2000
#14,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,957
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Moskal
A Ukrainian surname derived from the term for a Russian person, likely referring to an ancestor's ethnicity or origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,132 Americans carry the last name Moskal. That puts it at #15,207 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,767 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moskal 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 Moskal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 160,767
Census rank
#15,207
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,859 bearers of the surname Moskal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15207th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moskal, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moskal
The surname MOSKAL is of Ukrainian origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Ukrainian word "moskal", which originally referred to a person from Moscow or Russia in general. The name likely emerged as a way to distinguish ethnic Ukrainians from Russians during the period of Russian rule over parts of Ukraine.
In the early 1600s, the MOSKAL surname began appearing in church records and other historical documents in regions of modern-day western Ukraine. One of the earliest recorded instances is Ivan Moskal, a peasant from the village of Byshiv near Lviv, mentioned in a land registry from 1612.
Over the next few centuries, the MOSKAL name spread across various regions of Ukraine. It can be found in census records, military rosters, and other official documents from the 17th and 18th centuries. Notable individuals with this surname during this time include Petro Moskal (1675-1734), a Cossack leader from the Poltava region, and Yakiv Moskal (1712-1779), a prominent merchant from the city of Kharkiv.
In the 19th century, as Ukraine became increasingly integrated into the Russian Empire, the MOSKAL surname also began appearing in records from other parts of the empire. For example, Hryhoriy Moskal (1842-1912) was a respected teacher and author from the Kursk region of modern-day Russia.
One of the most famous individuals with the MOSKAL surname was Stepan Moskal (1904-1983), a Ukrainian nationalist and military leader who fought against both Soviet and Nazi forces during World War II. He was a prominent figure in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and spent several years in Soviet prisons after the war.
While the MOSKAL surname is primarily concentrated in Ukraine, it can also be found among Ukrainian diaspora communities in countries like Canada, the United States, and Poland. Prominent individuals with this name from the 20th century include Dmytro Moskal (1919-2003), a Ukrainian-Canadian artist and sculptor, and Jerzy Moskal (1938-2019), a Polish politician and member of the European Parliament.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moskal
Among Census respondents with the surname Moskal, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Moskal 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 Moskal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 1,740
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 50
- Two or more races2.6% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 16
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moskal
Moskal 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
#15,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,949
-8 bearers (-0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 1,019 places
2020
#15,207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,859
-90 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,108 | 1,957 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,127 | 1,949 | 0.66 | -8 bearers (-0.4%) | Down 1,019 places |
| 2020 | #15,207 | 1,859 | 0.62 | -90 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 80 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 Moskal 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 | #15,127 | #15,207 | -0.5% |
| Count | 1,949 | 1,859 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.62 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moskal bearers went from 1,949 to 1,859 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,127 to #15,207.
FAQ
Moskal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moskal?
Name Census estimates that about 2,132 living Americans carry the surname Moskal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,767 residents.
How common is Moskal?
Moskal ranks #15,207 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,859 people with the surname Moskal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Moskal.
Has Moskal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moskal went from 1,949 recorded bearers to 1,859. That is a decrease of 90 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,127 to #15,207.
What does the Census say about the background of Moskal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moskal, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Moskal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (1,740 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moskal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Moskal (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 Moskal mean?
A Ukrainian surname derived from the term for a Russian person, likely referring to an ancestor's ethnicity or origin. 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 Moskal (0.62 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 last name Moskal?
See how many Americans have the surname Moskal on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.