2000
#1,941
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,013
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.31
Uncommon Last name
Mott
Derived from a place name meaning "meeting place" in Old English, likely referring to a hill or mound.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,937 Americans carry the last name Mott. That puts it at #2,135 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mott 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 Mott with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,100
Census rank
#2,135
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,514 bearers of the surname Mott in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2135th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mott, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mott
Among Census respondents with the surname Mott, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mott 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 Mott surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.8% · 13,513
- Black or African American9.8% · 1,613
- Two or more races3.8% · 631
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 575
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 90
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mott
Mott 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
#2,117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,092
+79 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 5.79
Rank movement Down 176 places
2020
#2,135
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,514
-578 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 5.52
Rank movement Down 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,941 | 17,013 | 6.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,117 | 17,092 | 5.79 | +79 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 176 places |
| 2020 | #2,135 | 16,514 | 5.52 | -578 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 18 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 Mott 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 | #2,117 | #2,135 | -0.9% |
| Count | 17,092 | 16,514 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 5.79 | 5.52 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mott bearers went from 17,092 to 16,514 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,117 to #2,135.
FAQ
Mott surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mott?
Name Census estimates that about 18,937 living Americans carry the surname Mott. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,100 residents.
How common is Mott?
Mott ranks #2,135 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,514 people with the surname Mott. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,937), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Mott.
Has Mott become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mott went from 17,092 recorded bearers to 16,514. That is a decrease of 578 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,117 to #2,135.
What does the Census say about the background of Mott?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mott, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Mott in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (13,513 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mott appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.8%), Black (9.8%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Mott (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 Mott mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "meeting place" in Old English, likely referring to a hill or mound. 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 Mott (5.52 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 Americans have the surname Mott?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.