Moore
Ó Mórdha · descendant of Mórdha
Moore is Ó Mórdha in Irish, said oh MOR-a, and means descendant of Mórdha.
Mórdha means stately or proud. Rory O’More led the rising of 1641, and the family held Laois against the Tudor plantation longer than anyone expected.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Mórdha
- His daughter: Ní Mhórdha
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Mhórdha
- The family together: Uí Mhórdha
Where it comes from
Laois, the kingdom of Loígis
Also spelt
Moore, O’More, More, Morey
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.