Moat
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Frequency: (190)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Scottish (Borders): habitational name from either of two places in Dumfriesshire called Moat, named from Middle English mote ‘moat’, ‘ditch’, originally referring to the whole system of fortifications (see Motte). In some cases it may have been a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a moated dwelling.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
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Moat
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Copyrights:
Oxford Dictionary of Family Names
Dictionary of American Family Names. Copyright © 2006 Patrick Hanks. All rights reserved.
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