Mosley
A surname most often taken from a place name, especially Mossley/Moseley, meaning someone from a mossy or marshy place.
The #730 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,437 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mosley is generally understood as a locational surname from places called Moseley or Mossley in England. The place-name likely combines Old English elements meaning either “mouse” or a personal name such as Mosa with “leah,” meaning a clearing, wood, or meadow; in some cases it may also be linked to mossy or marshy ground. Older surname dictionaries also connect Mosley with English chapelries and local places in Staffordshire, Worcestershire, and Lancashire, reinforcing the place-name origin.
History
The name appears in several English counties and was later carried to other English-speaking countries. Nineteenth-century surname writers often grouped Mosley with Moseley and Mozley as the same or closely related local surname. In some cases the spelling has also been influenced by regional pronunciation and by the surname’s association with marsh or moss landscapes.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname writers sometimes treated Mosley and Mossley as near-interchangeable spellings tied to small English localities.
From the historical record
“MOSEY. A ' nurse-name ' of Moses. MOSLEY. ]\IOCELEY. Mosley, is the name of chapelrics in cos. Stafford, AVorcester, and Lancaster. ]\IOSS In the North a morass or bog, as Chat Moss, CO. Lancaster. The " moss-troopers " of old times were so called because they inhabited the marshy country of Liddisdale. .Jamieson.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Mosley
- Timbaland (b. 1972)
- Oswald Mosley (1896–1980)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.