Moye
A surname usually linked to a place name meaning “plain” or “level field,” especially in Gaelic or related Celtic forms.
The #4,634 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,322 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is commonly explained as coming from a place called Moy or Moye. In Gaelic and Irish, the underlying word is magh, meaning “plain” or “level field.” Some 19th-century writers also connected French Moye with the same or a similar Celtic place-name element, though that link is less certain.
History
The name appears in both Scottish and Irish contexts, and also in French place-names or surnames. In English records, spellings like Moye, Moy, and related forms could be used interchangeably or altered over time. Because the surname is tied to place-names, it likely arose independently in more than one region.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The Gaelic place-name element behind this surname, magh, survives in many Irish and Scottish place names today.
From the historical record
“MOY 1 (Celt.) Bel. to Moy (Scotland and MOYE J Ireland) = a Plain or Level Field [Gael, and Ir; magh] (Fr.-?Celt.) Bel. to Moy, Moye (France) [perh. of same meaning and origin as above, the Celt. (Gaul.) word being Latin- ized mag-us] MOYCE 1 (Fr.-Heb.) Anglicized forms of Fr. MOYES f Moise = Moses, q.v. (A.-Celt.)…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)