Moody (surname)
Moody is an English surname. It ranks in the top 200 most common surnames in English speaking nations. The earliest known example dates from the 12th century in a Devonshire early English charter where the name Alwine 'Modig' is mentioned. Recent census research suggests that the surname has been most consistently populous in Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire and also in areas of northeast England. There is also a high incidence of the similar-sounding surname 'Moodie' in Scotland, in particular Orkney, although this variant, ending "ie", has possible Norse/Celtic origins. The surname Moody was also carried to areas of Ireland settled by the early English. Although the most intensive areas of occurrence match areas of dense Anglo-Saxon habitation post 1066, it is difficult to determine if the name is Anglo-Saxon or Nordic/Viking in origin, since all Germanic countries used the word 'Modig' or 'Mutig' to indicate someone who was bold, impetuous or brave. Surnames were increasingly given through the early Middle Ages to assist taxation and an increasing incidence of the name can be followed in such documents as the Hundred Rolls, early English charters and general medieval assizes associated with such actions as baronial struggles, Crusades or Angevin campaigns in France.
In the Netherlands, there is a family name 'Mudde' derived from a Scottish immigrant Robert Moodie.
There was a significant incidence of the name among early American immigrants from England in the 17th century.
Some notable bearers of the Moody surname include:
Politics and government
- Arthur Moody, British politician
- Blair Moody, American politician
- Blair Moody, Jr., American judge, Served on Michigan's Supreme as a Justice.
- Charles Moody, British politician
- Dan Moody, American politician
- David Moody, South Australian politician
- Gideon C. Moody, American politician
- Bill Moody, American judge
- James M. Moody, American politician
- James Maxwell Moody, American judge
- James Moody , Canadian politician
- James S. Moody, Jr., American judge
- James Tyne Moody, American judge
- Jim Moody, American politician
- John M. Moody, American politician
- Malcolm A. Moody, American politician
- Richard Moody, first Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of British Columbia
- Tom Moody , American politician
- William Henry Moody, American politician and jurist
- Zenas Ferry Moody, American politician
Arts
- Ben Moody, American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer and actor
- Charles E. Moody, American gospel songwriter and performer
- Clyde Moody, American musician
- Dave Moody, American musician
- David Moody, English writer
- Elizabeth Moody , New Zealand actress and director
- Elizabeth Moody, British poet and literary critic
- Ivan Moody, American musician
- Ivan Moody, British composer
- James Moody , Irish musician
- James Moody ,was American jazz musician
- Jim Moody , American actor
- King Moody, American actor
- Laurence Moody, English television director
- Lynne Moody, American actress
- Micky Moody, English guitarist
- Ralph Moody , American author
- Rick Moody, American author
- Ron Moody, English actor
- Ronald Moody, British sculptor
- Ruth Moody, Canadian musician
- Spencer Moody, American singer
- Susan Moody, English novelist
- Tom Moody, American visual artist
- William Vaughn Moody, American dramatist and poet
Sports
- Andrea Moody, Canadian swimmer
- Chris Moody, English golfer
- Christian Moody, American basketball player
- Emmanuel Moody, American football running back
- Eric Moody , American baseball pitcher
- Frank Moody, Welsh boxer
- Glenn Moody, English darts player
- Harold Moody , British shot putter
- Heather Moody, American water polo player
- Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player
- Joe Moody All Black Rugby player
- John Moody, New Zealand badminton player
- John Moody , English footballer
- Keith Moody, American football defensive back
- Lewis Moody, English rugby player
- Matthew Moody, Australian rules footballer
- Mick Moody, Irish footballer
- Orville Moody, American golfer
- Patricia Moody, British canoeist
- Paul Moody , English footballer
- Ralph Moody, American racecar driver and owner
- Rick Moody, American basketball coach
- Tera Moody, American runner
- Toby Moody, British motorsport announcer
- Tom Moody, Australian cricketer and coach
- William Moody , American professional wrestler and wrestling manager
Academics
- Ernest Addison Moody, American philosopher
- Lewis Ferry Moody, American engineer and professor
- Nancy B. Moody, American college president
- Paul Dwight Moody, American college president
- Robert Moody, Canadian mathematician
- Theodore William Moody, Irish historian
Business
- John Moody , American financial analyst
- Maxey Dell Moody, American businessman
- Maxey Dell Moody Jr., American businessman
- Maxey Dell Moody III, American businessman
- Sewell Moody, Canadian businessman
- Shearn Moody, Jr., American financier
- William Lewis Moody, Jr., American financier
- Craig Moody American businessman
- Dave Moody American Businessman.
Other
- Alexander Moody Stuart, Scottish minister
- Anne Moody, American author and civil rights activist
- Charles Amadon Moody, American author and book reviewer
- Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher
- Glyn Moody, technology writer
- Harold Moody , British doctor
- James Bradfield Moody, Australian engineer
- James Paul Moody, British sailor and only junior officer to die in the Titanic disaster
- Jimmy Moody, English mobster
- John Moody, American journalist
- Juanita Moody, American cryptographer
- Ludlow Moody, Jamaican doctor
- Mary Blair Moody, American physician
- Maryon Pearson née Moody, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
- Patrick Moody, American convicted killer
- Paul Moody , American inventor
- Raymond Moody, American parapsychologist
- Slomon Moody, American physician
Fictional
- Mad-Eye Moody, a character in the Harry Potter books
- Hank Moody, a character from the television series Californication
- Judy Moody, the main character of a book series by Megan McDonald