Morris

English variation of Maurice

"dark-skinned"

Updated Wed Mar 19 2025

Show me Morris as a girl's name →

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.

# 977 in the US

Morris Rank in US Top 1000

# 917 on Nameberry

Morris Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Morris

917Nameberry2025
639Unique2023
34Netherlands2024

20 Names Similar to Morris

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

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