2000
#1,927
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,153
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.36
Uncommon Last name
Mohr
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a carrot farmer or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,374 Americans carry the last name Mohr. That puts it at #2,083 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,691 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mohr 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 Mohr with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,691
Census rank
#2,083
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,895 bearers of the surname Mohr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2083rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mohr, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mohr
The surname MOHR originated in Germany and is derived from the German word "Mohr" meaning "Moor" or "Moorland". It was initially used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a moor or moorland area.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname MOHR date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. The name can be found in medieval records, such as tax rolls and guild registers.
One notable early bearer of the surname was Johann Mohr, a German philosopher and theologian who lived from 1628 to 1712. He was a professor at the University of Leipzig and wrote several works on metaphysics and theology.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname MOHR was also found in various parts of Switzerland, where it was sometimes spelled as "Mohr" or "Moor". One prominent Swiss bearer of the name was Hans Rudolf Mohr, a Protestant reformer and theologian born in 1519.
The surname MOHR has also been associated with several place names in Germany, such as Mohrungen (now Morąg in Poland) and Mohrkirch (now Moravská Třebová in the Czech Republic). These place names may have influenced the adoption of the surname by individuals residing in or near those locations.
Another notable bearer of the surname MOHR was Johann Baptist Mohr, an Austrian botanist and explorer who lived from 1776 to 1856. He is credited with discovering several plant species and his work contributed to the advancement of botanical knowledge in the 19th century.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MOHR dates back to the late 18th century. Johann Mohr, a German immigrant, arrived in Pennsylvania in 1785 and settled in the area that is now known as Mohrsville, named after him.
Over the centuries, the surname MOHR has been borne by various individuals across different fields, including scholars, artists, and politicians. Some other notable figures with this surname include Hans Mohr (1918-2001), a German writer and playwright, and Arno Mohr (1910-2000), a German-American philosopher and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mohr
Among Census respondents with the surname Mohr, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mohr 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 Mohr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 15,575
- Two or more races3.1% · 526
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 519
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 142
- Black or African American0.5% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mohr
Mohr 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
#2,106
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,180
+27 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 5.82
Rank movement Down 179 places
2020
#2,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,895
-285 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 5.65
Rank movement Up 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,927 | 17,153 | 6.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,106 | 17,180 | 5.82 | +27 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 179 places |
| 2020 | #2,083 | 16,895 | 5.65 | -285 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 23 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 Mohr 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 | #2,106 | #2,083 | 1.1% |
| Count | 17,180 | 16,895 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.82 | 5.65 | -2.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mohr bearers went from 17,180 to 16,895 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,106 to #2,083.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mohr
FAQ
Mohr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mohr?
Name Census estimates that about 19,374 living Americans carry the surname Mohr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,691 residents.
How common is Mohr?
Mohr ranks #2,083 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,895 people with the surname Mohr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,374), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Mohr.
Has Mohr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mohr went from 17,180 recorded bearers to 16,895. That is a decrease of 285 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,106 to #2,083.
What does the Census say about the background of Mohr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mohr, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Mohr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (15,575 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mohr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Mohr (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 Mohr mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a carrot farmer or seller. 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 Mohr (5.65 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 share the surname Mohr?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.