2000
#26,215
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 877
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.33
Rare Last name
Moehring
A surname of German origin referring to someone from the town of Möhringen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,009 Americans carry the last name Moehring. That puts it at #28,769 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 339,697 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moehring 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
1.0K
1 in 339,697
Census rank
#28,769
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
880
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 880 bearers of the surname Moehring in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 28769th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moehring, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moehring
The surname Moehring is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "muor," meaning "marsh" or "swamp." It likely originated in areas of present-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland during the medieval period, possibly denoting someone who lived near a marshy area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moehring can be found in the "Weisthümer," a collection of medieval German land and village records dating back to the 13th century. These records mention individuals with variations of the name, such as "Muoringer" and "Moringer."
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johann Moehring (1538-1605), a German mathematician and astronomer who authored works on celestial mechanics and planetary motion. His contributions to the field of astronomy were significant during the Renaissance period.
The Moehring name also appears in historical records from the 17th century, such as the "Kirchenbücher" (church records) from various German regions. One example is Hans Moehring (1632-1695), a farmer and landowner from the village of Dornburg, located in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
In the 18th century, Paul Heinrich Gerhard Moehring (1710-1792) was a renowned German physician, naturalist, and botanist. He made significant contributions to the study of flora and fauna, particularly in his work "Avium Genera" (1752), which described and classified various bird species.
Another notable figure was Johann Samuel Moehring (1755-1825), a German philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy during the Enlightenment era. His works, such as "Über die Würde des Menschen" (On the Dignity of Man), explored themes of human nature and the pursuit of virtue.
The name Moehring has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Moehringen, a district in the city of Stuttgart, and Möhringen, a town in the state of Thuringia. These place names likely derived from the same root word "muor," indicating their proximity to marshy or swampy areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moehring
Among Census respondents with the surname Moehring, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Moehring 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 Moehring surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 831
- Two or more races2.5% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 9
- Black or African American0.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moehring
Moehring 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
#26,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 925
+48 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 176 places
2020
#28,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 880
-45 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 2,378 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #26,215 | 877 | 0.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,391 | 925 | 0.31 | +48 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 176 places |
| 2020 | #28,769 | 880 | 0.29 | -45 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 2,378 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 Moehring 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 | #26,391 | #28,769 | -9.0% |
| Count | 925 | 880 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.31 | 0.29 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moehring bearers went from 925 to 880 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 2,378 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,391 to #28,769.
FAQ
Moehring surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moehring?
Name Census estimates that about 1,009 living Americans carry the surname Moehring. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 339,697 residents.
How common is Moehring?
Moehring ranks #28,769 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 880 people with the surname Moehring. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,009), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Moehring.
Has Moehring become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moehring went from 925 recorded bearers to 880. That is a decrease of 45 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #26,391 to #28,769.
What does the Census say about the background of Moehring?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moehring, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Moehring in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (831 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moehring appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Moehring (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 Moehring mean?
A surname of German origin referring to someone from the town of Möhringen. 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 Moehring (0.29 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 common is the surname Moehring?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Moehring at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.