Origins of the Moore surname

What does the name Moore mean?

The Moore surname has a number of hypothesised points of origin, and is popular throughout the English-speaking world. The most common believed source is in England, from the Middle English 'mor', which means a heath, or bog (sometimes referring to open land, and the modern usage of the word moor) and would be given to someone living at or on one of these geographic features. In Ireland, the surname Moore can derive from an anglicisation of the Gaelic 'mordha', which is given to someone who is noble or stately. More rarely, the name Moore could be given to an Isle of Man collector of manorial rent (a moar), or as a descriptive for someone of dark complexion (a moor).

Alternative variations of the name Moore

Moore, More, Moor, Moir, Moores

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Delve deeper into the Moore family's history

OrkneyShetlandHighlandsWestern IslesGrampianTaysideCentralStrathclydeFifeLothianBordersDumfriesNorth East 3879North West 2468Isle of Man 765Yorkshire 7316East Midlands 2802West Midlands 3629East 3490London 12639South East 5906South West 2127South Wales 863Mid Wales 88West Wales 38North Wales 180Republic of IrelandNorthern Ireland

In 1921, most Moores lived in london

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Interesting facts about Moore

How common is your surname?

37th most common surname in the UK

We have for the Moore surname. The oldest one dates back to 1220.

Who were Moores most likely to marry?

Our tell us which families married Moores.

What are the most common Moore first names?

John

William

Mary

Elizabeth

Our tell us the names of Moore family members
Man with milk churns and census card collage
Census records provide incredible detail on names, ages, marital statuses, occupations and more.

Common jobs for Moores

Men and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.

Commmon female occupations for Moores in 1921

Dressmaker

2,866

Laundress

1,589

Domestic Servant

1,480

General Servant Domestic

1,353

Living On Own Means

1,170

Commmon male occupations for Moores in 1921

Agricultural Labourer

2,522

General Labourer

2,253

Coal Miner

2,045

Farm Hands

1,874

Farmer

1,634

We found over 1,300,000 family trees with the Moore surname

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