Muir
A Scottish surname meaning “moor” or “dweller by the moor.”
The #3,245 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,740 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Muir is the Scottish form of Moor, from a word for a moor, marsh, or open wasteland. The underlying root is related to Old English and Old Norse words meaning “moor” or “waste land.” As a surname, it would originally have identified someone who lived near such ground.
History
The name is well established in Scotland and appears in several surname compounds and related forms. Historical surname guides also note it as a place-name type surname in Scottish usage. In Ireland, some bearers of Muir may reflect later anglicization or confusion with similar-looking names, so not every family with this spelling necessarily shares the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is short but old enough to have turned up in Scots literary sources, where the word mure/muir meant rough open moorland.
From the historical record
“MUGLISTON jfor Muckleston, q.v. MUIR \ (Scot-Teut.) Dweller at a Moor MUIRE I [Scot. — O.E. and O.N. wJr] And as that Ryall raid ovir the rude mure Him betyde ane tempest that tyme hard I tell.— The Taill of Rauf Coilyear, 13-14.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)