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

Moyes, 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 Moyes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moyes in America

Moyes is the 19997th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moyes surname appeared 1,339 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Moyes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moyes 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 Moyes

The surname Moyes is believed to have originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "mowe," which means "meadow" or "hayfield." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near or worked on a meadow or hayfield.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moyes can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of official documents recording the names of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. This indicates that the name was already well-established in Scotland by the late 13th century.

The Moyes surname has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Moyness in Angus and Moyes in Aberdeenshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

A notable figure in Scottish history bearing the Moyes surname was Sir Adam Moyes (c. 1570-1648), a lawyer and landowner who served as a Lord of Session in the Scottish Court of Session. He was also involved in the commission tasked with revising the laws of Scotland in the early 17th century.

Another individual with the surname Moyes was Henry Moyes (1711-1807), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1789. He was known for his support of the Moderate Party within the Church of Scotland.

In the 19th century, Robert Moyes (1811-1887) was a Scottish chemist and entrepreneur who founded the successful soap manufacturing company, R. Moyes & Co., in Leith, Scotland. His company played a significant role in the development of the soap industry in the region.

Moving forward in time, James Moyes (1881-1945) was a Scottish football player and manager who played for and later managed the Scottish club, Rangers F.C. He was part of the successful Rangers team that won multiple Scottish league titles and cup competitions in the early 20th century.

One of the more recent notable figures with the Moyes surname was David Moyes (born 1963), a Scottish professional football player and manager. He had a successful playing career with various clubs, including Celtic F.C., and later went on to manage several Premier League clubs, including Everton F.C. and Manchester United F.C.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moyes

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

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

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

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