Find out how popular the last name Moorehead is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Moorehead.

Moorehead, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Moorehead surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moorehead in America

Moorehead is the 6995th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moorehead surname appeared 4,791 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Moorehead.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moorehead to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Moorehead

The surname Moorehead is of Scottish origin and is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century. It is a locational name derived from a place called Moorhead, which is located near Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "mor" meaning "moor" and "heafod" meaning "head" or "hill", referring to a person who lived near a moorland hilltop.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland in 1505, where a John Moirheid is mentioned. Another early reference is found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1532, which mention a Robert Moirheid.

In the late 16th century, the name was also recorded in various spellings such as Moorheid, Muirheid, and Muirhead. These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling during that time period.

One notable person with the surname Moorehead was Sir James Moorehead, who was born in 1770 and served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1832. He was a successful merchant and banker, and played a prominent role in the City of London.

Another prominent individual was John Moorehead (1734-1804), an American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the first president of the University of Pennsylvania in 1779.

In the field of literature, there was Mary Moorehead (1905-1994), an Australian novelist and biographer who wrote several books about the lives of famous writers and explorers.

The name Moorehead is also associated with Sir William Moorehead (1835-1919), a Scottish engineer and shipbuilder who was knighted for his contributions to the industry.

Lastly, Alan Moorehead (1910-1983) was a renowned Australian writer and journalist, known for his works on World War II and other historical events.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moorehead

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Moorehead.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Moorehead was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Moorehead has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Moorehead was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Moorehead, please contact us.

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