2000
#18,354
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,392
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Mole
A surname derived from the mole animal or its burrow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,365 Americans carry the last name Mole. That puts it at #22,209 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 251,102 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mole 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 Mole with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.4K
1 in 251,102
Census rank
#22,209
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,190 bearers of the surname Mole in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22209th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mole, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (7.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mole
The surname Mole originated in England, where it first appeared in records during the late 12th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English word "mol," which means a small burrowing animal, or a mole. It may have been used as a nickname for someone with a dark complexion or a mole on their skin.
Early records of the name Mole can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is that of Robert le Mole, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191.
The name Mole was particularly prevalent in the counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Devon in the southwest of England. Variations of the spelling included Molle, Moull, and Moul. Some early bearers of the name were associated with places like Mole's Green in Hertfordshire and Mole Valley in Surrey.
Notable individuals with the surname Mole include Sir Thomas Mole (1598-1672), an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1655. John Mole (1743-1805) was a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Surgeons' Hall.
Another prominent figure was Robert Mole (1590-1662), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War. He was a supporter of the Parliamentarian cause and played a role in the trial and execution of King Charles I.
In the 19th century, Sir Frederic Mole (1859-1934) was a British diplomat and civil servant who served as the Governor of the territories of British Somaliland and British Honduras (now Belize). He was also involved in the negotiations leading to the formation of the League of Nations after World War I.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the United States was that of John Mole, who arrived in Virginia in 1635. Over time, the surname Mole became more widely distributed across various regions of the country, with concentrations in areas like New England and the Midwest.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mole
Among Census respondents with the surname Mole, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (7.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Mole 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 Mole surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.5% · 779
- Black or African American19.6% · 233
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 59
- Two or more races2.4% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mole
Mole 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
#19,398
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,393
+1 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 1,044 places
2020
#22,209
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,190
-203 bearers (-14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 2,811 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,354 | 1,392 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,398 | 1,393 | 0.47 | +1 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 1,044 places |
| 2020 | #22,209 | 1,190 | 0.40 | -203 bearers (-14.6%) | Down 2,811 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 Mole 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 | #19,398 | #22,209 | -14.5% |
| Count | 1,393 | 1,190 | -14.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.47 | 0.40 | -15.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mole bearers went from 1,393 to 1,190 (-14.6% change). The surname moved down 2,811 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,398 to #22,209.
FAQ
Mole surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mole?
Name Census estimates that about 1,365 living Americans carry the surname Mole. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 251,102 residents.
How common is Mole?
Mole ranks #22,209 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.40 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 1,190 people with the surname Mole. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,365), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.40 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 Mole.
Has Mole become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mole went from 1,393 recorded bearers to 1,190. That is a decrease of 203 (-14.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #19,398 to #22,209.
What does the Census say about the background of Mole?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mole, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Mole in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.5% (779 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mole appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.5%), Black (19.6%), Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Mole (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 Mole mean?
A surname derived from the mole animal or its burrow. 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 Mole (0.40 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 Mole?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Mole is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.