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Main article: Morris
Morris is a surname of various origins though mostly of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh origin. The name in some cases can be of German origin and even an Americanisation of several Jewish surnames.[1] The surname ranked 53 out of 88,799 in the United States and 32 out of 500 in England and Wales.[2]
Origins
Britain
In England and Scotland, the name can be derived from the Old French personal name Maurice which was introduced to Britain by the Normans. It can also be derived from the Latin Mauritius, a derivative of Maurus. This name was used by several early Christian saints. The first Morrises in the British Isles were recorded as living in the bordering counties of Monmouthshire, Wales and Herefordshire, England by the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD.[3]. In Wales, Morris is an Anglicisation of the Welsh personal name Meurig (ultimately derived from Latin Mauritius).[1] Additionally the name Morris is of Anglo-Norman origin deriving from the 'De Marisco' line.
Ireland
Irish de Moiréis - Morris, incorrectly Morrison; Norman 'de Mareys', 'de Marreis', Latin 'de Marisco', i.e., 'of the marsh'; 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 that city.
Irish Ó Muiris - O'Morris, Morris - 'descendant of Muiris' (sea-choice); a variant of Ó Muireasa - O'Morrissy, Morrissy, O'Morissy, Morissy, O'Morrissey, Morrissey, O'Morrissy, Morrissy (Morris, Morrison); 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. It is highly probable that there were several other distinct families so called, as the name, both in the present form and as Ó Muiris, is common in most parts of Ireland.
Germany
In some cases Morris is of German origin, as a variant of the German name Moritz.