Moreland
A locational surname meaning “dweller by the moor land.”
The #2,023 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,314 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is formed from Old English mor, meaning “moor” or “heath,” plus land. In the older records it is explained as someone who lived on or near moorland. It is closely related to surnames such as Morland, Morley, and Moreton, which share the same first element.
History
The name appears in English surname tradition as a place-based form, and 19th-century surname writers treated it as an English locative surname. In some cases it may overlap with the variant Moreland/ Morland used for families from places called Morland or similar. The name is now found in English-speaking countries, especially the United States, through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Old English mor that lies behind Moreland also appears in many other English place and surname forms, including Morley and Moreton.
From the historical record
“MORELAND (Eng.) Dweller at the Moor- Land [O.E. mdr (M.E. more) + land] MORETON (Eng.) Bel. to Moreton = the Moor-Farm [O.E. mdr (M.E. more) -\- t^n] MOREWOOD (Eng.) Dweller at the Moor- Wood [O.E. mdr (M.E. more) -f wudu] MOREY(Fr.)Bel.toMorey,Mory (France), the”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)