Find out how popular the last name Morlock is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Morlock.

Morlock, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Morlock surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Morlock in America

Morlock is the 12904th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Morlock surname appeared 2,382 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Morlock.

We can also compare 2010 data for Morlock to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Morlock

The surname Morlock is believed to have originated in Germany, dating back to the 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "mor" meaning swamp or marsh, and "lock" meaning a thicket or dense growth of bushes, suggesting the name may have originally referred to someone living near a swampy area overgrown with bushes.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Heidelberg archives from 1387, which mention a Hans Morlock living in the region at that time. The surname also appears in various historical records from the 15th and 16th centuries in areas such as Saxony, Bavaria, and the Rhineland.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Morlock was Johann Morlock (1523-1588), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He served as a pastor in various cities and wrote several influential works on theology and church reform.

Another important historical figure was Wilhelm Morlock (1657-1721), a German architect and master builder who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in the Baroque style, including the Schönborn Palace in Würzburg, Germany.

In the 19th century, the name Morlock gained literary significance through H.G. Wells' famous novel "The Time Machine," in which the Morlocks were a subterranean, ape-like race that preyed upon the above-ground Eloi. Although this was a fictional creation, it added a unique cultural reference to the name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the United States comes from Johann Morlock, who immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1738. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the country, contributing to the spread of the surname across North America.

Other notable individuals with the surname Morlock throughout history include Carl Morlock (1835-1903), a German-American painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and city scenes, and Oskar Morlock (1886-1966), a German military officer who served in both World Wars and later became a respected writer and historian.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Morlock

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Morlock.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Morlock was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Morlock has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Morlock was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Morlock, please contact us.

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