Moris
A masculine given name of Greek origin meaning "dark complexioned".
Name Census estimates that about 154 living Americans carry the first name Moris. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Moris today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moris births was 1922 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moris. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Moris with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
154
~ 1 in 2,225,678 Americans
Peak year
1922
11 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,518
Tracked since 1915
Census
Moris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 840 people with the first name Moris, which placed it at #14,119 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,119
National first-name rank
People counted
840
840 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
64.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moris is Hispanic at 64.9%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Black (7.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Moris described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Moris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino64.9% · 545
- White25.0% · 210
- Black or African American7.1% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 12
- Two or more races1.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Popularity
Moris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moris from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 59 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moris 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 Moris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Moris
The name Moris has its origins in the ancient Greek language, deriving from the word "moros," which means "foolish" or "dull." This name emerged during the classical period of Greek civilization, around the 5th century BCE. It was initially a derogatory term used to describe someone lacking intelligence or wisdom.
Over time, the name Moris evolved and gained acceptance as a personal name. It spread across the Mediterranean region, particularly in areas influenced by Greek culture and trade routes. Variations of the name, such as Morris, Maurice, and Mauricio, also emerged in different languages and cultures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moris can be found in ancient Greek literature, including the works of the playwright Aristophanes, who lived from around 446 BCE to 386 BCE. In his comedies, Aristophanes used the name Moris as a character, likely referencing its original meaning of foolishness.
Throughout history, several notable figures bore the name Moris. One prominent example is Moris the Elder, a Byzantine scholar and philosopher who lived in the 11th century CE. He is known for his contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics.
Another historical figure with the name Moris was Moris of Crete, a 13th-century Venetian explorer and trader. He is credited with establishing trade routes between Venice and the Levant region, contributing to the flourishing of the Venetian Republic's maritime empire.
In the realm of literature, Moris Blanchot was a prominent 20th-century French writer and philosopher. Born in 1907 and died in 2003, he was known for his influential works on literature, philosophy, and critical theory.
Moris Meszaros, a Hungarian-born film director and screenwriter, also left a lasting impact on the world of cinema. Born in 1929, he is renowned for his politically charged and socially conscious films, such as "Diary for My Children" and "Diary for My Parents."
Lastly, Moris Farhi, a Turkish-British writer and playwright, made significant contributions to literature and theater. Born in 1935, he is best known for his novels and plays that explore themes of identity, displacement, and cultural fusion.
While the name Moris may have originated from a less flattering meaning, it has transcended its initial connotation and become a respected and widely used name throughout history. Its rich cultural heritage and the accomplishments of those who bore this name have contributed to its enduring legacy.
People
Moris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moris 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
Moris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 154 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moris 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 2,225,678 US residents.
Is Moris a common name?
We classify Moris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 262 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moris most popular?
The single biggest year for Moris was 1922, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moris is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 840 people with the name Moris, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,119 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Moris in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Moris?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Moris leans strongly male. 814 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 20 female bearers (2.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Moris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moris is Hispanic at 64.9%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Black (7.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Moris most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Moris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.9% (545 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Moris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moris a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moris 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 Moris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moris 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 Moris 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.
How many people have the name Moris?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.