Moore Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Moore Family History

Moore Family History

The family history of the ancient name Moore was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Meaning 'noble', variants of the name Moore include Moor, More and O'More. This name is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the above countries. Examples of such are a John ate Mor, who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379. In Ireland the Moores descend from Conal Cearnach, who was one of the Chieftains of the legendary Knights of the Red Branch. Their territory was Leix and in the Cistercian Abbey can be found a tomb of their last Chieftain, Malachi O'More. The O'Mores were powerful warriors and defended their territory against the colonialists, one being the Earl of Essex, sent by Queen Elizabeth to quell the Irish. The family name of the Earl of Drogheda is Moore, their ancestor having arrived in Ireland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Moores of Barmeath have been settled there since the fourteenth century.The Moore family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Moore descendants.