Moat is an English and Scottish surname. The meaning of the name is "protective ditch". Notable people with the surname include:
John Moat (1936–2014), British poet Raoul Moat (1973–2010), British perpetrator of the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt Richard Moat (born 1954), British businessman William Pollock Moat (1827–1895), New Zealand politician