Show ContentsMiddlemoore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Middlemoore family

The surname Middlemoore was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Edgbaston, held by Drogo from William FitzAnsculf, a Norman noble, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time. Thomas Medulmoor was listed in Cheshire in 1340; Edmund Middlemore and Roger Middelmore was found in the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire, 1466-1467. 2

Middlesmoor is a chapelry, in the parish of Kirkby-Malzeard, union of Pateley-Bridge, Lower division of the wapentake of Claro in the West Riding of Yorkshire 3 and Middlemoor can be found in Sutton, Cheshire. Middle Moor is in Renwick, Cumbria and in Ramsey Huntingdonshire. 2

In Scotland, the name arrived quite late and was very rare: John Middlemore of Donavourd was listed in 1799. 4

Early History of the Middlemoore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Middlemoore research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1167, 1424, 1505, 1510, 1535, 1549, 1560, 1563, 1592, 1600, 1617, 1618, 1711 and 1886 are included under the topic Early Middlemoore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Middlemoore Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Middlemore, Midlemore, Middlemoor, Midlemoor and others.

Early Notables of the Middlemoore family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Humphrey Middlemore, (died 1535), an English Catholic priest and Carthusian hermit who was executed for treason during the Tudor period. He is considered a martyr by the Catholic Church, and was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 9 December 1886. His father was Thomas Middlemore of Edgbaston, Warwickshire, who had acquired his estate at Edgbaston by marriage with the heiress of Sir Henry Edgbaston.Henry Middlemore (d. 1592) was an English courtier and diplomat. He was a younger son of Henry Middlemore of Hawkesley (d. 1549) and Margery Gatacre. He may have been a...
Another 118 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Middlemoore Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Middlemoore family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands. There is a genealogy in the Library of Congress CS439.M47..



  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. 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)


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