Recorded in a wide range of spellings including the rare Moar, as well as More, Mores, Moor, Moore, Moores, and especially in Scotland Muir, this famous surname has a number of possible origins. The first is a topographical name for someone who lived on a moor or in a fen, both of which were denoted by the Olde English pre 7th Century word "mor", or from one of the various villages so named such as Moore in the county of Cheshire, or More in Shropshire. Secondly it may have been a nickname for someone Moorish, that is of dark or swarthy complexion from the Old French word "more". Thirdly the name as Mor was borne by several early saints. As a given name it was introduced into the British Isles by the Norman conquerors of 1066, whilst in Scotland and Wales the origination was a nickname for a large man. This is from the Gaelic word mor or the Welsh mowr, both meaning great. The surname was first recorded in the late 11th Century (see below), and early examples of the surname recording include: William Mor in the tax register known as the Feet of Fines for the county of Essex in the year 1198, and Matthew del More in the Court Rolls of the manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, in 1275. In Scotland George Mehill married Christine Moar at South Leith Kirk, Midlothian, on December 28th 1713. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de More. This was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book of Suffolk, during the reign of King William 1st of England, 1066 - 1087.

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