The Moreland surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 17,832 people carried this name — #2,023 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 16,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 17,173 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Moreland surname

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as an English name: ‘Dweller at the Moor-Land’.

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 28 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 11 births for the Moreland name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 11

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

Moreland was recorded 10 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1929th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 14. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

38 Moreland families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 233 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Maryland 17
Pennsylvania 9
North Carolina 6
Virginia 5
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 254 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Moreland in American newspapers,
1921.

Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name Moreland
Okolona Messenger 1921-07-07
Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name Moreland
Okolona Messenger 1921-06-30
Newspaper page from The Grenada Sentinel carrying the name Moreland
The Grenada Sentinel 1921-07-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Moreland in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2020s.

5,444 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Moreland. The most, 795, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 2,308
New South Wales 1,411
Queensland 915
South Australia 526
Western Australia 116
Tasmania 113
ACT (Canberra) 16
Northern Territory 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Moreland.

Who carried it

People named Moreland,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Julius C. Moreland
    Julius C. Moreland 1844–1918 · judge
  • Mary L. Moreland
    Mary L. Moreland 1859–1918 · writer
  • William Hall Moreland
    William Hall Moreland 1861–1946 · cleric
  • Sherman Moreland
    Sherman Moreland 1868–1951 · judge
  • William Harrison Moreland
    William Harrison Moreland 1868–1938 · historian
  • Anna Harrison Moreland d. 1905

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Moreland,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,149 records

1,149 records of the Moreland name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 616
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 233
  • Other U.S. records 300
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Otis E. Moreland

    Born 1921 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Cincinnati, Ohio; filling station attendant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1974, buried at Dayton National Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thomas Moreland

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Chester from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 22; clerk. From Belfast, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas Lee Moreland

    Born 1948; from Charleston, West Virginia. U.S. Army, food service specialist; killed in action 1969 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,149 records for Moreland in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia186 records

186 records of the Moreland name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 81
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 41
  • Other Australian records 64
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ann Moreland

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1843 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Moreland

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Great Britain, aged 32; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Joseph Moreland

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Moffatt, arriving 1836; certificate of freedom 1843.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 186 records for Moreland in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada19 records

19 records of the Moreland name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 11
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Other Canadian records 5
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Moreland

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Caspian, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Moreland

    Died 1927; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Isabella Moreland

    Died 1909 in Waughs River, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 19 records for Moreland in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand16 records

16 records of the Moreland name in New Zealand
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 12
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record McGUIRE Moreland

    Died 1913, aged 66; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Moreland

    Died 1927, aged 44; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Walter Herbert Moreland

    Died 1976, aged 70; buried at Picton Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Moreland in New Zealand.

Counts: Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Moreland name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Moreland

    Camel Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record D. Moreland

    Scottish Rifles. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Moreland in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Moreland.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Moreland is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Moreland volume
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