Moffitt
A surname usually treated as a variant of Moffat/Moffett, probably from a place-name meaning “long plain.”
The #3,543 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 30,660 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Moffitt is commonly linked to the older surname Moffat and its spelling variants Moffett and Moffitte. The usual explanation is that these names come from the place-name Moffat in Dumfriesshire, which is often analyzed as Gaelic elements meaning something like “long plain” or “broad field.” Nineteenth-century writers sometimes used that place-name explanation to support Moffitt as a later variant spelling.
History
The form appears in English-language records alongside Moffat, Moffatt, and Moffett, showing that the surname moved through several spellings over time. In the United States especially, Moffitt has become a standard variant even where older records may show Moffat or Moffett. Because the spelling often shifted in parish, census, and immigration records, family lines with these forms may be closely connected but are not always identical.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name is often explained through a Scottish place-name rather than from a personal nickname, which is why its spelling varies so much across records.
From the historical record
“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 MOGHAN I (Celt.) I Little Man, Labourer, MOHAN \ Slave [Ir. mogh, man, &c. + the”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)