Meanings
- A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
The four-part Showtime docuseries charts the importance of gossip to the New York tabloids, but also the growth of such material beyond them, via the web, TMZ and television, where Murdoch brought his tabloid sensibilities with “A Current Affair,” spawning a host of imitators.
2021 August 20, Brian Lowry, “‘Gossip’ charts how tabloid tattlers ‘escaped from their cages’ and rippled through the media”, in CNN - An unincorporated community in Hamilton Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States, named after James Edward Murdoch.
- A suburb of Perth in the City of Melville, Western Australia, named after Walter Murdoch.
Origin
- Scottish Gaelicmuir“sea”
- EnglishMurdoch
Unknown, but possibly from Scottish Gaelic muir (“sea”), or from muireach (“mariner”); or from descendants of Clan Macpherson, also titled "Clann Mhuirich" indicating descent from "Mhuirich the Parson"; or from descendants of legendary bard Muiredach O Daly.
More words from Scottish Gaelic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Murdoch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Murdoch
“Murdoch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Murdoch. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Murdoch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Murdoch.
Source: Murdoch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.