2000
#17,475
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,487
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.55
Rare Last name
Moodie
A surname derived from the Old English "mod" meaning brave or bold.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,102 Americans carry the last name Moodie. That puts it at #15,406 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,061 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moodie 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 Moodie with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 163,061
Census rank
#15,406
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,833 bearers of the surname Moodie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15406th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moodie, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.6%. The next largest groups are Black (41.5%) and Hispanic (6.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moodie
The surname MOODIE is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the early 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "mody" or "modi," which means "brave" or "bold." This suggests that the name was initially a nickname given to someone who displayed these characteristics.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name MOODIE can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1329, where a person named Thomas Mody is mentioned. The surname is also found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which list Scottish landowners who had sworn allegiance to King Edward I of England.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the MOODIE surname was prevalent in the counties of Aberdeenshire, Angus, and Perthshire in Scotland. Some variations of the spelling included Moodie, Moody, Mudie, and Mudey.
In the historical records of the Clan Mudie or Moodie, there are references to a Sir John Moodie who fought alongside King Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence in the early 14th century. Another notable MOODIE was Alexander Moodie, a Scottish minister and author who lived from 1699 to 1771.
In the 18th century, the MOODIE surname appeared in the Commissariot Records of St. Andrews, a Scottish ecclesiastical court. One entry from 1705 mentions a Robert Moodie, a tenant farmer in the parish of Kingsbarns.
Another noteworthy figure with the MOODIE surname was James Moodie, a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1743 and died in 1808.
In the 19th century, a prominent MOODIE was Susanna Moodie, a renowned English-born Canadian author and pioneer who lived from 1803 to 1885. She is best known for her literary works that chronicle her experiences as a settler in Canada, such as "Roughing It in the Bush."
The MOODIE surname has also been associated with place names in Scotland, such as Moodie's Park in Perthshire and Moodie's Well in Angus, further highlighting its Scottish heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moodie
Among Census respondents with the surname Moodie, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.6%. The next largest groups are Black (41.5%) and Hispanic (6.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Moodie 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 Moodie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.6% · 855
- Black or African American41.5% · 760
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 114
- Two or more races5.1% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moodie
Moodie 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
#16,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,715
+228 bearers (+15.3%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Up 779 places
2020
#15,406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,833
+118 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 1,290 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,475 | 1,487 | 0.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,696 | 1,715 | 0.58 | +228 bearers (+15.3%) | Up 779 places |
| 2020 | #15,406 | 1,833 | 0.61 | +118 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 1,290 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 Moodie 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 | #16,696 | #15,406 | 7.7% |
| Count | 1,715 | 1,833 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.58 | 0.61 | 5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moodie bearers went from 1,715 to 1,833 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 1,290 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,696 to #15,406.
FAQ
Moodie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moodie?
Name Census estimates that about 2,102 living Americans carry the surname Moodie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,061 residents.
How common is Moodie?
Moodie ranks #15,406 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,833 people with the surname Moodie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,102), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Moodie.
Has Moodie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moodie went from 1,715 recorded bearers to 1,833. That is an increase of 118 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,696 to #15,406.
What does the Census say about the background of Moodie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moodie, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.6%. The next largest groups are Black (41.5%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Moodie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.6% (855 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moodie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (46.6%), Black (41.5%), Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Moodie (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 Moodie mean?
A surname derived from the Old English "mod" meaning brave or bold. 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 Moodie (0.61 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 are called Moodie?
If you just want to know how many people are called Moodie, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.