Moris History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Wales

This old Welsh surname comes from the Latin personal name Mauritius, which means dark. In Britain, Maurice was the learned form of the name, while Morice was the common form. The surname Morris was likely also assumed as a surname after being a nickname for a dark or swarthy person.

Early Origins of the Moris family

The surname Moris was first found in Herefordshire, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Moris family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Moris research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1660, 1663, 1670, 1672 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Moris History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Moris Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Moris have included Morris, Morriss, Moriss, Morrice, Morice, Moris and others.

Early Notables of the Moris family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Moris Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Moris Ranking

In the United States, the name Moris is the 18,550^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Moris family to Ireland

Some of the Moris family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Moris migration to the United States +

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Moris:

Moris Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jacques Moris, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1749 2
Jaques Moris, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1749 2

Moris Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. Augusta Moris, aged 33, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Neptune"
Mr. Adeleheid Moris, (nee Stumpf), aged 24, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Neptune"
Mary Moris, aged 47, who landed in New York in 1862 2

Moris migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Moris Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Hannah Moris, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Dumfries" in 1839 3

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DUMFRIES 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Dumfries.gif