How common is the surname Mo?

3,983 people in the United States had the surname Mo in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 77,516 Americans. It ranked 8,320th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Mo?

Mozi, 5th-century BC Chinese philosopher and founder of Mohism, followed by Siala-Mou Siliga.

Where is the surname Mo most common?

Wikidata records people named Mo in Zhou dynasty, the United States and the People's Republic of China.

Is the surname Mo getting more or less common?

More common. 2,361 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,983 in 2010, up 69%.

The surname Mo

A Chinese surname, carried by 3,983 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈməʊ/ 1 syllable Soundex M000

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Mo is more common than 94.9% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

Transliteration of Chinese 莫 (mò).

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 3,983 people named Mo in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 77,516 Americans. That is up 69% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,361.

#8,320

rank among US surnames

3,983

people in 2010

1.4

per 100,000 Americans

+68.7%

change since 2000 (was #12,112)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#8,313	Rideout	3,986	77,457
#8,316	Woodhouse	3,985	77,477
#8,317	Odle	3,984	77,496
#8,320	Michalak	3,983	77,516
#8,322	Kantor	3,982	77,535
#8,323	Fleischer	3,981	77,555

Who is named Mo

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Mo identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 7.5% as white (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Asian and Pacific Islander 86%
White (not Hispanic) 7.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.2%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.0%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Mos

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Mozi
5th-century BC Chinese philosopher and founder of Mohism, -469–-390
Siala-Mou Siliga
American Samoan martial arts fighter (born 1970)
Mo Huilan
Artistic Gymnast, born 1979

Notable Mos come mostly from Zhou dynasty (1), the United States (1) and the People's Republic of China (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Mo

Mo has the Soundex code M000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M000.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Mo come from?: Transliteration of Chinese 莫 (mò).
How common is the surname Mo?: 3,983 people in the United States had the surname Mo in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 77,516 Americans. It ranked 8,320th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Mo?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Mo identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 7.5% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Mo?: Mozi, 5th-century BC Chinese philosopher and founder of Mohism, followed by Siala-Mou Siliga.
Where is the surname Mo most common?: Wikidata records people named Mo in Zhou dynasty, the United States and the People's Republic of China.
How do you pronounce Mo?: Mo is /ˈməʊ/, one syllable.
Is the surname Mo getting more or less common?: More common. 2,361 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,983 in 2010, up 69%.