2000
#2,134
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,595
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.78
Uncommon Last name
Mosher
An English occupational surname for someone who trapped birds, derived from the Old French word "moucheor" meaning "bird-catcher."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,123 Americans carry the last name Mosher. That puts it at #2,387 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,017 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mosher 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
17K
1 in 20,017
Census rank
#2,387
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,932 bearers of the surname Mosher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2387th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mosher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mosher
The surname Mosher originated in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to derive from the Old English word "mos," meaning "moss," and the surname likely referred to someone who lived near a mossy area or worked with moss in some capacity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a Richard le Moshere from Oxfordshire. The surname was also found in various forms, such as Mossere, Mossor, and Mossur, in medieval records from counties like Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire.
In the 16th century, the name took on the more modern spelling of Mosher, with records showing a Thomas Mosher residing in Wivenhoe, Essex, in 1524. Around the same time, the surname appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1523, where a John Mosher was listed.
During the 17th century, the Mosher family established themselves in the New World, with several members settling in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. One notable early Mosher was Hugh Mosher, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1635 and later became a prominent figure in the town of Windsor, Connecticut.
Other notable individuals with the surname Mosher include:
1. Samuel Mosher (1617-1686), an early settler of Windsor, Connecticut, and one of the founders of the town of Westfield, Massachusetts.
2. Thomas Mosher (1852-1923), an American publisher known for producing high-quality editions of literary works in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
3. Joseph Albert Mosher (1868-1944), an American educator and philosopher who served as the president of Hillsdale College in Michigan.
4. Clelia Duel Mosher (1863-1940), an American physician and medical lecturer who was a pioneer in the field of sexuality and contraception education.
5. Howard Frank Mosher (1942-2017), an American novelist and playwright known for his works set in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
While the Mosher surname originated in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with significant populations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mosher
Among Census respondents with the surname Mosher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mosher 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 Mosher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 13,634
- Two or more races3.7% · 549
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 517
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 116
- Black or African American0.5% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mosher
Mosher 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
#2,325
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,672
+77 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 5.31
Rank movement Down 191 places
2020
#2,387
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,932
-740 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 5.00
Rank movement Down 62 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,134 | 15,595 | 5.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,325 | 15,672 | 5.31 | +77 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 191 places |
| 2020 | #2,387 | 14,932 | 5.00 | -740 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 62 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 Mosher 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 | #2,325 | #2,387 | -2.7% |
| Count | 15,672 | 14,932 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.31 | 5.00 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mosher bearers went from 15,672 to 14,932 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 62 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,325 to #2,387.
FAQ
Mosher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mosher?
Name Census estimates that about 17,123 living Americans carry the surname Mosher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,017 residents.
How common is Mosher?
Mosher ranks #2,387 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,932 people with the surname Mosher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Mosher.
Has Mosher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mosher went from 15,672 recorded bearers to 14,932. That is a decrease of 740 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,325 to #2,387.
What does the Census say about the background of Mosher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mosher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Mosher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (13,634 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mosher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Mosher (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 Mosher mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who trapped birds, derived from the Old French word "moucheor" meaning "bird-catcher." 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 Mosher (5.00 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 Americans have the surname Mosher?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.