Munn

Recorded as Moon, Munn and Moone, this unusual and interesting surname is regarded as English, but has two possible origins, both French! Firstly it is probably locational from the village of Moyon in the departement of La Manche, in Normandy. William de Moion being one of the followers of Duke William of Normandy, when he successfully conquered England in 1066. This William de Moion was granted several Saxon estates in the county of Dorset, by Duke William. The surname from the same source is also recorded in the county of Somerset in 1253, with Reginald de Mohum also spelt de Moyun, being so recorded. The second possible origin is probably a nickname. The derivation being from the French words moun or mun, both of which described a monk. As however monks could not marry, a surname from this source would suggest that either it refers to somebody who worked in a monastery, or it described a person thought by his peers to behave in a "monkish" manner. This may well have described a "pageant-name", that is one acquired by playing the part of a monk in a mystery play. Amongst the early examples of the surname recording is that of Thomas Mone of the county of Yorkshire, in the Subsidy Rolls of the year 1260, whilst Thomas Munn was an early settler in New England, being recorded in the records of "James Cittee", Virgina, in 1679. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.