2000
#12,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,296
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Moulder
An occupational surname for a maker of molds or castings, or a person who works with molds.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,440 Americans carry the last name Moulder. That puts it at #13,630 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moulder 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 Moulder with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 140,473
Census rank
#13,630
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,128 bearers of the surname Moulder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13630th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moulder, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moulder
The surname Moulder originated from the English occupational name for a maker of molds or models, derived from the Middle English word 'moulder', a variant of 'molder'. The name is believed to have first appeared in the 13th century in Yorkshire, England.
Records from the 14th century show the name was also spelled as 'Muldor', 'Muldere', and 'Molder'. The earliest known bearer of this surname was John le Muldere, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301.
The Moulder name can be traced to various locations across Yorkshire, including Huddersfield, Leeds, and Bradford, where families with this surname were involved in the thriving textile and pottery industries during the medieval and early modern periods.
In the 16th century, the Moulder surname appeared in several parish records, such as the baptism of Alice Moulder in 1588 at St. Mary's Church in Beverley, Yorkshire. Another notable early record is that of Robert Moulder, who was mentioned in the Hearth Tax Returns of Lincolnshire in 1674.
One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was William Moulder, a potter who lived in Staffordshire in the late 17th century. His descendants continued the family's pottery business for several generations.
Another prominent figure was John Moulder (1741-1805), an English inventor and engineer who patented several improvements to the steam engine and other industrial machinery during the Industrial Revolution.
In the 19th century, the Moulder surname gained recognition through the achievements of Henry Moulder (1825-1895), a British politician and member of parliament for East Nottinghamshire from 1880 to 1895.
The name also appeared in the United States, with records showing that John Moulder (1821-1897) was a Union Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and later served as a brigadier general.
Other notable individuals with the Moulder surname include George Moulder (1872-1951), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, and James Moulder (1906-1961), an American Democratic politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moulder
Among Census respondents with the surname Moulder, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Moulder 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 Moulder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 1,850
- Two or more races4.5% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 81
- Black or African American3.6% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moulder
Moulder 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
#13,445
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,265
-31 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 1,042 places
2020
#13,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,128
-137 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 185 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,403 | 2,296 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,445 | 2,265 | 0.77 | -31 bearers (-1.4%) | Down 1,042 places |
| 2020 | #13,630 | 2,128 | 0.71 | -137 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 185 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 Moulder 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 | #13,445 | #13,630 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,265 | 2,128 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.71 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moulder bearers went from 2,265 to 2,128 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 185 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,445 to #13,630.
FAQ
Moulder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moulder?
Name Census estimates that about 2,440 living Americans carry the surname Moulder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,473 residents.
How common is Moulder?
Moulder ranks #13,630 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,128 people with the surname Moulder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,440), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Moulder.
Has Moulder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moulder went from 2,265 recorded bearers to 2,128. That is a decrease of 137 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,445 to #13,630.
What does the Census say about the background of Moulder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moulder, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (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 Moulder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (1,850 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moulder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (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 Moulder (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 Moulder mean?
An occupational surname for a maker of molds or castings, or a person who works with molds. 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 Moulder (0.71 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 have the surname Moulder?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.