Given name & surname · also Gaelic, Late Latin
Maurice
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”
Maurice is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “a dark-skinned man; Moorish.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a dark-skinned man; Moorish.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Late Latin.
How it developed
Maurice developed from Maurus.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Maurice is a variant of Morris. The history of Morris gives this family its wider story. Morris was in use during the Middle Ages.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Maurice through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 138,943
- 136,332 boys · 2,611 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 1,797 babies
- 2025
- 220
- #1,020 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −32%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 220 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,020 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 32.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,743 in 1921. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (21). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 71,289 as a first name in 2020; 3,819 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Maurice’s family of names
In English usage, Maurice has a diminutive in Moe. Maurice shares a linguistic root with Mauricio. In English usage, Maurice has a related form in Morris.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Maurice has relatives in 27 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
39 related names in 27 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 30
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Mauriciovariant · Galician, Spanish
- Maurovariant
- Morrisvariant · French, English
- Mauriziovariant · Italian
- Moediminutive · English
- Maurydiminutive · English
- Maurivariant · Finnish
- Mossiediminutive · English
Show 22 moreShow fewer
- Modiminutive · English
- Mauriliovariant
- Maureyvariant
- Maurusvariant
- Mauritzvariant · Swedish
- Mauriovariant
- Maurinvariant
- Maurievariant
- Momodiminutive · French
- Maurricelikely variant
- Mauricettediminutive · French
- Morissetvariant · French
- Meurissevariant · French
- Maureavariant
- Maureevariant
- Maurycyvariant · Polish
- Mauritiusvariant · English
- Mauritsvariant · Dutch
- Maurisevariant · Occitan
- Mauridsvariant
- Maureovariant
- Maurellvariant
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 36
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Merrickrelated form
- Moritzcognate · German
- Morisafeminine form
- Maurissafeminine form
- Marissequivalent
- Morriceequivalent
- Մորիկequivalent
- Mauriciuequivalent
Show 28 moreShow fewer
- Μωρίςequivalent
- Mwirrishequivalent
- Maritsequivalent
- MaurycjuszPolish
- Meuricecognate · Walloon
- Morusborrowing · Welsh
- Bauricerelated form
- Meurigrelated form · Welsh
- Muirisrelated form · Irish
- Mavricijequivalent
- MauriciOccitan, Catalan
- ΜαυρίκιοςGreek
- MorysWelsh
- Mureeshyol
- Маври́кийRussian
- MaurícioPortuguese
- MārisLatvian
- MórHungarian
- MóricHungarian
- MaŭricoEsperanto
- Mavrésiegl
- MouritsDanish
- MořicCzech
- MoricCzech
- ⲙⲱⲣⲓⲥCoptic
- 莫里斯Mandarin
- Mavrikicognate
- Muirghessoriginal
People named Maurice
- Maurice MaeterlinckBelgian playwright and essayist (1862–1949)
- Harold MacmillanPrime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 19631894–1986
- Maurice WilkinsNew Zealand-born English physicist and biologist1916–2004
- Maurice AllaisFrench economist (1911–2010)
- Maurice ChevalierFrench singer, actor, and entertainer (1888–1972)
- Maurice JarreFrench composer and conductor (1924-2009)
- Maurice Merleau-PontyFrench phenomenological philosopher1908–1961
- Maurice BarrèsFrench novelist (1862-1923)
- Maurice BéjartFrench-born Swiss ballet dancer and choreographer (1927–2007)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Maurice, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Wallace
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98% boys · 2% girls