Show ContentsMorrish History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The English surname Morrish comes from the place name St. Maurice, Normandy where N. de St. Maurice was listed in the Magn. Rotul. of Normandie (1180-1195.) This personal name is in turn derived from the Latin name Mauritius, which comes from maurus, meaning " a moor."

Early Origins of the Morrish family

The surname Morrish was first found in Herefordshire. Early records there show Isabell, John and Margeries Morice in England c. 1272. The same census shows William filius Maurici in Huntingdon, Richard filius Maurycii in Cambridge and Peter filius Maurice in Lincoln county. The surname may also be a nickname for someone who was "swarthy" as shown by the Robert le Mareys reference in 1274.

Early History of the Morrish family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Morrish research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1297, 1308, 1314, 1654, 1678, 1682, 1703, 1704, 1721 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Morrish History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Morrish Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Morris, Morriss, Moriss, Morrice, Morice, Moris and others.

Early Notables of the Morrish family

Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Morrish Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Morrish family to Ireland

Some of the Morrish family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Morrish migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Morrish Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Antone Morrish, who arrived in Texas in 1850-1906 1
Morrish Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Charles Morrish, (b. 1881), aged 24, Cornish carpenter, from Penzance, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Campania" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA 2
  • Mr. James E. Morrish, (b. 1862), aged 43, Cornish miner, from Truro, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Caronia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 6th March 1905 en route to Bisbee, Arizona, USA 2

Australia Morrish migration to Australia +

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

Morrish Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Richard Morrish, (b. 1774), aged 45 born in Cornwall, UK convicted in Launceston on 22nd March 1819, sentenced for life for , transported aboard the ship "Dromedary" in 1819 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 3
  • Mr. Richard Morrish (b. 1774), aged 45, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 22nd March 1819, sentenced for life, transported aboard the ship "Dromedary" in September 1819 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 4
  • Mr. Richard Morrish, (b. 1774), aged 45, English farm labourer who was convicted in Cornwall, England for life, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1823 5
  • Edward Morrish, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Constance" in 1848 6
  • William Morrish, aged 51, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "David Malcolm" 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Morrish migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 8
Morrish Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Jo Morrish, aged 18, who landed in St Christopher in 1635 1
  • Mr. John Morrish, (b. 1617), aged 18, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Morrish (post 1700) +

  • Jay Morrish (1936-2015), American golf course designer who worked for Jack Nicklaus (1972-1982)
  • Dan Wesley "Blade" Morrish (b. 1950), American politician, Louisiana State Senator from District 25 (2008-)
  • Norman Morrish, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1916 10
  • Anna B. Morrish, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1920 10
  • Alfred Southcott Morrish FRCO (1906-1978), English organist and composer
  • Rory Michael Morrish (b. 1968), Irish cross-country skier at the 2006 Winter Olympics
  • Paul Morrish (b. 1968), Australian rules footballer who played from 1986 to 1989
  • James John Morrish (1868-1956), Welsh-born, Australian politician
  • Ken Morrish (1919-2006), Canadian politician, 4th Mayor of Scarborough, Ontario in 1978
  • Tom Morrish, Australian eponym of the Morrish Medal, an Australian rules football award

HMS Cornwall
  • Basil Christopher Morrish (d. 1942), British Coder aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 11


  1. 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)
  2. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  3. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/tasmanian_convicts_cornish.pdf
  4. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
  6. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CONSTANCE - 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Constance.htm
  7. South Australian Register Wednesday 5th January 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) David Malcolm 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/davidmalcolm1854.shtml
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  9. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  11. Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A


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