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

Moffett, 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 Moffett surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moffett in America

Moffett is the 3025th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moffett surname appeared 11,853 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Moffett.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moffett 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 Moffett

The surname Moffett has its origins in Scotland, where it first appeared in the 14th century. It is derived from the Old English word "mufa," meaning a muff or a small cape, suggesting that the name may have been an occupational one for a maker of muffs or capes.

The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the late 14th century, when a John Moffet was mentioned in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland in 1398. The name was also found in various spellings, such as Moffat, Moffatt, Moffitt, and Muffet, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common in those times.

One notable historical reference to the name Moffett can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, where a Robert Moffet is listed as a tenant in the lands of Kirkcudbrightshire in 1503. This suggests that the family had established itself in that region by the early 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name Moffett gained prominence with Thomas Moffett (1553-1604), an English naturalist, physician, and writer. He is best known for his work "Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum," one of the earliest works on entomology.

Another notable figure with the surname Moffett was Sir John Moffat (1788-1868), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia from 1835 to 1840.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moffett dates back to the late 18th century, when a Samuel Moffett was listed in the 1790 census of Virginia.

The name Moffett has also been associated with several places, such as Moffat in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, which likely derived its name from the surname. Similarly, the town of Moffett, Oklahoma, was named after a prominent local family with that surname.

Throughout history, several other individuals have carried the surname Moffett, including Robert Moffett (1795-1851), a Scottish architect who designed many notable buildings in Edinburgh, and John Moffat (1832-1915), a Scottish Presbyterian missionary who worked in Korea.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moffett

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

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 Moffett 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 Moffett 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 Moffett was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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