2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Motti
A surname originating from the Italian for "chubby" or "plump".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Motti. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Motti 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Motti in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Motti, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and Black (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Motti
The surname Motti is believed to have originated in Italy, specifically in the northern regions of the country. It likely dates back to the late Middle Ages or early Renaissance period, around the 14th or 15th centuries.
Motti is thought to be derived from the Italian word "motto," which means a witty or clever saying or phrase. This suggests that the name may have initially been a nickname or descriptive surname given to someone known for their wit or clever speech.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Motti can be found in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic work detailing the culture and history of the Aztec people. In this text, a man named Francesco Motti is mentioned as a merchant and explorer who traveled to the Americas in the early 1500s.
Another notable individual with the surname Motti was Girolamo Motti, an Italian painter and architect who lived in the 16th century. He is best known for his work on the Cathedral of Siena, where he contributed to the design and construction of the church's iconic facade.
In the 17th century, a man named Pietro Motti gained recognition as a prominent philosopher and theologian in Rome. He was a member of the Accademia dei Lincei, one of the oldest scientific academies in Europe, and wrote several treatises on metaphysics and natural philosophy.
During the 18th century, a family with the surname Motti was known to have resided in the town of Montalcino, located in the region of Tuscany. The Motti family was involved in the local wine-making industry and owned several vineyards in the area.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Motti was Raffaele Motti, an Italian composer and conductor who lived in the 19th century. He was born in Naples in 1819 and composed several operas, including "La Forza del Destino" and "I Vespri Siciliani," which were widely performed throughout Europe.
While the surname Motti is not among the most common in Italy, it has a rich history and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including explorers, artists, scholars, and composers, over the course of several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Motti
Among Census respondents with the surname Motti, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and Black (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Motti 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 Motti surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 9
- Black or African American3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Motti
Motti 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+26 bearers (+24.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 14,800 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-25 bearers (-18.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,592 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | +26 bearers (+24.5%) | Up 14,800 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -25 bearers (-18.9%) | Down 22,592 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 Motti 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 | #129,047 | #151,639 | -17.5% |
| Count | 132 | 107 | -18.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Motti bearers went from 132 to 107 (-18.9% change). The surname moved down 22,592 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #151,639.
FAQ
Motti surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Motti?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Motti. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Motti?
Motti ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 107 people with the surname Motti. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Motti.
Has Motti become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Motti went from 132 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 25 (-18.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Motti?
Among Census respondents with the surname Motti, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Motti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Motti appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Hispanic (8.4%), Black (3.7%). 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 Motti (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 Motti mean?
A surname originating from the Italian for "chubby" or "plump". 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 Motti (0.04 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 Motti?
Want to know how common the surname Motti is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.