2000
#3,827
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,523
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.16
Rare Last name
Moy
Anglicized form of an Irish surname, referring to a person who was a descendant of a devotee of the Virgin Mary.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,724 Americans carry the last name Moy. That puts it at #4,063 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,248 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moy 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 Moy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.7K
1 in 35,248
Census rank
#4,063
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,480 bearers of the surname Moy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4063rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moy, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 65.6%. The next largest groups are White (17.3%) and Two or More Races (8.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moy
The surname Moy originates from Ireland and is of Gaelic origin, believed to have derived from the Irish word "magh," meaning "plain" or "field." It is thought to have been a topographic name given to those who lived on a plain or open field area.
The name can be traced back to the 12th century in Ireland, particularly in the counties of Mayo and Sligo. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where it appears as "Moy" in the year 1179.
In the 13th century, the name is found in the form "de Moy" in various records, suggesting it may have been adopted by Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland. The prefix "de" was commonly used to denote a place of origin or residence.
The Moy surname is also linked to various placenames in Ireland, such as Moy in County Tyrone and Moygashel in County Tyrone, which may have contributed to the spread and adoption of the name.
One notable historical figure with the Moy surname was Sir John de Moy, a 14th-century Norman-Irish knight who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1364 to 1368.
Another prominent individual was Patrick Moy de Lacy, a 16th-century Irish chieftain and leader of the O'More clan, who fought against English rule in Ireland during the Tudor conquest.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1665, a tax record for Ireland, indicating its presence in various counties, including Mayo, Sligo, and Galway.
During the 18th century, the Moy surname is found in the records of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with several individuals bearing the name participating in the uprising against British rule.
In the 19th century, John Moy, born in 1813, was a notable Irish writer and journalist who contributed to various publications and advocated for Irish nationalism.
While the Moy surname has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration and has been adopted by people of various ethnicities and backgrounds.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moy
Among Census respondents with the surname Moy, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 65.6%. The next largest groups are White (17.3%) and Two or More Races (8.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Moy 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 Moy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander65.6% · 5,562
- White17.3% · 1,471
- Two or more races8.7% · 734
- Black or African American4.2% · 357
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 338
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moy
Moy 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
#4,046
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,781
+258 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 2.98
Rank movement Down 219 places
2020
#4,063
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,480
-301 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 2.84
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,827 | 8,523 | 3.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,046 | 8,781 | 2.98 | +258 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 219 places |
| 2020 | #4,063 | 8,480 | 2.84 | -301 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 17 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 Moy 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 | #4,046 | #4,063 | -0.4% |
| Count | 8,781 | 8,480 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.98 | 2.84 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moy bearers went from 8,781 to 8,480 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,046 to #4,063.
FAQ
Moy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moy?
Name Census estimates that about 9,724 living Americans carry the surname Moy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,248 residents.
How common is Moy?
Moy ranks #4,063 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,480 people with the surname Moy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,724), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Moy.
Has Moy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moy went from 8,781 recorded bearers to 8,480. That is a decrease of 301 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,046 to #4,063.
What does the Census say about the background of Moy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moy, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 65.6%. The next largest groups are White (17.3%) and Two or More Races (8.7%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Moy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (5,562 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (65.6%), White (17.3%), Two or More Races (8.7%). 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 Moy (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 Moy mean?
Anglicized form of an Irish surname, referring to a person who was a descendant of a devotee of the Virgin Mary. 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 Moy (2.84 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 Moy?
Find out how common the surname Moy is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.