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Morris (surname)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morris
Pronunciation/ˈmɒrɪs/
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Old English, Irish, Welsh, French, Latin
DerivationVarious
Other names
Variant form(s)
  • Morrice
  • Maurice

Morris is a surname of various origins though mostly of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh origin. In 2014, the surname ranked 39 out of 104,537 in England, and 55 out of 400,980 in the USA.[1]

Origins

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Britain

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Morris is of Anglo-Norman origin and is a relationship name derived from the Middle English and Old French personal name Moreis, or Maurice (from the Latin Mauritius 'Moorish, dark, swarthy'; from Maurus 'a Moor').[2][3] It was the name of the 3rd century Christian martyr Saint Maurice.[4][user-generated source] According to the 1881 Census, the vast majority of people with the surname Morris were located in Lancashire, England (8723; 2516 per million); with significant concentrations in London, Glamorgan, and the West Midlands. Now more widespread across the UK, the majority can be found in London, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Wales, with a total of 95,101 recorded across the country in 2016.[5][6][7] In Wales, Morris is an Anglicisation of the Welsh name Meurig, itself a Welsh variant of the Latin Mauritius (see also Morus and Morys), derived from the Anglo-Norman French form of the name.[8]

Ireland

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Ó Muiris and, less commonly, de Moiréis in Irish; the Morris surname in Ireland is predominantly of Norman origin. It comes from the Norman "de Mareys", "de Marreis" and Latin "de Marisco", i.e., "of the marsh". It is a common surname in many parts of the south of Ireland, especially in Kilkenny, Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Cork and Limerick, where it is now anglicised as Morris. A family of the name settled, in 1485, at Galway and became one of the Tribes of Galway. It may also refer to "descendant of Muiris" (sea-choice), a variant of Ó Muireasa. This was the name of a branch of the Uí Fiachrach who were formerly chiefs of a district on the southern shore of Sligo Bay, in the barony of Tireragh.[citation needed]

Germany

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In some cases Morris is of German origin, as a variant of the German name Moritz.

Notable people with the surname "Morris"

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Disambiguation of common given names with this surname

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Arts and letters

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Education

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  • John Turner MacGregor-Morris (1872–1959), British engineer, professor of electrical engineering at Queen Mary University of London
  • A. J. A. Morris (Andrew James Anthony Morris), British historian
  • Benny Morris (born 1948), Israeli historian
  • Bonnie J. Morris (born 1961), American women's studies professor
  • Charlotte P. Morris, American academic administrator
  • Effie Morris (1921–2009), American librarian and educator
  • Ivan Morris (1925–1976), British author and teacher in the field of Japanese studies
  • Jeremy Morris (born 1960), British historian, Church of England priest
  • Joe Hall Morris, American oral surgeon, chairman of the Oral Surgery Department at the University of Tennessee (1966–1988)
  • Lawrence Morris, chief of staff and counselor to the president at The Catholic University of America
  • Leon Morris (1914–2006), Australian New Testament scholar
  • Myron Newton Morris (1810–1885), American educator, politician and Congregationalist minister, principal of Bacon Academy (1837–1838, 1840–1843), member of the Connecticut House of Representatives (1872, 1875)
  • Norman Morris (1920–2008), British obstetrician
  • Norval Morris (1923–2004), Australian and American law professor, criminologist
  • Pamela Morris (1906–2002), English teacher and publisher
  • R. O. Morris (Reginald Owen Morris; 1886–1948), British composer and teacher
  • Victor Pierpont Morris (1891–1974), professor (1926–1959), dean (1936–1957) and interim president (1953–1954) of the University of Oregon

Politics, law, and government

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  • Anne Marie Morris (born 1957), British politician, member of the House of Commons (from 2010)
  • Augustus Morris (1820–1895), Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
  • Barry Morris (1935–2001), Australian politician
  • Brewster Morris (1909–1990), United States Ambassador to Chad (1963–1967)
  • Bruce Morris, American politician, Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives (from 2007)
  • Buckner Stith Morris (1800–1879), Mayor of Chicago (1838–1839)
  • Basil Morris (1888–1975), Australian general, military administrator of Papua (1942–1946)
  • Cadwalader Morris (1741–1795), American merchant and politician, delegate for Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress (1783, 1784)
  • Calvary Morris (1798–1871), U.S. Representative from Ohio (1837–1843)
  • Claude F. Morris (1869–1957), Justice of the Montana Supreme Court
  • Clifford Morris (born 1942), British Labour politician, leader of Bolton Council (2006–2018)
  • Corbyn Morris (1710–1779), English commissioner of the customs and economic writer
  • Daniel Morris (1812–1889), U.S. Representative
  • Deborah Morris (born 1970), member of the New Zealand House of Representatives (1996–1999)
  • Dick Morris (born 1948), American political author, newspaper columnist, and commentator
  • Earle Morris Jr. (1928–2011), American Democratic politician, Lieutenant-Governor of South Carolina (1971–1975)
  • Edward Joy Morris (1815-1881), United States Representative from Pennsylvania
  • Estelle Morris (born 1952), British politician and member of the House of Lords
  • Floyd Morris (born 1969), President of the Senate of Jamaica (2013–2016)
  • G. Delbert Morris (1909–1987), American Republican politician, member of the California State Assembly (1948–1956)
  • Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816), American statesman, and diplomat
  • Grahame Morris (born 1961), British politician, member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (from 2010)
  • Greta N. Morris, United States Ambassador to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (2003–2006)
  • Gwladys Evan Morris (1879–1957), Welsh stage actress and writer
  • Harvey R. Morris (1807–1886), New York politician
  • Ira Nelson Morris (1883–1942), American diplomat, Minister to Sweden (1914–1923)
  • Isaac N. Morris (1812–1879), United States Representative from Illinois (1857–1861)
  • J. Clyde Morris (1909–1987), American civil servant, only city manager of City of Warwick, Virginia (1952–1958)
  • James Morris (born 1967), British politician, member of the House of Commons (from 2010)
  • Jay Morris (born 1958), American, businessman, attorney and politician, Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives (from 2012)
  • Jerry Morris (Jeremiah Noah Morris; 1910–2009), British epidemiologist and cardiologist
  • Jill Morris, British Ambassador to Italy (from 2016)
  • Kiah Morris (born 1976), Vermont politician
  • Kindred Jenkins Morris (1819–1884), American Democratic politician, Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee (1869–1871)
  • Kirk Morris (born 1942), Italian bodybuilder and actor
  • Kristi Morris, American politician
  • Leland B. Morris (1886–1950), American diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Iceland (1942–1944) and to Iran (1944–1945)
  • Leslie Morris (1904–1964), Welsh-Canadian politician, general secretary of the Communist Party of Canada (1962–1964)
  • Lorenzo Morris (1817–1903), New York politician
  • Logan Morris (1889–1977), judge of the United States Board of Tax Appeals
  • Luzon B. Morris (1827–1895), American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of Connecticut (1893–1895)
  • Lyndon Henry Morris (1889–1946), Devon chief constable (1931–1946)
  • Malcolm Morris (1913–1972), English lawyer
  • Mathias Morris (1787–1839), Anti-Jacksonian and Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
  • Milton Morris (1924–2019), Australian politician, Member of the New South Wales Parliament (1956–1980), New South Wales Minister for Transport (1965–1975)
  • Mount Etna Morris (1900–1988), American politician, State Treasurer of Missouri (1949–1953, 1957–1961, 1965–1969)
  • Naomi E. Morris (1921–1986), American jurist, Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals (1978–1982)
  • Newbold Morris (1902–1966), American politician, lawyer, president of the New York City Council (1938–1945)
  • Olive Morris (1952–1979), British civil rights activist
  • Oscar Morris (1876–1939), American politician, member of the Wisconsin State Senate (1921–1938)
  • Patricia Morris, Baroness Morris of Bolton (born 1953), British peer, Shadow Minister for Women, Opposition Whip for the Conservative Party
  • Percy Morris (1893–1967), British railway clerk, trade unionist and politician, member of Parliament (1945–1959)
  • Rhys Hopkin Morris (1888–1956), Welsh Liberal politician, Member of Parliament (1923–1932, (1945–1956)
  • Rien Morris, Marshallese politician
  • Roland S. Morris (1874–1945), U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1917–1920)
  • Staats Long Morris (1728–1800), major-general in the British army during the American Revolution, Governor of Quebec (1797–1800)
  • Stuart Morris, Australian lawyer, Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria (2003–2007)
  • Tim Morris (Timothy Bryce Morris; born 1955), Australian politician, member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly (2002–2014)
  • Toby Morris (politician) (1899–1973), American politician, U.S. Representative from Oklahoma (1947–1953, 1957–1961)
  • Timothy Morris (born 1958), British diplomat, ambassador to Morocco and Mauritania (2008–2012), the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo (temporary, 2014–2015), and South Sudan (2015–2017)
  • Trefor Morris (born 1934), British law enforcer, Chief Inspector of Constabulary (1993–1996)
  • Valentine Morris (1727–1789), British landowner and politician, Governor of St. Vincent (1772–1779)
  • Owen Temple-Morris (1896–1985), British barrister and Conservative politician, member of Parliament (1931–1942)
  • Yolonda Morris, American politician from Illinois

Sciences

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Sports

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Other

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Characters

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Morris Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  2. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter (2016-11-17), "Morris", The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764-e-29111?rskey=dmmtsa&result=1, ISBN 978-0-19-967776-4, retrieved 2024-04-04
  3. ^ "moreis - Middle English Compendium". quod.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-04..
  4. ^ "Saint Maurice", Wikipedia, 2024-03-04, retrieved 2024-04-04
  5. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter (2016-11-17), "Morris", The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764-e-29111?rskey=dmmtsa&result=1, ISBN 978-0-19-967776-4, retrieved 2024-04-04
  6. ^ Services, Good Stuff IT. "Surname distribution maps for Morris surname meaning, origin, etymology and distribution in Great Britain". britishsurnames.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  7. ^ "Morris Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  8. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter (2016-11-17), "Morris", The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764-e-29111?rskey=iw3uuh&result=1, ISBN 978-0-19-967776-4, retrieved 2024-04-04
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