2000
#112,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 144
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Mudloff
Derived from a Russian dialect term meaning "mud dweller" or living near marshes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Mudloff. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mudloff 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Mudloff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mudloff, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mudloff
The surname MUDLOFF is believed to have originated in the German region of Bavaria during the late 16th century. It is derived from the Old German words "mud", meaning "mud" or "sludge", and "loff", which referred to a shallow basin or depression in the landscape. This suggests the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near a muddy or swampy area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the MUDLOFF name can be found in a 1587 municipal record from the town of Augsburg, which lists a "Hans Mudloff" as a resident. In the following century, the name appears in various church records and tax rolls from villages around the city of Munich, sometimes spelled as "Mudlof" or "Mudloff".
During the 1600s, a notable bearer of the name was Friedrich Mudloff (1621-1698), a Bavarian landowner and minor nobleman who owned estates near the town of Dachau. Records show that in 1672, he was involved in a legal dispute over property boundaries with a neighboring lord.
In the 18th century, the MUDLOFF name spread more widely across southern Germany, with instances found in records from Württemberg, Baden, and the Palatinate regions. One individual of note was Johann Mudloff (1735-1802), a Protestant minister who served in the town of Heidelberg and wrote several theological treatises.
As the 19th century dawned, the industrial revolution led many German families, including those with the MUDLOFF surname, to seek new opportunities abroad. This saw the name establish a presence in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia. A prominent early emigrant was Karl Mudloff (1809-1876), who left Bavaria in 1835 and became one of the first German settlers in the town of Hermann, Missouri.
Other notable bearers of the MUDLOFF name throughout history include the Austrian painter Ida Mudloff (1848-1919), the Prussian military officer Wilhelm Mudloff (1862-1917), and the Swiss banker and philanthropist Emil Mudloff (1883-1967).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mudloff
Among Census respondents with the surname Mudloff, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Mudloff 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 Mudloff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 109
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mudloff
Mudloff 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
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
-8 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 13,051 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-27 bearers (-19.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,187 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #112,967 | 144 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | -8 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 13,051 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -27 bearers (-19.9%) | Down 24,187 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 Mudloff 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 | #126,018 | #150,205 | -19.2% |
| Count | 136 | 109 | -19.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mudloff bearers went from 136 to 109 (-19.9% change). The surname moved down 24,187 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #150,205.
FAQ
Mudloff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mudloff?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Mudloff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Mudloff?
Mudloff ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 109 people with the surname Mudloff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Mudloff.
Has Mudloff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mudloff went from 136 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 27 (-19.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Mudloff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mudloff, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Mudloff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mudloff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Mudloff (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 Mudloff mean?
Derived from a Russian dialect term meaning "mud dweller" or living near marshes. 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 Mudloff (0.04 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 common is the surname Mudloff?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Mudloff on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.