2000
#6,992
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,420
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.64
Rare Last name
Moorhead
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near the head or source of a moor or marshland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,700 Americans carry the last name Moorhead. That puts it at #7,770 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 72,926 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moorhead 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 Moorhead with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 72,926
Census rank
#7,770
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,099 bearers of the surname Moorhead in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7770th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moorhead, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moorhead
The surname Moorhead has its roots in Scotland, originating from a combination of the Scots words "muir" meaning "moor" or "moorland" and "heid" meaning "head" or "elevated land". This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or on a moorland or elevated area.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 16th century in the Scottish Lowlands. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Moorhead, who was mentioned in the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland in 1585.
Throughout history, the name has been spelled in various ways, including Muirhead, Moorheid, and Mooreheed, reflecting the regional dialects and spelling variations of the time. The name is also closely related to the place name Muirhead, a small village in East Ayrshire, Scotland.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the Scottish Parliament, with Robert Moorhead serving as a commissioner for Renfrewshire in 1661. Another notable bearer of the name was James Moorhead (1664-1734), a Scottish minister and author who wrote on theological topics.
As the Moorhead family spread throughout Scotland and beyond, the name gained prominence in other parts of the British Isles and North America. John Moorhead (1766-1834) was an Irish-born American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the first president of Washington College (now Washington & Jefferson College) in Pennsylvania.
Another significant figure was James Moorhead (1810-1884), an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 1859 to 1867. He played a crucial role in the development of the Union Pacific Railroad during the Civil War era.
In the literary world, John Moorhead (1914-1991) was a renowned Scottish poet and author, known for works such as "The Severnaikers" and "The Snar Road Fell." His contributions to Scottish literature and the preservation of the Scots language were widely acclaimed.
While these are just a few examples, the surname Moorhead has a rich history spanning centuries, with bearers of the name making significant contributions in various fields across multiple countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moorhead
Among Census respondents with the surname Moorhead, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Moorhead 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 Moorhead surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 3,701
- Two or more races3.6% · 148
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 136
- Black or African American2.0% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moorhead
Moorhead 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
#7,666
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,332
-88 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Down 674 places
2020
#7,770
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,099
-233 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Down 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,992 | 4,420 | 1.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,666 | 4,332 | 1.47 | -88 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 674 places |
| 2020 | #7,770 | 4,099 | 1.37 | -233 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 104 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 Moorhead 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 | #7,666 | #7,770 | -1.4% |
| Count | 4,332 | 4,099 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.47 | 1.37 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moorhead bearers went from 4,332 to 4,099 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,666 to #7,770.
FAQ
Moorhead surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moorhead?
Name Census estimates that about 4,700 living Americans carry the surname Moorhead. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 72,926 residents.
How common is Moorhead?
Moorhead ranks #7,770 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.37 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 4,099 people with the surname Moorhead. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,700), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.37 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 Moorhead.
Has Moorhead become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moorhead went from 4,332 recorded bearers to 4,099. That is a decrease of 233 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,666 to #7,770.
What does the Census say about the background of Moorhead?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moorhead, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Moorhead in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (3,701 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moorhead appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Moorhead (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 Moorhead mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near the head or source of a moor or marshland. 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 Moorhead (1.37 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 common is the surname Moorhead?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Moorhead, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.