Moody Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Moody Family History

Moody Family History

The Moody ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name Moody can be of both Irish and English origin. When of the latter origin it describes a person who is brave or impetuous. It is found in Irish records as Mody as early as the year 1297. In the year 1428 the name is recorded as Mody in Oriel in a document in Archbishop Swayne's Register. Variants of this name include Modie, Mody, Mudy, O'Mody, Moodie and Mudie. The Gaelic sept form of the name is O'Muadaigh. A sept or clan was a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. When Gaelic names were anglicized during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they were often changed to Anglo equivalents that sounded most like their original Gaelic name. The name is most associated with Ulster Province but is also represented in Counties Kilkenny and Offaly. The Moody family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Moody descendants.