The Mota surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,182 people carried this name — #2,547 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,800 people counted. That is up 40% from 10,094 in 2000.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,002 people named Mota 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 Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
769 people named Mota live in Switzerland.
They live in 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 245 people named Mota.
Most of them — 140 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 36 départements, most often Meurthe-et-Moselle.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In print
Mota in American newspapers,
1869–1961.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 41,576 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Mota,
with a public archive behind them.
-
João da Motta e Silva 1685–1747 · politician -
Félix da Mota Pais 1794–1872 · farmer -
Aristides Moreira da Mota 1855–1942 · lawyer -
José Vianna da Motta 1868–1948 · composer -
Fernando Mota 1886–1964 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 203 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Mota.
- Mosset 126 · U.S. census
- Mossler 127 · U.S. census
- Mosso 969 · U.S. census
- Mosson 222 · U.S. census
- Most 1,645 · U.S. census
- Moszkowicz 121 · U.S. census
- Motel 216 · U.S. census
- Mothes 121 · U.S. census
- Motin 144 · U.S. census
- Motsch 225 · U.S. census
- Motta 4,173 · U.S. census
- Mottaz 169 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Mota 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.