2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Mordas
A Polish surname likely derived from the word "morda" meaning face or snout.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Mordas. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mordas 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.
Bearers in the US
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Mordas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mordas, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mordas
The surname MORDAS has its origins in Portugal, where it first emerged in the 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Portuguese word "mordaz," which means "biting" or "sharp-tongued." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone with a particularly outspoken or sarcastic personality.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the MORDAS surname can be found in a 1482 document from the region of Alentejo, where a certain Joao MORDAS is mentioned as a landowner. Another early reference appears in a 1523 census record from Lisbon, listing a family headed by Diogo MORDAS.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the MORDAS name began to spread throughout Portugal and its colonies. Notable individuals from this period include Pedro MORDAS (1549-1612), a merchant who established trade routes between Lisbon and the Portuguese colonies in Brazil, and Joao MORDAS (1625-1698), a Jesuit priest and scholar who served as a missionary in Goa, India.
As the Portuguese Empire expanded, the MORDAS surname also found its way to other parts of the world. In the late 17th century, records show a family with the MORDAS name settling in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, where they became prominent landowners and traders.
In the 19th century, a branch of the MORDAS family emigrated to Brazil, where they established themselves in the state of Sao Paulo. One of the most notable members of this Brazilian branch was Antonio MORDAS (1825-1892), a lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Brazilian parliament.
Other notable individuals with the MORDAS surname include Manuel MORDAS (1876-1945), a Portuguese writer and journalist who was instrumental in the establishment of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and Mariana MORDAS (1890-1972), a pioneering feminist and activist who fought for women's rights in Portugal during the early 20th century.
Throughout its history, the MORDAS surname has maintained a strong presence in Portugal and its former colonies, as well as in other parts of the world where Portuguese immigrants settled. While the name's origins can be traced back to a simple nickname, it has since become a symbol of the rich cultural heritage and global reach of the Portuguese people.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mordas
Among Census respondents with the surname Mordas, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mordas 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 Mordas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 5
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mordas
Mordas 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+5 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,384 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 989 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 4,384 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 989 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 Mordas 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 | #152,628 | #151,639 | 0.6% |
| Count | 107 | 107 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mordas bearers went from 107 to 107 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 989 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #151,639.
FAQ
Mordas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mordas?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Mordas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Mordas?
Mordas ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Mordas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mordas.
Has Mordas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mordas went from 107 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Mordas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mordas, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Mordas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mordas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (4.7%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Mordas (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 Mordas mean?
A Polish surname likely derived from the word "morda" meaning face or snout. 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 Mordas (0.04 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 surname Mordas?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.