Moorehead
A surname usually understood as a variant of Moorhead or Muirhead, likely meaning “headland by the moor.”
The #6,995 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,443 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Moorehead is generally treated as a spelling variant of Moorhead, and in some records beside Muirhead. The name is usually explained as a locational surname built from "moor" or "muir" meaning a heath or waste land, plus "head," referring to a projecting piece of land, top, or end. In plain terms, it likely began as a name for someone who lived at or came from a moorland headland or similar place.
History
The surname appears in historical spellings that vary widely, suggesting a long period before spelling was fixed. In Scottish and northern British records, forms such as Moorhead, Moorehead, Morehead, and Muirhead can overlap, and some families may have shifted between them. The modern form Moorehead is less common than Moorehead/Muirhead-related spellings but follows the same general naming pattern.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The element "head" in place-names often means a promontory, end, or top—not a human head.
From the historical record
“MOORHEAD. Moorehead. Mooreheed. Morehead. Muirhead. MORAN.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in IrelandNotable people named Moorehead
- Agnes Moorehead (1900–1974)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.