2000
#48,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 407
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Mozley
An English surname derived from a place name, originally denoting one from Moseley, Worcestershire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 536 Americans carry the last name Mozley. That puts it at #48,797 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 639,467 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mozley 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 Mozley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
536
1 in 639,467
Census rank
#48,797
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
467
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 467 bearers of the surname Mozley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48797th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mozley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mozley
The surname Mozley has its origins in England, with records suggesting it emerged in the early medieval period. It is likely derived from the Old English words "mos" meaning marsh or bog, and "leah" meaning a clearing in a forest or woodland area. This would indicate that the name originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a marshy woodland clearing.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Mozley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Mosley" in reference to a landowner in Staffordshire. The variant spelling "Moseley" was also common in historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries in counties like Lancashire and Warwickshire.
Over time, the name evolved to its current form of "Mozley," with the earliest known bearer being John Mozley, born in Staffordshire around 1520. Another notable early bearer was Sir Edmund Mozley (1572-1635), a prominent lawyer and member of the landed gentry in Staffordshire.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Mozley family established themselves as landowners and clergymen in various parts of England. One notable figure was Thomas Mozley (1730-1799), a Church of England clergyman and writer who served as the Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University.
The 19th century saw several distinguished members of the Mozley family, including James Bowling Mozley (1813-1878), a theologian and author who served as the Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, and his brother Thomas Mozley (1806-1893), a renowned essayist and literary critic.
Another significant bearer of the name was Henry Mozley (1845-1917), an engineer and inventor who played a crucial role in the development of the internal combustion engine and the motorcycle industry. He co-founded the Warwickshire-based Bayliss, Thomas and Co., one of the earliest motorcycle manufacturers in Britain.
While the surname Mozley is not among the most common in modern times, it has a rich historical legacy spanning several centuries, with bearers making contributions in various fields, including law, religion, literature, and engineering.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mozley
Among Census respondents with the surname Mozley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mozley 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 Mozley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.3% · 347
- Black or African American15.6% · 73
- Two or more races5.1% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mozley
Mozley 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
#52,383
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 396
-11 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 3,718 places
2020
#48,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 467
+71 bearers (+17.9%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Up 3,586 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #48,665 | 407 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #52,383 | 396 | 0.13 | -11 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 3,718 places |
| 2020 | #48,797 | 467 | 0.16 | +71 bearers (+17.9%) | Up 3,586 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 Mozley 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 | #52,383 | #48,797 | 6.8% |
| Count | 396 | 467 | 17.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.16 | 20.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mozley bearers went from 396 to 467 (+17.9% change). The surname moved up 3,586 positions in the national ranking, going from #52,383 to #48,797.
FAQ
Mozley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mozley?
Name Census estimates that about 536 living Americans carry the surname Mozley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 639,467 residents.
How common is Mozley?
Mozley ranks #48,797 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 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 467 people with the surname Mozley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (536), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 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 Mozley.
Has Mozley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mozley went from 396 recorded bearers to 467. That is an increase of 71 (+17.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #52,383 to #48,797.
What does the Census say about the background of Mozley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mozley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Mozley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.3% (347 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mozley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.3%), Black (15.6%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Mozley (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 Mozley mean?
An English surname derived from a place name, originally denoting one from Moseley, Worcestershire. 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 Mozley (0.16 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 Mozley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.