2000
#3,251
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,094
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.74
Uncommon Last name
Mota
A Portuguese and Spanish occupational surname referring to a grower or seller of plants, or a topographic name for someone living near a grove.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,515 Americans carry the last name Mota. That puts it at #2,447 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,754 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mota 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 Mota with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,754
Census rank
#2,447
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,402 bearers of the surname Mota in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2447th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mota, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.7%. The next largest groups are White (12.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mota
Among Census respondents with the surname Mota, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.7%. The next largest groups are White (12.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Mota 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 Mota surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.7% · 12,198
- White12.5% · 1,804
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 142
- Black or African American1.0% · 138
- Two or more races0.6% · 80
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mota
Mota 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
#2,547
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,182
+4,088 bearers (+40.5%)
Per 100,000 4.81
Rank movement Up 704 places
2020
#2,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,402
+220 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 4.82
Rank movement Up 100 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,251 | 10,094 | 3.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,547 | 14,182 | 4.81 | +4,088 bearers (+40.5%) | Up 704 places |
| 2020 | #2,447 | 14,402 | 4.82 | +220 bearers (+1.6%) | Up 100 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 Mota 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 | #2,547 | #2,447 | 3.9% |
| Count | 14,182 | 14,402 | 1.6% |
| Per 100K | 4.81 | 4.82 | 0.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mota bearers went from 14,182 to 14,402 (+1.6% change). The surname moved up 100 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,547 to #2,447.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mota
FAQ
Mota surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mota?
Name Census estimates that about 16,515 living Americans carry the surname Mota. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,754 residents.
How common is Mota?
Mota ranks #2,447 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,402 people with the surname Mota. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,515), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Mota.
Has Mota become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mota went from 14,182 recorded bearers to 14,402. That is an increase of 220 (+1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,547 to #2,447.
What does the Census say about the background of Mota?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mota, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.7%. The next largest groups are White (12.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mota in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (12,198 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mota appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (84.7%), White (12.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Mota (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 Mota mean?
A Portuguese and Spanish occupational surname referring to a grower or seller of plants, or a topographic name for someone living near a grove. 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 Mota (4.82 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 common is the surname Mota?
Want to know how common the surname Mota is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.