Explore the Family Name Moreland

The meaning of Moreland

1. English: habitational name from Morland (Westmorland), derived from Old Norse mór ‘moor, marsh’ + lundr ‘grove’. 2. English: from Middle English more ‘moor, marsh, fen’ + land ‘land’, either topographic for someone who lives on moorland or habitational name from one or other of the many minor places with this name. 3. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Murghaláin ‘son of Murghalán’, a personal name based on a diminutive of Murghal, which is composed of elements meaning ‘sea’ + ‘valour’. Compare Murley.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Moreland in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Moreland has seen a slight decrease in rank from 1921 in 2000 to 2023 in 2010, representing a change of -5.31. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of individuals with this surname increased by 3.84%, from 17,173 to 17,832. However, when considering proportion per 100k people, there was a decrease of -5.02, shifting from 6.37 in 2000 to 6.05 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#1,921#2,023-5.31%
Count17,17317,8323.84%
Proportion per 100k6.376.05-5.02%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Moreland

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some significant changes for the Moreland surname between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as Black saw a rise of 6.77%, going from 18.90% to 20.18%. Those identifying as Hispanic also increased substantially by 45.75%, although the overall representation remained relatively low at 2.23% up from 1.53%. The portion identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander rose by 37.84%, albeit from a small base of 0.37% to 0.51%. There was also an increase in those identifying with two or more races, moving from 1.76% to 2.37%. Conversely, the percentage identifying as White decreased slightly by -3.42%, despite remaining the majority at 73.99%. The smallest represented group, American Indian and Alaskan Native, saw a decrease of -12.20%.

20002010Change
White76.61%73.99%-3.42%
Black18.9%20.18%6.77%
Two or More Races1.76%2.37%34.66%
Hispanic1.53%2.23%45.75%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.82%0.72%-12.2%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.37%0.51%37.84%

Moreland ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Moreland is British & Irish, which comprises 55.3% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (23.1%) and Scandinavian (4.0%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Nigerian, Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish55.3%
French & German23.1%
Scandinavian4.0%
Other17.7%
Moreland

Possible origins of the surname Moreland

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Moreland have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom86.10%
Greater London, United Kingdom86.10%
Merseyside, United Kingdom85.80%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom85.80%
West Midlands, United Kingdom85.50%

What Moreland haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Moreland is R-S660, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-S660 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include I-L22 and R-CTS241, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Greer, Mcfadden, Quinn, Meredith, Arrington, Mullins, Gilmore, Gilmer, Mccann, Buckner.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Moreland surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

morelandPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Niall of the Nine Hostages

The spread of haplogroup R-M222 in northern Ireland and Scotland was likely aided by men like Niall of the Nine Hostages. Perhaps more myth than man, Niall is said to have been a King of Tara in northwestern Ireland in the late 4th century C.E. His name comes from a tale of nine hostages that he held from the regions he ruled over. Though the legendary stories of his life may have been invented hundreds of years after he died, genetic evidence suggests that the Uí Néill dynasty, whose name means "descendants of Niall," did in fact trace back to just one man who likely bore haplogroup R-M222, a branch of R-M269.The Uí Néill ruled to various degrees as kings of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century C.E. In the highly patriarchal society of medieval Ireland, their status allowed them to have outsized numbers of children and spread their paternal lineage each generation. In fact, researchers have estimated that between 2 and 3 million men with roots in north-west Ireland are paternal-line descendants of Niall.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Moreland have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Moreland

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Moreland" Surname 42.2%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Moreland

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Moreland" Surname 23.9%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Moreland

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Moreland" Surname 23.3%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Moreland

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Moreland" Surname 13.2%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Moreland?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Moreland are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%