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Re: Morton => Merton => Mutton
I think Mutton, Merton and Mourton are all variants of the French surname Morton, which derives from a place-name.
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morton is a surname that originated in scotland, but there are many place names of 'Morton', however they are all in england and scotland.
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There is in fact also a place called Morton in La Vienne, France.
But I noticed that the English surname Morton is usually explained as deriving from an English placename, where Mor = marsh, fen, moor, and tun = enclosure, settlement.
Nevertheless, it is also confidently asserted by some that Morton is an anglicized form of Mortain, a great baronial family founded in England by Robert, Earl of Mortaine, uterine brother of William the Conqueror.
Perhaps it has more than one origin.
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