2000
#55,237
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 348
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Very Rare Last name
Mozes
A surname derived from the Hebrew biblical name Moses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 514 Americans carry the last name Mozes. That puts it at #50,441 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 666,837 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mozes 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
514
1 in 666,837
Census rank
#50,441
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
448
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 448 bearers of the surname Mozes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 50441st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mozes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mozes
The surname Mozes originated from the Hebrew language, derived from the personal name Moses which means "drawn out" or "pulled out" in reference to the biblical story of Moses being drawn out of the water as a baby. The name is believed to have first been used as a surname in the Netherlands and surrounding regions during the medieval period.
The earliest known record of the surname Mozes dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Dutch city of Amsterdam. During this time, many Jewish families were fleeing persecution in other parts of Europe and settling in the relatively tolerant Netherlands. As they adopted surnames, some chose the name Mozes in honor of the biblical figure.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Mozes was Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (c. 1194-1270), a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain and is also known as Nachmanides or Ramban. His descendants may have been among the first to use Mozes as a surname.
In the 16th century, the Mozes surname began appearing in other parts of Europe, including Germany and England. One notable bearer was Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885), a wealthy British financier and philanthropist who was instrumental in supporting Jewish communities worldwide.
Another prominent figure with the Mozes surname was Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish descent who made significant contributions to Enlightenment philosophy. His family's surname was originally Espinosa, but it was Latinized to Spinoza, which is closely related to the Mozes name.
In the 18th century, the Mozes surname was also found in parts of Eastern Europe, particularly Poland and Ukraine. One individual of note was Isaac Moiseyevich Mozes (1750-1825), a Russian-Jewish merchant and philanthropist who amassed a considerable fortune and supported various charitable causes.
As the Mozes surname spread across Europe and beyond, it underwent various spelling variations, including Moshe, Mozes, Mosez, and Moises, reflecting the different languages and cultural influences in the regions where it was adopted.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mozes
Among Census respondents with the surname Mozes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Mozes 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 Mozes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 422
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 10
- Two or more races2.0% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mozes
Mozes 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
#61,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 324
-24 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 6,662 places
2020
#50,441
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 448
+124 bearers (+38.3%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 11,458 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #55,237 | 348 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #61,899 | 324 | 0.11 | -24 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 6,662 places |
| 2020 | #50,441 | 448 | 0.15 | +124 bearers (+38.3%) | Up 11,458 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 Mozes 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 | #61,899 | #50,441 | 18.5% |
| Count | 324 | 448 | 38.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.15 | 36.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mozes bearers went from 324 to 448 (+38.3% change). The surname moved up 11,458 positions in the national ranking, going from #61,899 to #50,441.
FAQ
Mozes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mozes?
Name Census estimates that about 514 living Americans carry the surname Mozes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 666,837 residents.
How common is Mozes?
Mozes ranks #50,441 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 448 people with the surname Mozes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (514), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Mozes.
Has Mozes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mozes went from 324 recorded bearers to 448. That is an increase of 124 (+38.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #61,899 to #50,441.
What does the Census say about the background of Mozes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mozes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Mozes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (422 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mozes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Mozes (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 Mozes mean?
A surname derived from the Hebrew biblical name Moses. 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 Mozes (0.15 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 Americans have the surname Mozes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.