The Moon surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 45,528 people carried this name — #758 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,480 people counted. That is up 8% from 42,062 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Moon surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘de Mohun’.

An early record he cites: John de Mohun, Somerset, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Moon, Moone and Munn.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 539 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 8 births for the Moon name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 2 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 4
Leinster 2
Connacht 1
Munster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 135 people named Moon live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 83
Buenos Aires Province 29
Chubut 23

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

40 people named Moon live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 13
Lucerne 10
Geneva 4
Vaud 4
Bern 3
Basel-Stadt 3
St. Gallen 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

50 people named Moon is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 50

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Moon was found among the farmers of 4 counties.

It was most frequent in Sussex: 18 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 556. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Sussex 18
Somerset 14
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 10
Lancashire 9

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Moon was recorded 13 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1564th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 11. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

71 families named Moon, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 441 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New York 18
North Carolina 18
Pennsylvania 10
Vermont 5
Massachusetts 5
Virginia 5
Rhode Island 4
South Carolina 3
Maine 2
Maryland 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 254 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Moon in American newspapers,
1918–1920.

Newspaper page from The St. Mary Banner carrying the name Moon
The St. Mary Banner 1920-06-12
Newspaper page from The Sea Coast Echo carrying the name Moon
The Sea Coast Echo 1918-01-26
Newspaper page from Macon Beacon carrying the name Moon
Macon Beacon 1919-05-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,503 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Moon in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

53,125 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Moon. The most, 9,467, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 20,208
Victoria 12,784
Queensland 10,087
South Australia 4,918
Tasmania 2,714
Western Australia 1,881
ACT (Canberra) 400
Northern Territory 28

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Moon.

Who carried it

People named Moon,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mun Jong-nam d. 2022 · diplomat
  • Edward Moon d. 1850 · cleric
  • Keith Moon d. 1977 · basketball player
  • Cha̕n-ju Mun d. 2017 · philosopher
  • Henry B Moon d. 1912
  • Sarah Blakeney d. 1928

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Moon,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States3,226 records

3,226 records of the Moon name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,304
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 533
  • Other U.S. records 1,389
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Theodore Edward Moon

    Born 1949; from South Orange, New Jersey. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ivor R. Moon

    Born 1920 in Idaho. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Douglas, Utah; laundry worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michael Moon

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Berlin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; laborer. From Kings Co., Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 3,226 records for Moon in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,170 records

1,170 records of the Moon name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 589
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 232
  • Other Australian records 349
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Moon

    Died 1923 in Public Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1923.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Joseph Moon

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, aged 35.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Joseph Moon

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Elizabeth, arriving 1820; ticket of leave 1837. Native of Staff.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 1,170 records for Moon in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada86 records

86 records of the Moon name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 29
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 14
  • Other Canadian records 43
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Frank Moon

    Came to Ontario in 1878 aboard the Peruvian, landing at Halifax, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Edward Moon

    Buried in 1969 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 78.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Frederick Moon

    Died 1981, aged 80; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 86 records for Moon in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom52 records

52 records of the Moon name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 39
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 7
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Moon

    Buried in 1800 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 23.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Pappillon Moon

    Will proved in 1863; of Holyhead, Anglesey.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record George Bassett Moon

    Born 1885. Died 1916. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 52 records for Moon in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands33 records

33 records of the Moon name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 20
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  • Dutch population registers 6
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Gerrit Moon

    Died 1831 in Montfoort, aged 67.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Hillegonda Moon

    Died 1858 in Leeuwarden, aged 71.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Otto Moon

    Died 1946 in Semarang (Nederlandsch Indië), aged 33.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 33 records for Moon in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand16 records

16 records of the Moon name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 11
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Moon

    Died 1915, aged 61; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Henry Moon

    Died 1926, aged 92; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ellen Moon

    Buried in 1984 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 66.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Moon in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France4 records

4 records of the Moon name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Micheline Eva Emilienne Moon

    Born 1927 in Léalvillers; died 1999 in Salouël (Somme).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Toshi-Hiro Moon

    Born 1950 in Japan; died 1991 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Moon in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Moon.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Moon is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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