Ashmore
A habitational surname originally meaning someone from Ashmore, a place-name in Dorset.
The #5,642 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,162 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ashmore is a place-derived surname. The historical sources point to the parish of Ashmore in Dorset, and the name is generally understood as meaning either "ash moor" or a moorland place associated with ash trees. The first element is Old English "æsc" meaning ash tree; the second is from Old English "mor" meaning moor or marshy upland.
History
The surname is recorded in England from at least the late medieval and early modern period, and 19th-century surname writers specifically treated it as local to Dorset. Later name-distribution studies also found the name concentrated in Dorset and nearby counties, which fits a habitational origin. As with many English locational surnames, it would originally have identified someone who had moved away from the place called Ashmore.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The parish of Ashmore in Dorset is often described as one of the highest villages in the county.
From the historical record
“(CO. Gloucester), 3. Ashmore. — Local, * of Ash- more,' a parish in co. Dorset, five miles from Shaftesbury. '584-5- Robert Johanes(i.e. Jones) and Ann Aahemore : Maniaj^e Lie (LondooX”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)