Morton
A habitational surname meaning someone from one of several places called Morton, usually interpreted as “moor farm” or “village on the moor.”
The #568 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,214 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Morton is primarily a habitational surname, taken from any of many English places called Morton. The common explanation is Old English "mōr" meaning “moor” plus "tūn" meaning “farmstead, settlement, or village,” so the name originally meant “moor farm” or “moor village.” Some early writers also treated it simply as a place-name surname without trying to pin down a single origin, since many separate Mortons existed.
History
The surname appears widely in English records because there were numerous places named Morton across the country. It later spread strongly to Scotland, Ireland, and North America through migration and settlement. Because it is tied to multiple place-names, different families named Morton do not necessarily share a single ancestor.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley specifically noted that Morton had “strongly ramified” in the United States, reflecting how early and widely the name spread there.
From the historical record
“a knoll] MORTON (Eng.) Bel. to Morton = the Moor Farm or Village fO-E. mdr + tiln] MORTY, an abbrev. of 1 Mortfmep, q.v. 2 (occ.) Moriarty, q.v. iVIORTYN, V. Mortin, Morten. MOSELEY I (Eng.) Bel. to Moseley = the MOSELY / Moss-Lea [O.E. m6s (= O.N.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)