Morris

English variation of Maurice

"dark-skinned"

Morris Origin and Meaning

The name Morris is a boy's name of English origin meaning "dark-skinned".

Morris is as quiet and comfortable as a Morris chair, and has the same vintage feel. Once a Top 100 name in the early 1900s, Morris fell completely off the roster in 1995, probably due to lingering fallout from his identification with Morris the cat's ("the world's most finicky cat") 9 Lives cat food commercials.

A more distingushed namesake is Morris (Mo) Udall, an influential congressman, and, from literature, Morris Townsend in the Henry James novel Washington Square, which was made into a movie titled "The Heiress," with Montgomery Clift playing the part.

The usual nicknames for Morris are Morrie/Maury or Moe; a more distinctive one would be Moss. Morrie Schwartz, subject of the bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie was born Morris.

Morris Rank in US Top 1000

# 977 in the US

Morris Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 747 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Morris

• 747 Nameberry 2025
• 639 Unique 2023
• 34 Netherlands 2024

20 Names Similar to Morris

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Morris.

• Hal
• Clive
• Fritz
• Fitzgerald
• Rudy
• Murray
• Elmer
• Truman
• Walt
• Bertie
• Wallace
• Seymour
• Guy
• Sidney
• Clifford
• Wendell
• Ned
• Sampson
• Lou
• Floyd

Famous People Named Morris

• Morris Lee Claiborne American NFL football player
• Morris Lamont Chestnut Jr., American actor
• Morris E. Day American R&B musician of The Time
• Morris pen name of Maurice De Bevere, Belgian cartoonist
• Morris "Morrie" Schwartz subject of Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie"

The name Morris in Pop Culture

• Morris the Cat advertising mascot for 9Lives brand cat food, voiced by John Erwin
• Morris O'Brian character from the TV's "24"
• Morris town in Connecticut