Moody (surname)

Moody is an English surname. It ranks in the top 200 most common surnames in English speaking nations.

Although the areas of the greatest occurrence of the name match the areas of dense Anglo-Saxon settlement after 1066, it cannot be determined whether the name is Anglo-Saxon or Nordic/Viking in origin, because Germanic countries used the word 'Modig' or 'Mutig' to indicate someone who was bold, impetuous, or brave. The earliest known instance of the surname occurs in a 12th century English charter from Devon which mentions the name Alwine 'Modig'. The name is found in the 13th century Hundred Rolls.

It is the surname of a 16th and 17th century landed gentry family from Wiltshire, England;[1][2] and is the surname of an 18th and 19th century landed gentry family from Arthuret, Longtown, Cumbria, who descend from the 17th century London merchant Henry Moody[3] and his wife Hannah Washington[4][5] of the Washington family.[6]

There was a numerous incidence of the name among North American immigrants from England in the 17th century.[7]

Recent census research indicate the existence of the name in Somerset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire.[8]

There is a high incidence of the similar-sounding surname 'Moodie' in Scotland, in particular in Orkney, although this variant which ends "ie" has possible Norse/Celtic origins. In the Netherlands, there is a family name 'Mudde' derived from a Scottish immigrant Robert Moodie. The surname Moody was carried to areas of Ireland that were settled by the English.

Notable bearers of the Moody surname include:

Politics and government

Arts

Sports

Academics

Business

Other

Fictional

See also

References

  1. ^ "MOODY, Sir Henry, 1st Bt. (c.1582–1629), of Garsdon, Wilts., History of Parliament Online".
  2. ^ Baggs, A.P.; Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H (1991). Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 14, pp89-95: Garsdon". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  3. ^ An Alphabetical Account of the Nobility and Gentry which are (or lately were) related unto the several Counties of England and Wales, London, 1673, County of Middlesex and City of London, p.59
  4. ^ The Moody Family Record, by E. Grant Moody of Arizona, Published by the Dr. Thomas Moody Family Association, 1957, p.4
  5. ^ Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, ed. by J. W. Clay FSA, William Pollard & Co., The Printing Works, Exeter, 1899, p.235
  6. ^ "Baron George Washington Fighting for Austria; Collateral Descendant of the First President of U.S., an Officer of the Austrian Lancers, May Make New Yorker His Heir". The New York Times. 3 September 1916. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  7. ^ The Moody Family Record, by E. Grant Moody of Arizona, Published by the Dr. Thomas Moody Family Association, 1957
  8. ^ "Moody Surname Meaning and Geographic Distribution". forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2014
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