2000
#3,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,652
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.58
Uncommon Last name
Moffitt
Derived from a place name meaning "Moff's land" in Old English, referring to an early landowner.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,311 Americans carry the last name Moffitt. That puts it at #3,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,303 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moffitt 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 Moffitt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,303
Census rank
#3,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,864 bearers of the surname Moffitt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffitt, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moffitt
The surname Moffitt is of Scottish origin and is believed to have derived from a locational name referring to the lands of Moffat, a town located in the historic county of Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The name Moffat itself is thought to come from the Old Gaelic word "mam" meaning "rounded hill" and the Old English word "fat" meaning "a homestead or settlement."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of homage rolls recording acts of fealty to Edward I of England in the late 13th century. In these rolls, the name is spelled as "Moffet" and is associated with individuals from the Scottish Borders region.
During the Middle Ages, the Moffitt family held lands in the parish of Moffat and played a significant role in the local community. Records from the 15th and 16th centuries mention several individuals bearing the Moffitt surname, such as John Moffitt, who was granted a charter for lands in Moffatdale in 1452, and Robert Moffitt, a notable landowner in the same area in the late 16th century.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Moffitt was Sir Adam Moffitt, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Moffitt, a Scottish diplomat and ambassador who served under King James IV in the late 15th century.
In the 17th century, the Moffitt family gained prominence in the literary world with the poet and writer, William Moffitt (1623-1687), who was born in Dumfriesshire and is known for his collection of poems titled "The Moffitt Miscellany."
As the Moffitt family spread across Scotland and beyond, the surname underwent various spelling variations, including Moffat, Moffett, Moffat, and Moffett. One notable individual with this surname was James Moffett (1789-1870), a Scottish-American industrialist who established the Moffett & Company, a successful shipping and trading firm in New York City.
Throughout history, the Moffitt surname has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including landowners, military personnel, poets, and businessmen. While the name has its roots in the Scottish Borders, it has since spread across the globe, with Moffitt families residing in various parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moffitt
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffitt, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Moffitt 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 Moffitt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 8,199
- Black or African American8.2% · 806
- Two or more races3.9% · 388
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 336
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moffitt
Moffitt 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
#3,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,070
+418 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 3.41
Rank movement Down 148 places
2020
#3,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,864
-206 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 3.30
Rank movement Up 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,395 | 9,652 | 3.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,543 | 10,070 | 3.41 | +418 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 148 places |
| 2020 | #3,529 | 9,864 | 3.30 | -206 bearers (-2.0%) | Up 14 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 Moffitt 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 | #3,543 | #3,529 | 0.4% |
| Count | 10,070 | 9,864 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.41 | 3.30 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moffitt bearers went from 10,070 to 9,864 (-2.0% change). The surname moved up 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,543 to #3,529.
FAQ
Moffitt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moffitt?
Name Census estimates that about 11,311 living Americans carry the surname Moffitt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,303 residents.
How common is Moffitt?
Moffitt ranks #3,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,864 people with the surname Moffitt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,311), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Moffitt.
Has Moffitt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moffitt went from 10,070 recorded bearers to 9,864. That is a decrease of 206 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,543 to #3,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Moffitt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffitt, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) 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 Moffitt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (8,199 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moffitt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.1%), Black (8.2%), 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 Moffitt (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 Moffitt mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Moff's land" in Old English, referring to an early landowner. 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 Moffitt (3.30 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 Moffitt?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Moffitt is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.