2000
#762
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.24
Uncommon Last name
Morse
Derived from the Old French "mors," referring to someone who lived near a marsh or moor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 45,315 Americans carry the last name Morse. That puts it at #854 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,564 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morse surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Morse with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
45K
1 in 7,564
Census rank
#854
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
40K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 39,517 bearers of the surname Morse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 854th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morse, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morse
Among Census respondents with the surname Morse, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Morse bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Morse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 34,548
- Black or African American4.1% · 1,607
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,559
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,282
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 336
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 185
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morse
Morse appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,774
+662 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 14.16
Rank movement Down 62 places
2020
#854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,517
-2,257 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 13.22
Rank movement Down 30 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #762 | 41,112 | 15.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #824 | 41,774 | 14.16 | +662 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 62 places |
| 2020 | #854 | 39,517 | 13.22 | -2,257 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 30 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Morse surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #824 | #854 | -3.6% |
| Count | 41,774 | 39,517 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 14.16 | 13.22 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morse bearers went from 41,774 to 39,517 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 30 positions in the national ranking, going from #824 to #854.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Morse
FAQ
Morse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morse?
Name Census estimates that about 45,315 living Americans carry the surname Morse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,564 residents.
How common is Morse?
Morse ranks #854 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 39,517 people with the surname Morse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (45,315), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Morse.
Has Morse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morse went from 41,774 recorded bearers to 39,517. That is a decrease of 2,257 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #824 to #854.
What does the Census say about the background of Morse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morse, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Morse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (34,548 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Black (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Morse (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Morse mean?
Derived from the Old French "mors," referring to someone who lived near a marsh or moor. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Morse (13.22 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Morse?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.