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The Anglo-Norman invaders, if they could be called that since their movement into the eastern portion of Ireland was relatively peaceful, added their old Norman conventions for surnames to the previously established Irish system for hereditary surnames. One of the most frequent forms of surnames for both cultures was the patronymic surname, which was formed from the name of the original bearer's father or grandfather. The Norman tradition that the Anglo-Normans brought with them used diminutive suffixes such as "-ot," "-et," "-un," "-in," or "-el." to demonstrate the bearer's relation to the male relative. Occasionally, two suffixes were combined to form a double diminutive, as in the combinations of "-el-in," "-el-ot," "-in-ot," and "-et-in." The Normans also formed patronymic surnames in a manner very similar to the Irish: they simply added a prefix to their father's name. These Anglo-Norman people, however, used the prefix Fitz-, which was derived from the French word "fils," and ultimately from the Latin "filius," which both mean "son." Although this prefix probably originated in Flanders or Normandy, it can now only be found in Ireland. The surname Fitzmorris is derived from Mac Muiris. The name means "son of Morris." The personal names Maurice and Morris are derived from the Latin name Mauritus, which is itself a derivative of Maurus.
The surname Fitzmorris was first found in Kerry, Galway and Mayo. "No more illustrious name than Fitz Maurice is to be found in the annals of Ireland, for it was borne during several generations by the descendants of Maurice Fitz Gerald, the founder of the great historical house of Geraldine. He was companion-in-arms of the redoubtable Earl Strongbow, and by his gift Baron of Naas and Wicklow. One of his sons was the ancestor of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster-Premier Dukes of Ireland; from another sprung the princely Desmonds, and a line of seventeen powerful Earls." 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fitzmorris research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1485, 1502, 1551, 1590, 1600, 1633, 1668, 1694, 1696, 1741, 1747, 1810 and 1893 are included under the topic Early Fitzmorris History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the days before Gaelic or English gained any significant semblance of standardization, the scribes who created documents simply recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Fitzmorris family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Fitzmaurice, Fitzmorris, FitzMaurice, FitzMorris, Morris and many more.
Notable among the family name at this time was Rev. Francis Orpen Morris (1810-1893) of Cork, author of works on natural history.
The Fitzmaurices have traditionally held the position of Lord Kerry and Baron Lixnaw. They include: Thomas Fitzmaurice, sixteenth Lord Kerry and Baron Lixnaw (1502-1590), who was the youngest son of Edmund Fitzmaurice, tenth lord Kerry. His son, Patrick Fitzmaurice, the seventeenth Lord Kerry and Baron...
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fitzmorris Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many Irish families left the English-controlled Ireland in the 19th century. Early immigrants were primarily after land and the opportunity of living a life entirely of their own fashioning. In the 1840s, this pattern of immigration changed as the Great Potato Famine struck Ireland. Hundreds of thousands left the diseased and starving island with little expectations but many hopes. By this time there was very little available land in the east, so many immigrants joined the movement for the western frontier lands, or settled in established urban centers. Irish immigrants not only made enormous contributions to the rapid development and population of North America, but they also brought with them a rich cultural heritage. Immigration and passenger ship lists show some important early immigrants bearing the name Fitzmorris: