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

Moses, 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 Moses surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moses in America

Moses is the 887th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moses surname appeared 39,216 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Moses.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moses 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 Moses

The surname Moses originated from the Hebrew personal name "Moshe", which means "drawn out" or "pulled out", in reference to the biblical figure Moses who was drawn out of the waters of the Nile River. This name, in its various spellings, has been adopted as a surname across different cultures and religions.

The earliest known records of the surname Moses can be traced back to the 12th century in England. During this time, Jewish communities began to adopt hereditary surnames, and Moses was one of the names derived from biblical figures. In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Moyses" in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire.

In the 16th century, the surname Moses gained popularity among Protestant Christians in England and Scotland, who adopted biblical names as a way to express their religious beliefs. This led to an increase in the use of the surname Moses among non-Jewish populations.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Moses was Robert Moses, a 13th-century landowner in Suffolk, England. Another notable individual was Sir Edward Moses (1572-1636), an English merchant and diplomat who served as the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

The surname Moses also has a long history in the United States, where it was brought by early Jewish immigrants from various European countries. One of the most prominent figures with this surname was Robert Moses (1888-1981), the influential urban planner and public official who shaped the development of New York City.

Other notable individuals with the surname Moses include:

1. Anna Mary Moses (1860-1961), an American folk artist known for her naive style paintings depicting rural life.
2. Grandma Moses (1860-1961), the nickname of Anna Mary Moses, which became her professional name as an artist.
3. Alfred H. Moses (1919-1995), an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the US ambassador to Romania and Morocco.
4. Raphael Moses (1812-1903), a British Jewish writer and historian who wrote extensively on Jewish history and culture.
5. Edwin Moses (born 1955), an American former track and field athlete who won gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympic Games.

These are just a few examples of the rich history and diverse backgrounds of individuals who have carried the surname Moses throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moses

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

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 Moses 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 Moses 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 Moses was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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