Mourice
Of Germanic origin, meaning "dark-skinned" or "swarthy".
Name Census estimates that about 17 living Americans carry the first name Mourice. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mourice today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mourice births was 1974 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mourice. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mourice. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
17
~ 1 in 20,162,020 Americans
Peak year
1974
8 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1983 SSA rank
#6,968
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Mourice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mourice from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Mourice remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mourice 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 Mourice 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 Mourice
The given name Mourice originated from the Latin name Mauritius, which was derived from the word "Maurus", meaning a person from Mauritania, a region in northwestern Africa. The name gained popularity during the Roman Empire, particularly among those of Moorish or Berber descent.
The earliest recorded example of the name dates back to the 3rd century, when Saint Maurice was a Christian martyr and leader of the legendary Theban Legion. He was executed for refusing to worship pagan Roman gods, and his story became widely known throughout Christian Europe.
In the Middle Ages, the name Mourice was popularized by the cult of Saint Maurice, which spread across Europe. Several notable figures bore this name, including Maurice, Duke of Saxony (1696-1750), a German prince and military leader, and Maurice of Nassau (1567-1625), a Dutch prince and renowned military strategist during the Eighty Years' War.
Another notable figure was Maurice, Prince of Orange (1567-1625), a leading military commander during the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule. He is credited with establishing the Dutch Republic's military might and laying the foundations for its eventual independence.
In the 19th century, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), a French composer and pianist, became one of the most influential figures in the development of impressionist music. His works, such as "Boléro" and "Daphnis et Chloé", are widely celebrated and performed worldwide.
Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) was an American writer and illustrator, best known for his children's book "Where the Wild Things Are". His imaginative and evocative illustrations captivated generations of young readers and earned him numerous accolades, including the Caldecott Medal.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Mourice, a name with a rich cultural and historical legacy spanning centuries and diverse regions.
People
Mourice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mourice 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
Mourice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mourice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mourice 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 20,162,020 US residents.
Is Mourice a common name?
We classify Mourice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 37.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mourice most popular?
The single biggest year for Mourice was 1974, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mourice is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mourice a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mourice 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.
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.