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

Morrison, 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 Morrison surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Morrison in America

Morrison is the 250th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Morrison surname appeared 121,130 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 41 people would have the surname Morrison.

We can also compare 2010 data for Morrison 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 Morrison

The surname Morrison has its origins in Scotland, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Scottish Gaelic words "mòr" meaning "great" and "rìs" meaning "hill" or "rising ground." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived on or near a large hill or elevated land.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Morrison surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls, a series of historical documents from the late 13th century that recorded the names of Scottish landowners and noblemen who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Morison" in these rolls.

In the 15th century, the Morrison surname began to appear more frequently in various Scottish records, including charters and other legal documents. For example, a man named John Morison is mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1456.

The Morrison surname has been associated with several notable historical figures over the centuries. One of the earliest was Sir Richard Morrison, a Scottish soldier and diplomat who lived in the 16th century (c. 1510-1557). He served as the ambassador of King James V of Scotland to the court of King Henry VIII of England.

Another prominent Morrison was Robert Morrison (1782-1834), a Scottish Protestant missionary who was the first to translate the Bible into Chinese. He is considered a pioneering figure in the spread of Christianity in China.

In the field of literature, Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was an acclaimed American novelist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. She is best known for her novels exploring the African American experience, such as "Beloved" and "The Bluest Eye."

Jim Morrison (1943-1971) was the lead singer and lyricist of the iconic rock band The Doors. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and controversial frontmen in rock music history.

Samuel Eliot Morrison (1887-1976) was an American historian and author who wrote extensively about maritime history and the naval aspects of World War II. He received a Pulitzer Prize and a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Morrison

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

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 Morrison 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 Morrison 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 Morrison was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!