Moore (surname)

Moore (surname)
Moore
Family name
Meaning "living near a moor" (Geographical) or "stately and noble" or dark-skinned: a Moor
Region of origin British Isles
Footnotes: [1]

The name Moore is a popular surname in many English-speaking countries and is of Gaelic/English origin. It is the 31st most common surname in the United Kingdom,[2] and 9th most common in the United States.[3]

It can have several meanings and derivations, as it appeared as a surname long before written language had developed in most of the population, resulting in a variety of spellings.

Variations of the name can appear as Moore, More or Moor; as well as the Scottish Gaelic originations Muir, Mure and Mor/Mór; the Manx Gaelic origination Moar; the Irish Gaelic originations O'More and O'Mordha; and the later Irish variants O'Moore and de Mora.

The similarly pronounced surname Mohr is of Germanic lineage and is not related to the Gaelic/English variations.

Contents

Meanings and origins

  • From Middle English mor meaning "open land" or "bog" and given to persons dwelling near a moor or heath.
  • The Old Irish Moores are O'Mordha, from the Irish Gaelic word mordha, meaning "stately and noble". The Anglo-Norman Moores established in Ireland's province of Munster soon after the Anglo/Norman invasion are called de Mora in Irish, a phonetic rendering of the English name which is derived from the word "moor", or "heathy mountain".
  • Alternatively of Gaelic/Manx origin Moar, the name for a collector of manorial rents on the Isle of Man.
  • The spelling Moore was sometimes used to indicate a son of someone called More - this being one use where spelling is significant.
  • Possibly derived from Maurus, a Roman first name which meant "dark skinned" in Latin, and related to the Old French More meaning "Moor", a colloquial nickname for a person of dark complexion, often describing someone of North African descent.
  • Possibly originated from early references to persons who worked with boats at a wharf or Moorage.

Frequency

In the United States, 'Moore' ranked 9th among all surnames in the 1990 Census, accounting for 0.3% of the population.[4]

References

See also


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