How common is the surname Motley?

10,274 people in the United States had the surname Motley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 30,051 Americans. It ranked 3,480th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Motley?

John Lothrop Motley, American historian and diplomat (1814-1877), followed by Constance Baker Motley.

Where is the surname Motley most common?

Wikidata records people named Motley in the United States.

Is the surname Motley getting more or less common?

More common. 9,966 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,274 in 2010, up 3.1%.

The surname Motley

A surname, carried by 10,274 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex M340

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Motley is more common than 97.9% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 10,274 people named Motley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 30,051 Americans. That is up 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 9,966.

#3,480

rank among US surnames

10,274

people in 2010

3.5

per 100,000 Americans

+3.1%

change since 2000 (was #3,301)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,471	Cosby	10,300	29,975
#3,472	Barksdale	10,294	29,993
#3,473	Tisdale	10,293	29,996
#3,474	Meador	10,292	29,999
#3,475	Sikes	10,280	30,034
#3,476	Hanlon	10,278	30,039
#3,477	Easton	10,276	30,045

Who is named Motley

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

52% of people named Motley identified as white (not Hispanic), 41% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.9% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 52%
Black (not Hispanic) 41%
Two or more races 2.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Motleys

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Lothrop Motley
American historian and diplomat (1814-1877)
Constance Baker Motley
American politician and judge (1921-2005)
Willard Motley
African American writer (1909–1965)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Motley

Mottola

Motley has the Soundex code M340, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M340.

Questions

How common is the surname Motley?: 10,274 people in the United States had the surname Motley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 30,051 Americans. It ranked 3,480th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Motley?: In the 2010 Census, 52% of people named Motley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 41% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Motley?: John Lothrop Motley, American historian and diplomat (1814-1877), followed by Constance Baker Motley.
Where is the surname Motley most common?: Wikidata records people named Motley in the United States.
Is the surname Motley getting more or less common?: More common. 9,966 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,274 in 2010, up 3.1%.