2000
#479
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 62,344
First available Census row
Per 100,000 23.11
Uncommon Last name
Moody
Derived from a nickname for a person with a moody or temperamental disposition.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 70,501 Americans carry the last name Moody. That puts it at #536 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 20.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,862 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moody 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 Moody with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
71K
1 in 4,862
Census rank
#536
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
20.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
61K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 61,480 bearers of the surname Moody in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 20.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 536th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moody, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moody
The surname Moody is of English origin, derived from the Middle English word "mody," meaning moody or temperamental. It likely emerged as a descriptive nickname for someone with a changeable or unpredictable disposition.
The name is believed to have originated in the county of Lancashire, England, where it was first recorded in the 13th century. Some of the earliest documented instances of the surname can be found in Lancashire parish records from that period.
Interestingly, the Moody surname also appears in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a vast survey of landholdings and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name may have even older Anglo-Saxon roots.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Moody surname was Sir Henry Moody, a prominent English landowner and military commander who lived during the reign of King Edward III in the 14th century (1312-1377). Another notable figure was Sir Ralph Moody, a member of the English Parliament in the late 15th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Moody surname spread across various regions of England, with concentrations found in counties like Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire. Some examples include Richard Moody (1513-1583), an English clergyman and academic, and Sir Henry Moody (1590-1668), a wealthy merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London.
In the 18th century, the Moody name gained further recognition with individuals like James Moody (1707-1785), a British navigator and explorer who conducted extensive surveys of the Caribbean and Florida regions. Another notable figure was John Moody (1727-1812), an English dissenting minister and tutor who established a prestigious academy in Warwickshire.
As the British Empire expanded, the Moody surname spread to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and other former British colonies. One prominent example is Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899), an American evangelist and publisher who was instrumental in the growth of the evangelical Christian movement in the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moody
Among Census respondents with the surname Moody, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Moody 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 Moody surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.8% · 42,299
- Black or African American21.9% · 13,480
- Two or more races4.2% · 2,606
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 2,221
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 489
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 385
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moody
Moody 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
#519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 64,429
+2,085 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 21.84
Rank movement Down 40 places
2020
#536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 61,480
-2,949 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 20.57
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #479 | 62,344 | 23.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #519 | 64,429 | 21.84 | +2,085 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 40 places |
| 2020 | #536 | 61,480 | 20.57 | -2,949 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 17 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 Moody 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 | #519 | #536 | -3.3% |
| Count | 64,429 | 61,480 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 21.84 | 20.57 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moody bearers went from 64,429 to 61,480 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #519 to #536.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Moody
FAQ
Moody surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moody?
Name Census estimates that about 70,501 living Americans carry the surname Moody. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,862 residents.
How common is Moody?
Moody ranks #536 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 20.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 21 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 61,480 people with the surname Moody. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (70,501), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 20.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 20.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 21 of them to have the surname Moody.
Has Moody become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moody went from 64,429 recorded bearers to 61,480. That is a decrease of 2,949 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #519 to #536.
What does the Census say about the background of Moody?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moody, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Moody in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (42,299 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moody appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.8%), Black (21.9%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Moody (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 Moody mean?
Derived from a nickname for a person with a moody or temperamental disposition. 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 Moody (20.57 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 Americans have the surname Moody?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.