Moar families.

While the surname MOAR is most prevalent in the Shetland Islands and Scotland, it has also been documented in other parts of the United Kingdom and beyond, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moar

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Moar.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Moar was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Moar has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Moar was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Moar, please contact us.

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