The surname Morris is a variation of the name Maurice, which was, and still is, a popular first name. The first name Maurice came to England with the Norman Conquest and derives from the Old French name Meurisse. This name in turn came from the Latin first name Mauritius (like the island) which originates from the word Maurus, meaning a Moor (as in Othello the Moor, an inhabitant of North Africa, usually of Berber or Arab origin-see also Moore). Thus this name was originally given to a Moor. However, it was also often used as a nickname for anyone of swarthy or dark complexion.

The name Maurice spread all over Europe. There was even a St Maurice who was martyred in Switzerland in AD 286. (The fashionable ski resort of St Moritz is named after him.) When the name came to England, it gave itself to that most English of rural pastimes, the Morris Dance. Ironically, this originally meant ‘Moorish Dance’.

The name Morris is found all over the land, but is most common in Wales, the Welsh border country and the southern counties of England. The variation Morrish is found in Somerset and Devon. This is a corruption of the more French Maurice, just as the French word liquorice is now often corrupted to liquorish. Other related names are Morrison (most common in the northern counties of England, and in Scotland), Morrice, and Fitzmaurice (son of Maurice).

The earliest mention of the surname Morris in the records is of one Fulco Julius Mauricii (this being the Latin version of the name, with Julius meaning ‘son of’). He appears in the records of the Templars for Lincolnshire in 1185. The slightly more recognisable Ricardus Julius Morys appears in the 1297 Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire.

The English artist, poet and social reformer William Morris (1834—96) revolutionised Victorian taste with his designs for furniture, fabrics and wallpaper-which remain influential in interior design to this day.

A key figure in the development of the British motor industry was William Richard Morris (1877—1963), who later became Lord Nuffield. He started his business in a bicycle repair shop, and later set up his factory at Cowley, Oxford. The Morris Oxford car was his greatest popular success.

Liverpool-born American patriot Robert Morris was dubbed ‘the Financier of the American Revolution’ for his private rôle in procuring supplies and borrowing money to keep Washington’s army going through the most crucial years of the revolution. Later he loyally served the fledgling nation by securing loans to help it through early financial crises. But by 1798 disastrous land speculations had eaten up his personal fortune, and he was arrested and clapped into a debtor’s prison, where he stayed for 3½ years. After his release he died in obscurity, a broken man.

The sole name-related town in the United Kingdom is Morriston while Canada has a Morris and a Morrisburg. A total of 24 United States towns and cities are Morris-related. Name-related geographic features are rare. Australia has a Morris mountain and there is a Morris Island off the coast of South Carolina in the United States.

With about 153,000 namesakes Morris is the 28th most popular surname in England and Wales. There are over 22,000 Morrisons in Scotland, where this variation is 18th in popularity. Morris is notably popular in and around Cardiff where an estimated one in about 215 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Birmingham, Coventry and Liverpool are other Morris strongholds. Around the world Morris’s and Morrisons are most common in Wellington (one in 435 families), Auckland (one in 442) and Vancouver (one in 485). The United States has more Morris’s and Morrisons than the entire population of Bristol-in combination an estimated total of just under 478,000 makes this their 27th most popular surname.