Moffett
Usually a Scottish surname from the town of Moffat, with a long-recorded local origin.
The #3,025 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,048 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Moffett is generally treated as a locational surname, referring to someone from Moffat in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Historical spellings in the records include forms like Moffatt, Moffett, and Moffitt, showing how the name shifted over time. Some older writers also tried to connect it with Gaelic elements meaning something like a long plain, but the place-name explanation is the standard one.
History
The name is well established in Scotland and appears in medieval spellings long before becoming a hereditary surname. It later spread more widely into England, Ireland, and North America through migration. The modern spelling Moffett is one of several closely related forms that survived alongside Moffat and Moffatt.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The town of Moffat is still the key geographic link behind the surname, and the name has been recorded in several spellings since the 1500s.
From the historical record
“MOFFAT \ (Celt.) Bel. to Moffat (S.Scot.), MOFFATT 13th cent. Moffete [its situation is MOFFETT [-said to rnake probable the MOFFIT I etymology of Gael, magh, a plain MOFFITT ; + fada, long] MOGFORD = Mugford, q.v. MOGG \ I for Magg: v. Maggs. MOGGE J 2 for Mogue, q.v. MOGGRIDGE MOGRIDGE”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)