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MORSE Family History

Recorded in many forms including Morse, Morst, Morest, Morrist, Moorse, Mooriss and Moorst, this is a British Isles surname of great antiquity. It is dialectal of the popular personal name Morris, widespread in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The derivation is from the Old French personal name "Maurice", ultimately from the Latin "Maurus" meaning moorish, or dark and swarthy. Introduced into Britain by the Normans after 1066, Mauricius de Edligtona appears in the documents of the Danelaw, for the city of London in 1176.