Muer Surname History

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

It was in the Scottish/English Borderlands that the Strathclyde-Briton people first used the ancient name Muer. It was a name for someone who lived near a moor, or heath. 1 In Gaelic, Mor means great or big; therefore, a scribe may have mistaken the adjective Mor as a surname More or Muir. This may explain the occurrence of the surname Muir, or a variant in Northern Scotland.

The name Muir would seem out of place in that region because it holds a meaning of "living by a moor or heath," not the typical landscape of the highlands. Judging by its meaning, Muir is a local name of the south that described the area, in which the original bearer lived or held land. 2

Early Origins of the Muer family

The surname Muer was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland. Thomas de la More was the executor of the will of Devorguilla de Balliol in 1291. While the first spelling of the name was More, it gradually evolved to Muir which became more popular, and by 1300 the name Muir had become the preferred spelling. Donald, Adam, Renaud, Gilchrist and Simon Muir, all rendered homage on behalf of their Clan to King Edward I of England on his brief conquest of Scotland in 1296.

"Adam de la More and William de la More were jurors on the lands of Lady Elena la Zuche in Conyngham, 1296. Ade More who held lands of Reltone in Rerwickshire, in 1315-1321 may be Adam More or Moire, knight, who witnessed charters by Bruce in 1328-1329. Elizabeth Mere, daughter of Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan, became queen of King Robert 11, 1347. Adam of Mwre was juror on inquest in Kirkwall, 1369. John Mvr of Enerothyll was witness, 1460, and John Mur or Muyr was vicar general of the Predicant Order in Scotland, 1469-1470 ." 2

Early History of the Muer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Muer research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1458, 1526, 1541, 1559, 1594, 1657, 1700, 1740, 1753, 1760, 1765, 1771, 1787, 1793, 1798, 1800, 1810, 1812, 1822, 1829, 1869, 1887, 1890 and 1959 are included under the topic Early Muer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Muer Spelling Variations

Scribes in Medieval Scotland spelled names by sound rather than any set of rules, so an enormous number of spelling variations exist in names of that era. Muer has been spelled Muir, Mure, Moor, Moore, Mure, More, Moorman and many more.

Early Notables of the Muer family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Sir William Mure (1594-1657), Scottish writer and politician; John Muir, a Sanskrit scholar, and his brother Sir William Muir, who was an Arabic scholar and biographer of Mohammed; and Edwin Muir (1887-1959), a noted poet and critic. Thomas Muir (1765-1798), parliamentary reformer, was born at Glasgow on 24 Aug. 1765, being the only son of Thomas Muir, a flourishing tradesman, who in 1753 published a pamphlet on England's foreign trade. He was educated at Glasgow grammar school and at the university, intending at first to enter the church, but ultimately deciding on the bar...
Another 156 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Muer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Muer family to Ireland

Some of the Muer family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Muer family

The number of Strathclyde Clan families sailing for North America increased steadily as the persecution continued. In the colonies, they could find not only freedom from the iron hand of the English government, but land to settle on. The American War of Independence allowed many of these settlers to prove their independence, while some chose to go to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Scots played essential roles in the forging of both great nations. Among them: George Muir (Moore) who was banished to New Jersey from Scotland in 1685; James Muir and his wife and children, who settled in Georgia in 1732; Colin Moore, listed as a Scot banished to the American colonies in 1747.

Contemporary Notables of the name Muer (post 1700) +

Joseph Muer, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1916 3

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html