Morlock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The name Morlock belongs to the early history of Britain, it's origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived on a moor, which is a tract of open, uncultivated ground which is usually grown over with heather and coarse grasses and has a poor, peaty soil. The surname Morlock literally means dweller by the moor-land. The surname Morlock belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. 1

Early Origins of the Morlock family

The surname Morlock was first found in Westmorland. The Mauley branch of the family claim Ugthorpe in the North Riding of Yorkshire as their ancient ancestral home. "This was an ancient demesne of the crown, and is styled in Domesday Book Ughetorp; the Mauleys became lords here at an early period, and from them the manor and estate descended by marriage to the Bigods, and afterwards to the Ratcliffes, by whom the whole was sold in parcels." 2

"The first of this name we can trace is Peter de Mauley, a Poictevin, Baron of Mulegrave, and Lord of Doncaster, in Yorkshire. He appears to have been an adherent of King John, and to have acquired his English estates in marriage with Isabel, daughter and heir of Robert de Thurnham, whose wife was Joanna Fossard, heiress of Mulqrave, a descendant, probably, of the Domesday Nigel. Camden says, that "by marriage Peter de Mauley came to a great inheritance at Mulgrave, and that the estate was enjoyed by seven Peters, Lords de Malo-lacu." 3

"The first mention of this name occurs shortly after the death of Richard I., when John, in order to clear his way to the throne, employed his esquire Peter de Mauley, a native of Poitou, to murder his nephew, Prince Arthur, for which service De Mauley received great remuneration in the West of England. In charters, the latinization of this name, De Malo Lacu, might be supposed to be no unapt allusion to the "bad lake or pool" of blood thus unrighteously shed by the founder of the race." 4

As far as the Moreland (Morland) variant is concerned, we found the first record in Somerset: Edith de la Morland there in 1257. A few years later, Henry atte Morlonde was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296 and William de Morland in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1327. 5

Early History of the Morlock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Morlock research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1190, 1625, 1660, 1695, 1789 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Morlock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Morlock Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Morlock include Morland, Morley, Moorland, Morthland, Morlay and many more.

Early Notables of the Morlock family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Samuel Morland (1625-1695), notable English academic, diplomat, spy, inventor and mathematician, made 1st Baronet Morland in 1660; the...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Morlock Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Morlock family to Ireland

Some of the Morlock family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Morlock migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Morlock were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Morlock Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George B Morlock, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 6
Jacob Morlock, who arrived in St Clair County, Illinois in 1855 6
Daniel Morlock, who arrived in St Clair County, Illinois in 1857 6
Wilhelm Morlock, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1861 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Morlock (post 1700) +

John Morlock (1916-1976), American football player for the Detroit Lions (1940)
Jocelyn Morlock (1969-2023), Canadian composer and music educator based in Vancouver, winner of the 2018 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year.
Maximilian "Maxl" or "Max" Morlock (1925-1994), one of the most popular German football players in the 1950s and early 1960s; he earned 26 caps and scored 21 goals for the West German national team
Imani Ariana Morlock (b. 1997), Puerto Rican footballer who plays as a defender for Puerto Rico Sol FC and the Puerto Rico women's national team

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)