Musgrave
A surname from a place-name in Cumbria/Westmorland, originally meaning something like “moss grove” or “marsh grove.”
The #6,769 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,972 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Musgrave is a locational surname taken from the place Musgrave in what is now Cumbria, historically in Westmorland. The place-name is usually explained from Old English elements meaning “moss” or “marsh” plus “grove” or a grove-like wooded hollow. The spelling has been stable in the surname, though older writers sometimes offered fanciful alternative explanations.
History
Historical sources place the family at Musgrave in Westmorland by the early 13th century, and later branches became established in Cumberland as well. The name spread as a hereditary surname from this northern English place, rather than from an occupation or nickname. Older antiquarian works sometimes repeated family legends about exotic or martial origins, but these are not regarded as reliable.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers sometimes mistook Musgrave for a compound meaning “moss-keeper,” but the place-name explanation is the standard one today.
From the historical record
“musc-us, moss] MUSGRAVE V (Eng.) Bel. to Musgrave = the M USG ROVE J Moss-Grove [O.E, meSs, moss, or O.E. mds, a marsh + grdf] MuIhETT } P^^**^"- io"^^^ of Musket(t, q.v. MUSKER ] (Celt.) 'The people descended , MUSKERY Urom Carbery Muse, son of MUSKERRY j Conary XL, were called Mus- craidhe (Muskery : O'Dugan) …”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)