Maurus
Of Latin origin, meaning dark or tanned.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Maurus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maurus today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maurus births was 1954 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maurus. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Maurus is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Maurus' were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Maurus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1954
5 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1954 SSA rank
#4,171
Tracked since 1954
Popularity
Maurus: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Maurus by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Maurus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Maurus
The name Maurus has its origins in the Latin language and Ancient Roman culture. It derives from the Ancient Roman cognomen Maurus, meaning "dark-skinned" or "Moorish". This was initially used as an epithet for people of Mauritanian or Berber ancestry from northwestern Africa.
Maurus was a relatively common name among Romans, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 1st century BC. One of the most notable historical figures bearing this name was Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late 4th century AD grammarian and scholar who wrote extensive commentaries on the works of Virgil.
In the Middle Ages, the name Maurus gained associations with Christian monasticism due to St. Maurus, a disciple of St. Benedict and the first abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Glanfeuil in France (c. 512 - 584 AD). His name appears in various hagiographies and monastic chronicles from this period.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Maurus of Palestrina, an 11th century Benedictine monk and ecclesiastical writer who served as the abbot of Farfa Abbey in Italy. He is known for his treatise on the monastic life, "Opusculum de Vita Regulari".
During the Renaissance, Maurus was the name of a 15th century Italian humanist scholar and poet, Maurus Servius Honoratus Grammaticus (1428 - 1480). He produced commentaries on the works of Virgil, following in the footsteps of his ancient Roman namesake.
In the 17th century, Maurus Corker (1636 - 1708) was an English Benedictine monk and historian who wrote extensively on the history of the Catholic Church in England during the Reformation period.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Maurus, which has its roots in the ancient Latin language and Roman culture, later gaining religious significance in Christian monasticism.
People
Maurus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maurus as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maurus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maurus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maurus going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Maurus a common name?
We classify Maurus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maurus most popular?
The single biggest year for Maurus was 1954, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maurus is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Maurus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maurus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maurus in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Maurus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maurus in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Maurus can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Maurus?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Maurus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.