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

Morse, 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 Morse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Morse in America

Morse is the 824th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Morse surname appeared 41,774 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 14 people would have the surname Morse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Morse 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 Morse

The surname Morse is derived from the Old English word "mor" meaning marsh or fen, and the surname likely originated in regions of England where marshlands or wetlands were prevalent. It is thought to be an occupational name referring to someone who lived or worked near a marsh.

One of the earliest known recordings of the name Morse dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was listed as "Morsce" in Cambridgeshire, England. Other early spellings included Mors, Morsse, and Morshe. The Morse surname was particularly concentrated in counties such as Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk in the eastern part of England.

Notable historical figures bearing the surname Morse include Sir Robert Morse (1590-1662), an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1638. Another was Samuel Morse (1791-1872), the American inventor and painter who co-developed the Morse code for telegraphy and is considered the founder of modern communications technology.

John Morse (1756-1828) was an American missionary and educator who helped establish the first American Christian mission in India. Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826) was an American Congregationalist minister, geographer, and author of several influential texts on American geography and history.

In the field of literature, Sidney Morse (1832-1903) was an American author and editor known for his works on travel and geography. Reverend James Morse (1638-1708) was a prominent early Puritan minister in Massachusetts, known for his role in the Salem Witch Trials.

The Morse surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Morse Farm in Watertown, Massachusetts, and Morse Pond in Franklin County, Vermont, reflecting the historical presence of families with this name in those regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Morse

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Morse, 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!