2000
#7,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,377
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.62
Rare Last name
Moffatt
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place in Annandale meaning "long field" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,109 Americans carry the last name Moffatt. That puts it at #7,224 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,088 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moffatt 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 Moffatt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.1K
1 in 67,088
Census rank
#7,224
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,455 bearers of the surname Moffatt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7224th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moffatt
The surname Moffatt is of Scottish origin, derived from the place name Moffat, a town in the historic county of Dumfriesshire (now part of Dumfries and Galloway). The name is believed to have come from the Gaelic words 'magh' meaning 'a plain' and 'fada' meaning 'long', thus describing the town's geographic location in a long valley.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the records of the Inquisitio Davidis in 1116, where it is written as 'Moffet'. Over time, various spelling variations emerged, including Moffatt, Moffet, Moffet, Moffitt, and Moffet.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Adam Moffat, who was appointed as the first Provost (mayor) of Edinburgh in 1453. Another notable figure was John Moffat (c. 1655-1737), a Scottish minister and Hebrew scholar who served as the Principal of the University of St Andrews.
In the 16th century, the surname Moffatt appeared in the records of the Privy Council of Scotland. During this period, the Moffatt family held lands in the Borders region of Scotland.
In the late 17th century, the Reverend Robert Moffatt (1643-1716) was a prominent minister in the Church of Scotland and served as the Moderator of the General Assembly in 1701.
In the 19th century, Robert Moffat (1795-1883) was a Scottish missionary and linguist who spent over 50 years in South Africa, translating the Bible into the Tswana language and establishing missions among the indigenous people.
Another notable figure was James Moffatt (1870-1944), a Scottish biblical scholar and translator who produced the renowned Moffatt Translation of the Bible in modern English, published in 1922.
The name Moffatt has also been associated with various place names, such as Moffat Water, a river in Dumfriesshire, and Moffat Hills, a range of hills in the same region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moffatt
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Moffatt 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 Moffatt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.7% · 3,595
- Black or African American11.2% · 499
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 201
- Two or more races2.6% · 116
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moffatt
Moffatt 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
#7,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,542
+165 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Down 290 places
2020
#7,224
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,455
-87 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Up 115 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,049 | 4,377 | 1.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,339 | 4,542 | 1.54 | +165 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 290 places |
| 2020 | #7,224 | 4,455 | 1.49 | -87 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 115 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 Moffatt 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 | #7,339 | #7,224 | 1.6% |
| Count | 4,542 | 4,455 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.54 | 1.49 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moffatt bearers went from 4,542 to 4,455 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 115 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,339 to #7,224.
FAQ
Moffatt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moffatt?
Name Census estimates that about 5,109 living Americans carry the surname Moffatt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,088 residents.
How common is Moffatt?
Moffatt ranks #7,224 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.49 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,455 people with the surname Moffatt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,109), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.49 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Moffatt.
Has Moffatt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moffatt went from 4,542 recorded bearers to 4,455. That is a decrease of 87 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,339 to #7,224.
What does the Census say about the background of Moffatt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moffatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Moffatt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.7% (3,595 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moffatt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.7%), Black (11.2%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Moffatt (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 Moffatt mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place in Annandale meaning "long field" in Gaelic. 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 Moffatt (1.49 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 last name Moffatt?
You can see how many people have the surname Moffatt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.