Morton

Morton is a surname that made the transition to given name. It comes from an English place name that means (not surprisingly) "town on a moor." Morton has appeared as a given name on a mostly occasional basis since the 1850's, but hasn't appeared in the U.S. top 1000 names since the 1940's. According to two sources-- Ask Oxford, and a book called The Facts On File Dictionary of First Names, Morton has been used by Jewish families as an English approximation of the name Moses. That's great, but I'd love to know how the heck they got Morton out of Moses. And, why not just use Moses as the name? Its really no odder than Morton, is it? Hmm. When I think of Morton, I think of salt.