Family name origins & meanings
- English and Irish : of uncertain origin; most probably an altered form of Mowbray. It is also found as Maybury, which has the form of an English habitational name. There is a place near Woking in Surrey so called; however, this is not recorded until 1885 and is probably derived from the surname. In England this surname is found mainly in the West Midlands; it has also spread into Wales. In Ireland this form is common in Ulster; MacLysaght records that it was taken there from England in the 17th century.