Mosely Name Meaning, Origin and Heraldry

Mosely and Moseley are two spellings with one history. At root, the name means “boggy clearing”. Mosely drops the “e” of Moseley, a shortening that clerks often made. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists.

About 3,419 people in the United States were recorded as Mosely in 2010, placing it 9,506 on the national list. It sits within the 10,000 most common last names in the country. Mosely sounds close to Mosley, so it can help to search both.

Heraldry is personal: arms associated with the Moseley surname were borne by specific families, and sharing the name does not mean sharing the blazon. Want more than a summary? See the Mosely family name pack.