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Common spelling variants include Morrish, Morrriss, Morrison, Morys, Morse, Morriss, Maurice, Morrice, and several others. It can also be a variant of the German surname Moritz.
Morris Name Meaning English and Scottish: from Maurice, an Old French personal name introduced to Britain by the Normans, Latin Mauritius, a derivative of Maurus (see Moore). This was the name of several early Christian saints. In some cases it may be a nickname of the same derivation for someone with a swarthy complexion. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Muirghis, a variant of Ó Muirgheasa (see Morrissey). Welsh: Anglicized form of the Welsh personal name Meurig (from Latin Mauritius), which was gradually superseded in Wales by Morus, Morys, a derivative of the Anglo-Norman French form of the name (see 1). German: variant of Moritz. Americanized form of any of various like-sounding Jewish surnames (see Morse).
Origin of the name Morris: Variant of Maurice, a borrowing from the French which is derived from the Late Latin Mauritius (Moorish), a derivative of Maurus (a Moor). The Moors were a Muslim people of mixed Arab and Berber descent; thus the name came to mean "dark" or "swarthy" in reference to their coloring.
Morris is a surname of various origins though mostly of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh origin. The name in some cases can be of German origin and even an Americanisation of several Jewish surnames.[1] The surname ranked 53 out of 88,799 in the United States and 32 out of 500 in England and Wales.[2]
Origins Britain In England and Scotland, the name can be derived from the Old French personal name Maurice which was introduced to Britain by the Normans. It can also be derived from the Latin Mauritius, a derivative of Maurus. This name was used by several early Christian saints. The first Morrises in the British Isles were recorded as living in the bordering counties of Monmouthshire, Wales and Herefordshire, England by the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD.[3]. In Wales, Morris is an Anglicisation of the Welsh personal name Meurig (ultimately derived from Latin Mauritius).[1] Additionally the name Morris is of Anglo-Norman origin deriving from the 'De Marisco' line.
Ireland Irish de Moiréis - Morris, incorrectly Morrison; Norman 'de Mareys', 'de Marreis', Latin 'de Marisco', i.e., 'of the marsh'; a common surname in many parts of the south of Ireland, especially in Kilkenny, Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Cork and Limerick, where it is now anglicised as Morris. A family of the name settled, in 1485, at Galway and became one of the tribes of that city.
Irish Ó Muiris - O'Morris, Morris - 'descendant of Muiris' (sea-choice); a variant of Ó Muireasa - O'Morrissy, Morrissy, O'Morissy, Morissy, O'Morrissey, Morrissey, O'Morrissy, Morrissy (Morris, Morrison); the name of a branch of the Uí Fiachrach who were formerly chiefs of a district on the southern shore of Sligo Bay, in the barony of Tireragh. It is highly probable that there were several other distinct families so called, as the name, both in the present form and as Ó Muiris, is common in most parts of Ireland.
Germany In some cases Morris is of German origin, as a variant of the German name Moritz.
Source Links:
https://coadb.com/surnames/morris-arms.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_(surname)
https://www.houseofnames.com/morris-family-crest/English
http://www.themorrisclan.com/GENEALOGY/FAMILY%20STUDIES/MORRIS%20FA...
http://wvancestry.com/ReferenceMaterial/Files/A_Genealogy_of_the_Mo...