The Scottish surname Moffett, also found in Ireland, is an habitational name from Moffat in Dumfriesshire, Scotland named in Gaelic as “the long plain,” from magh meaning “plain” and fada meaning “long.” The first recorded reference to the name occurs in 13th Century records when Nicholas de Mufet is recorded as a Charter Witness in the city fo Glasgow in 1230. The name is first recorded in the New World in 1772 when Samuel Moffett arrived in Virginia from Scotland. Today there are approximately 12,000 bearers of the name Moffett living in the United States.