2000
#104,257
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 159
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Mostow
An occupational surname possibly derived from the German "most," meaning must or grape juice.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 178 Americans carry the last name Mostow. That puts it at #118,445 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,925,586 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mostow 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
178
1 in 1,925,586
Census rank
#118,445
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
155
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 155 bearers of the surname Mostow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 118445th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mostow, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mostow
The surname Mostow has its origins in Central and Eastern Europe, tracing back to the 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Polish word "most," which means "bridge," or the German word "moster," meaning "monastery." Some historians suggest that the name could have been associated with individuals who lived near a bridge or a monastery.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mostow can be found in the Polish town of Kazimierz Dolny, where a merchant named Jan Mostow was mentioned in a local registry in 1498. The surname was also documented in the German region of Saxony, with a reference to a family bearing the name Mostow residing in the town of Freiberg in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the Mostow surname appeared in several historical records across Eastern Europe. Notably, a Russian nobleman named Ivan Mostow was recorded as owning vast lands in the Novgorod region during the reign of Tsar Alexis I (1629-1676).
As the Mostow family spread across Europe, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Mostoff, Mostof, and Mosztow. One notable figure from this period was the Polish writer and philosopher, Jakub Mostow (1678-1744), whose works explored themes of ethics and morality.
In the 19th century, the Mostow surname gained prominence in the United States, with immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe settling in various cities. One notable American with this surname was Samuel Mostow (1854-1921), a successful businessman and philanthropist in New York City, who founded the Mostow Foundation for underprivileged children.
Other notable individuals with the Mostow surname include:
1. Andrzej Mostow (1914-1992), a Polish mathematician and professor at the University of Warsaw.
2. Martin Mostow (1923-2017), an American physicist and academic at Yale University.
3. George Mostow (1923-2017), an American mathematician known for his contributions to differential geometry.
4. Elise Mostow (1931-2006), an American artist and sculptor recognized for her abstract works.
5. Steven Mostow (born 1954), an American composer and musician renowned for his film and television scores.
While the Mostow surname may have originated from humble beginnings, its legacy has traversed continents and centuries, leaving an indelible mark on various fields, from academia and the arts to business and philanthropy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mostow
Among Census respondents with the surname Mostow, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Mostow 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 Mostow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 146
- Two or more races3.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
- Black or African American0.6% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mostow
Mostow 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
#120,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 144
-15 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 15,930 places
2020
#118,445
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 155
+11 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 1,742 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #104,257 | 159 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #120,187 | 144 | 0.05 | -15 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 15,930 places |
| 2020 | #118,445 | 155 | 0.05 | +11 bearers (+7.6%) | Up 1,742 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 Mostow 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 | #120,187 | #118,445 | 1.4% |
| Count | 144 | 155 | 7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | 3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mostow bearers went from 144 to 155 (+7.6% change). The surname moved up 1,742 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,187 to #118,445.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mostow
FAQ
Mostow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mostow?
Name Census estimates that about 178 living Americans carry the surname Mostow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,925,586 residents.
How common is Mostow?
Mostow ranks #118,445 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 155 people with the surname Mostow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Mostow.
Has Mostow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mostow went from 144 recorded bearers to 155. That is an increase of 11 (+7.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #120,187 to #118,445.
What does the Census say about the background of Mostow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mostow, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.3%). 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 Mostow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (146 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mostow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.3%). 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 Mostow (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 Mostow mean?
An occupational surname possibly derived from the German "most," meaning must or grape juice. 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 Mostow (0.05 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 are called Mostow?
Want to know how common the surname Mostow is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.