Where
Did Mow Cop Get its Name?
There has been a lot of speculation over the years as to where Mow Cop got its name as well as to how it’s pronounced. People away from the area pronounce it Moe, whereas locals Mow as in cow either could be called correct, as both are similar in local dialect with Mole. Only a North Staffs dialect would call a Mole (mo).
The following is from Edgar tooth's book the distinctive surnames of north Staffordshire (churnet valley books): - Mow Cop is important for a third reason - it is one source of the surname Mole/moule/mowl in north Staffordshire, for early spellings of the locality in the Tunstall manor court rolls comprise " Moule" in 1348, " mouhull " in 1362 and " mool "in 1512, whilst in the parish registers at Wolstanton it occurs as " moll " in 1605 and as " mole " in 1694. These forms suggest a hill with a boundary cairn.
It has also been mentioned that the
name comes from the Saxon Moela Copa meaning bald hill.
Please let me know what you all think.
