Variations of the Clan Name
and the territory from which they originated
MUIR/MORE/MOORE/MURE
- MOST COMMON IN AYRSHIRE AND AREAS SOUTHWEST
MOAR - MOST COMMON IN THE ORKNEY AND SHETLAND
MOIR
- MOST COMMON IN ABERDEENSHIRE AND SOUTHWEST
MOHR
- MOST
COMMON IN CENTRAL LOWLANDS
MOR - MOST COMMON IN CENTRAL LOWLANDS
O'MORE - MOST COMMON IN IRELAND
O'MORHDA- MOST COMMON IN IRELAND
O'MOORE- MOST COMMON IN IRELAND
What's in a Name? by Robert "McBear" More
Of
course the official spelling of the Clan name is "Muir."
But there are several other spellings.
Why?
The answer begins with ancient Celtic culture, which relied on oral, not
written, record keeping.
After writing began to be used, sound, not spelling stayed dominant, and
there was no standardization of spelling for many years.
The spelling might change even within a particular family from one
generation to another.
A classic example of this begins with John Moir in 1724.
When his son John was born in 1730, his birth was registered under the
name Moir, but in the next generation his son William, born 1758, was recorded
as Moar at the time of his wedding in 1786.
And when William and his wife had a son in 1788, his name was registered
as John More!
But it doesn't end there - when John More married, his name as spelled in
the register returned to Moir!
Although it is commonly accepted that variations on the spelling are
associated with different locations, there is no particular historical
significance to this.
The
most ancient version of the name is O' Mordha,
from the word "mordha," Gaelic for noble, or stately, and the
Irish O'More is the current version of this.
Muirs of all spellings are thought to have descended from the Pictish
race of Celts, and were commonly in both Ireland and Scotland.
So
no matter how you spell it, you share common roots with the rest of us!
Welcome to Clan Muir!