2000
#2,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,524
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.27
Uncommon Last name
Moffett
A locational surname derived from a place in Annandale, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, likely meaning "long field" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,786 Americans carry the last name Moffett. That puts it at #3,156 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,807 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moffett 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Moffett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,807
Census rank
#3,156
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,150 bearers of the surname Moffett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3156th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffett, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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One notable historical reference to the name Moffett can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, where a Robert Moffet is listed as a tenant in the lands of Kirkcudbrightshire in 1503.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moffett
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffett, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Moffett 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 Moffett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.6% · 7,314
- Black or African American25.3% · 2,822
- Two or more races3.9% · 431
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 401
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 101
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 81
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moffett
Moffett 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
#3,025
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,853
+329 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 4.02
Rank movement Down 162 places
2020
#3,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,150
-703 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 3.73
Rank movement Down 131 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,863 | 11,524 | 4.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,025 | 11,853 | 4.02 | +329 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 162 places |
| 2020 | #3,156 | 11,150 | 3.73 | -703 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 131 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 Moffett 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 | #3,025 | #3,156 | -4.3% |
| Count | 11,853 | 11,150 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.02 | 3.73 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moffett bearers went from 11,853 to 11,150 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 131 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,025 to #3,156.
FAQ
Moffett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moffett?
Name Census estimates that about 12,786 living Americans carry the surname Moffett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,807 residents.
How common is Moffett?
Moffett ranks #3,156 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,150 people with the surname Moffett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,786), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Moffett.
Has Moffett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moffett went from 11,853 recorded bearers to 11,150. That is a decrease of 703 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,025 to #3,156.
What does the Census say about the background of Moffett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffett, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Moffett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (7,314 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moffett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.6%), Black (25.3%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Moffett (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 Moffett mean?
A locational surname derived from a place in Annandale, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, likely meaning "long field" in Gaelic. 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 Moffett (3.73 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 people have the last name Moffett?
Find out how many people have the last name Moffett on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.