Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Moughton 1687 YASDd

• Moughton moore 1538 MinAcct

• Moughton Banke 1676 YAS

• Moughton Fell 1771 M

• Mooton 1814 EnclA

Etymology

Moughton, Moughton Nab & Moughton Scars, Moughton 1687YAS Dd 100, Moughton moore 1538 MinAcct, Moughton Banke 1676YAS , Moughton Fell 1771 M, Mooton 1814EnclA . The first el. is probably OE  mūga 'a heap', hence 'a heap of stones, a cairn', perhaps also 'a lofty hill', in e.ModE used of 'a mound, a heap of earth'. This el. has been suggested by Ekwall for Lamua (Bk 51) and Mow Cop (Ch). The hill which Moughton refers to is a mountainous area of exposed limestone with great scars and cliffs. Since there is no known settlement on Moughton, the second el. may well be an adaptation of OE  dūn 'hill' rather than OE  tūn 'farmstead'; this kind of substitution occurs in other hill-names like Hambleton 66supra .