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Moss Family History

Moss Surname Meaning

English: topographic name from Middle English mos ‘moss bog’ (Old English mos) for someone who lived at a boggy place or a habitational name from one or other of the many places so called such as Moss (Yorkshire), Mose in Quatford (Shropshire), and Moze (Essex).

English: variant of Moyse.

Irish (Ulster): adoption of the English name 1 by translation for Ó Maolmóna or Ó Maolmhóna ‘descendant of Maolmóna’ a personal name based on maol ‘servant, tonsured one, i.e. devotee’ + a second element assumed to be móin (genitive móna) ‘moorland, peat bog’ in local English ‘moss’.

German: unexplained.

Americanized form of Moses or some other similar (like-sounding) Jewish surname.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Moss family from?

You can see how Moss families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Moss family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Moss families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 386 Moss families living in Ontario. This was about 55% of all the recorded Moss's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Moss families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Moss surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Moss ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Moss. 32% of Moss men worked as a Farmer and 20% of Moss women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Moss were Machinist and Nurse.

View Census Data for Moss | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    32%
  • Labourer
    10%
  • Laborer
    7%
  • Machinist
    6%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Stenographer
    20%
  • Housekeeper
    13%
  • Teacher
    10%
  • Nurse
    10%

What Moss family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 624,000 census records available for the last name Moss. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Moss census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Moss

Passenger Lists

There are 60,000 immigration records available for the last name Moss. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Moss immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 81,000 military records available for the last name Moss. For the veterans among your Moss ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Moss military records

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