2000
#7,546
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,064
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Moller
An occupational surname referring to a miller or operator of a grain mill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,514 Americans carry the last name Moller. That puts it at #8,067 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 75,931 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moller 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 Moller with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 75,931
Census rank
#8,067
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,936 bearers of the surname Moller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8067th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moller, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moller
The surname MOLLER is of German origin and is derived from the occupational name for a miller, someone who operated a mill for grinding grains such as wheat or corn into flour. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "muller" or "muller," which is also the modern German word for miller.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest known records is from the town of Mühlhausen in Thuringia, where a person named Henricus Moller was mentioned in a document from 1275.
The name MOLLER is also found in several other Germanic languages, including Dutch (Moller or Möller) and Danish (Møller). These variations emerged as the name spread across different regions of Europe with the migration of people and the establishment of new settlements.
In England, the name is often spelled as MILLER, which is the English translation of the German occupational name. However, there are instances where the German spelling MOLLER was retained, particularly among immigrants from German-speaking countries.
One notable historical figure with the surname MOLLER was Johann Friedrich Möller (1692-1768), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Jena. Another prominent individual was Andreas Møller (1684-1763), a Norwegian-born naval officer who served in the Danish-Norwegian navy and is remembered for his contributions to navigation and cartography.
The name MOLLER also appears in several historical records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this record, the name is listed as "Molendinarius," which is the Latin equivalent of "miller."
Other notable individuals with the surname MOLLER include:
- Georg Möller (1784-1852), a German botanist and naturalist known for his work on the flora of Germany.
- Herman Möller (1850-1923), a Swedish architect who designed several notable buildings in Stockholm.
- Henry Møller (1819-1887), a Danish artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
- Johann Möller (1661-1725), a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Elector of Saxony.
The surname MOLLER continues to be prevalent in various parts of Europe, particularly in Germany, Denmark, and other Scandinavian countries, as well as among communities of German and Scandinavian descent in other parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moller
Among Census respondents with the surname Moller, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Moller 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 Moller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.0% · 3,346
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 296
- Two or more races3.8% · 149
- Black or African American2.1% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moller
Moller 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
#7,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,209
+145 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 317 places
2020
#8,067
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,936
-273 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.32
Rank movement Down 204 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,546 | 4,064 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,863 | 4,209 | 1.43 | +145 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 317 places |
| 2020 | #8,067 | 3,936 | 1.32 | -273 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 204 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 Moller 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 | #7,863 | #8,067 | -2.6% |
| Count | 4,209 | 3,936 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.32 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moller bearers went from 4,209 to 3,936 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 204 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,863 to #8,067.
FAQ
Moller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moller?
Name Census estimates that about 4,514 living Americans carry the surname Moller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 75,931 residents.
How common is Moller?
Moller ranks #8,067 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,936 people with the surname Moller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,514), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Moller.
Has Moller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moller went from 4,209 recorded bearers to 3,936. That is a decrease of 273 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,863 to #8,067.
What does the Census say about the background of Moller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moller, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Moller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (3,346 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.0%), Hispanic (7.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Moller (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 Moller mean?
An occupational surname referring to a miller or operator of a grain mill. 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 Moller (1.32 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 Moller?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Moller, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.