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

Mott, 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 Mott surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mott in America

Mott is the 2117th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mott surname appeared 17,092 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Mott.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mott 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 Mott

The surname Mott is derived from an old French word "motte" meaning a raised mound or hill. It originated in Normandy, France during the early medieval period. This name was often given to families living near or on small hills or artificial mounds.

The Mott surname first appeared in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as descriptors of residences and lands. Some of the earliest spellings included Mote, Motte, and Motes.

One of the earliest recorded people with this name was William de la Motte, a Norman knight who fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was granted lands in Somerset, England by William the Conqueror.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire as John atte Motte. This spelling indicates the name was locational, describing someone residing near a particular motte or mound.

Sir Walter Motte was a 14th century English landowner and knight from Warwickshire. He served in the armies of Edward III during the Hundred Years' War against France.

The Motts of Leicestershire can trace their ancestry to the 15th century. Sir John Mott (1479-1548) was a prominent member of this family, serving as Sheriff of Leicestershire and Warwickshire.

Nathaniel Mott (1630-1718) was an early English settler in New England, arriving in Massachusetts in 1653. He later moved to Rhode Island and helped establish the town of Portsmouth.

The surname Mott has long been associated with place names across England including Mottisfont in Hampshire, Mottram in Greater Manchester, and Mottistone on the Isle of Wight. These locations likely originated from the descriptive term "motte" as well.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mott

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

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

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

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