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

Mota, 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 Mota surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mota in America

Mota is the 2547th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mota surname appeared 14,182 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Mota.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mota 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 Mota

The surname MOTA has its origins in Spain and Portugal. It is likely derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word "mota," which means "tuft" or "clump," referring to a small hill or mound of earth.

The surname can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to have originated as a topographic name, given to someone who lived near or on a small hill or mound. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the late 13th century in various documents and records from the regions of Castile and Aragon in Spain, as well as the region of Alentejo in Portugal.

One of the earliest known references to the MOTA surname can be found in the "Libro de la Monterĭa" (Book of the Hunt), a 14th-century manuscript commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile, which mentions a person named Juan de Mota. Additionally, the "Nobiliario de Canarias" (Nobility of the Canary Islands), written in the 16th century, includes several references to individuals with the MOTA surname who were among the early settlers of the Canary Islands.

Some notable historical figures with the MOTA surname include:

1. Juan de Mota (fl. 14th century), a nobleman and landowner mentioned in the "Libro de la Monterĭa."
2. Cristóbal de Mota (fl. 16th century), a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Guatemala and Honduras.
3. Pedro de Mota (1528-1588), a Spanish painter and architect who worked on various religious buildings in Seville and Córdoba.
4. Manuel da Mota Teixeira (1568-1638), a Portuguese mathematician and cosmographer who published works on cartography and navigation.
5. Juan de la Mota y Escobar (1589-1636), a Spanish dramatist and poet who wrote several plays and poems during the Golden Age of Spanish literature.

The MOTA surname has also been associated with various place names in Spain and Portugal, such as Mota del Cuervo (a town in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain), Mota de Altarejos (a municipality in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain), and Mota (a parish in the municipality of Avis, Portugal).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mota

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

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

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

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