Blackmore
A place-based surname meaning “from Blackmore” or “black moor,” most likely tied to English place names.
The #8,944 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 84,357 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Blackmore is usually explained as a locational surname from one of several English places called Blackmoor or Blackmore. The name is made from Old English black and mōr, meaning a dark moor, marsh, or open waste ground. Some early writers wondered whether one spelling might reflect a French-style nickname, but the safer and more common explanation is that it points to a place name.
History
The surname appears in medieval and later records in forms such as Blackmore, Blackmoore, Blakemore, and Blackmur. Nineteenth-century surname writers linked it especially with places in Somerset, Essex, and Hampshire. It is a fairly typical English locational surname and later spread more widely through migration to other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The element mōr in the name did not necessarily mean “moor” in the modern scenic sense; it could also refer to marshy or uncultivated land.
From the historical record
“Monastcrio. BLACKMORE. A parish in co. Essex. Blachemer is a prce-Domesd. baptismal name. BLACKSHAW. A village in co. Dum- fries. BLACKSTOXE. A ridge of hills in Lancashire. BLACKSTOCK. Places in Sussex and other counties.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Blackmore
- Ritchie Blackmore (b. 1945)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.