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

Moyo, 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 Moyo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moyo in America

Moyo is the 47878th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moyo surname appeared 442 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 Moyo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moyo 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 Moyo

The surname MOYO has its origins in the Bantu languages of southern Africa, particularly in countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. It is believed to have derived from the Bantu word "moyo," which means "life" or "heart." This name likely originated among the Shona people of Zimbabwe and the surrounding regions during the pre-colonial era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MOYO can be found in the writings of Portuguese explorer and missionary Gonçalo da Silveira, who visited the Kingdom of Mutapa (present-day Zimbabwe) in the 16th century. In his accounts, he mentions encountering individuals with the surname MOYO, indicating its long-standing presence in the region.

During the 19th century, as European colonization intensified in southern Africa, the surname MOYO appeared in various administrative records and documents kept by colonial authorities. For instance, in the 1890s, a chief named Moyo Sekerezha was recorded as leading a resistance movement against the British South Africa Company's occupation of Mashonaland (now part of Zimbabwe).

Notable individuals who have carried the surname MOYO throughout history include Blessing Moyo (1971-present), a Zimbabwean politician and member of parliament; Charles Moyo (1923-2008), a Zambian politician and diplomat; and Deliwe Moyo (born 1974), a Zimbabwean artist and sculptor known for her abstract stone sculptures.

In the literary realm, the surname MOYO has been borne by writers such as Bhekinkosi Moyo (born 1975), a South African poet and academic, and Tsitsi Dangarembga (born 1959), a Zimbabwean novelist and filmmaker whose works explore themes of post-colonial identity and struggle.

Another notable figure was Ephraim Moyo (1919-2008), a Zimbabwean educator and linguist who played a significant role in developing and promoting the Ndebele language and its orthography.

While the surname MOYO has its roots in southern Africa, it has also been adopted by individuals of various ethnic backgrounds around the world, particularly in regions with significant African diaspora populations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moyo

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

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

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

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