NameCensus.

UK surname

Morrison

A patronymic surname derived from the given name Morris, meaning "son of Morris" or "descendant of Morris."

In the 1881 census there were 23,413 people recorded with the Morrison surname, ranking it #144 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 35,896, also still ranked #144.

The strongest historical links point to Barvas and Carloway, Govan Combination and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Harris, Northwest Lewis and Stornoway West.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Morrison is 35,896 in 2016. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 53.3%.

1881 census count

23,413

Ranked #144

Modern count

35,896

2016, ranked #144

Peak year

2016

35,896 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Morrison had 23,413 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #144 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 35,896 in 2016, ranked #144.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 27,840 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Morrison surname distribution map

The map shows where the Morrison surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Morrison surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Morrison over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 14,414 #158
1861 historical 15,994 #135
1881 historical 23,413 #144
1891 historical 24,052 #148
1901 historical 27,840 #150
1911 historical 7,959 #640
1997 modern 32,277 #152
1998 modern 33,489 #153
1999 modern 33,645 #154
2000 modern 33,625 #154
2001 modern 32,667 #154
2002 modern 33,689 #155
2003 modern 33,014 #154
2004 modern 32,813 #155
2005 modern 32,909 #152
2006 modern 33,051 #150
2007 modern 33,469 #150
2008 modern 33,899 #148
2009 modern 34,687 #148
2010 modern 35,417 #150
2011 modern 34,751 #149
2012 modern 34,383 #148
2013 modern 35,261 #148
2014 modern 35,825 #146
2015 modern 35,660 #145
2016 modern 35,896 #144

Geography

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Where Morrisons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Barvas and Carloway, Govan Combination, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Harris, Northwest Lewis, Stornoway West, Stornoway East and Broadbay. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Barvas and Carloway Ross And Cromarty
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Harris Na h-Eileanan Siar
2 Northwest Lewis Na h-Eileanan Siar
3 Stornoway West Na h-Eileanan Siar
4 Stornoway East Na h-Eileanan Siar
5 Broadbay Na h-Eileanan Siar

Forenames

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First names often paired with Morrison

These lists show first names that appear often with the Morrison surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Morrison

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Morrison, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Morrison surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Morrison household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Morrison is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Morrison is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Morrison falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Morrison is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Morrison, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Morrison

The surname Morrison has its origins in Scotland, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Scottish Gaelic words "mòr" meaning "great" and "rìs" meaning "hill" or "rising ground." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived on or near a large hill or elevated land.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Morrison surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls, a series of historical documents from the late 13th century that recorded the names of Scottish landowners and noblemen who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Morison" in these rolls.

In the 15th century, the Morrison surname began to appear more frequently in various Scottish records, including charters and other legal documents. For example, a man named John Morison is mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1456.

The Morrison surname has been associated with several notable historical figures over the centuries. One of the earliest was Sir Richard Morrison, a Scottish soldier and diplomat who lived in the 16th century (c. 1510-1557). He served as the ambassador of King James V of Scotland to the court of King Henry VIII of England.

Another prominent Morrison was Robert Morrison (1782-1834), a Scottish Protestant missionary who was the first to translate the Bible into Chinese. He is considered a pioneering figure in the spread of Christianity in China.

In the field of literature, Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was an acclaimed American novelist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. She is best known for her novels exploring the African American experience, such as "Beloved" and "The Bluest Eye."

Jim Morrison (1943-1971) was the lead singer and lyricist of the iconic rock band The Doors. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and controversial frontmen in rock music history.

Samuel Eliot Morrison (1887-1976) was an American historian and author who wrote extensively about maritime history and the naval aspects of World War II. He received a Pulitzer Prize and a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Morrison families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Morrison surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lanarkshire leads with 3,646 Morrisons recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.91x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 3,646 4.91x
Aberdeenshire 1,818 8.55x
Ross-shire 1,684 26.71x
Inverness-shire 1,272 18.55x
Lancashire 1,201 0.44x
Midlothian 1,183 3.85x
Middlesex 936 0.41x
Stirlingshire 818 9.66x
Renfrewshire 813 4.57x
Angus 746 3.51x
Banffshire 722 15.16x
Yorkshire 719 0.32x
Ayrshire 640 3.72x
Perthshire 629 6.10x
Durham 547 0.80x
Argyllshire 473 7.40x
Sutherland 443 25.09x
Fife 439 3.23x
Northumberland 417 1.22x
Surrey 363 0.32x
Morayshire 276 7.74x
Dunbartonshire 255 4.13x
Shetland 245 10.45x
Kent 188 0.24x
Caithness 184 5.85x
Clackmannanshire 174 9.18x
Cheshire 170 0.34x
Cumberland 166 0.84x
Isle of Man 163 3.82x
Buteshire 162 11.64x
West Lothian 148 4.28x
Wigtownshire 143 4.69x
Dumfriesshire 136 2.68x
Nottinghamshire 100 0.32x
Kirkcudbrightshire 90 2.71x
Leicestershire 84 0.33x
Essex 80 0.18x
Devon 78 0.16x
Warwickshire 74 0.13x
Kincardineshire 72 2.57x
Nairnshire 72 10.27x
Staffordshire 71 0.09x
Roxburghshire 68 1.63x
Hampshire 61 0.13x
Sussex 55 0.14x
East Lothian 52 1.71x
Kinross-shire 46 7.92x
Orkney 43 1.70x
Royal Navy 38 1.39x
Hertfordshire 37 0.23x
Gloucestershire 36 0.08x
Berkshire 34 0.20x
Derbyshire 34 0.09x
Glamorgan 33 0.08x
Berwickshire 31 1.11x
Lincolnshire 29 0.08x
Somerset 28 0.08x
Cornwall 25 0.10x
Wiltshire 23 0.11x
Selkirkshire 22 1.06x
Bedfordshire 21 0.18x
Monmouthshire 18 0.11x
Shropshire 18 0.09x
Worcestershire 16 0.05x
Caernarfonshire 13 0.14x
Norfolk 12 0.03x
Peeblesshire 11 1.02x
Westmorland 11 0.22x
Pembrokeshire 10 0.14x
Cambridgeshire 9 0.06x
Denbighshire 9 0.10x
Flintshire 9 0.15x
Channel Islands 7 0.10x
Herefordshire 7 0.07x
Suffolk 7 0.03x
Buckinghamshire 5 0.04x
Oxfordshire 5 0.04x
Merionethshire 4 0.10x
Northamptonshire 4 0.02x
Rutland 3 0.18x
Cardiganshire 2 0.04x
Carmarthenshire 2 0.02x
Dorset 1 0.01x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Govan in Lanarkshire leads with 1,113 Morrisons recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.06x.

Place Total Index
Govan 1,113 6.06x
Barony 1,009 5.37x
Barvas 649 154.13x
Glasgow 591 4.48x
Harris 527 152.90x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 413 3.34x
Aberdeen Old Machar 338 7.61x
Stornoway 324 39.42x
Dundee 294 3.70x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 251 6.31x
Eddrachillis 231 192.60x
South Uist 221 46.19x
Falkirk 209 10.54x
West Greenock 198 6.20x
South Leith 189 5.46x
Lochs 147 29.28x
Liverpool 135 0.82x
Uig 135 47.22x
Islington London 130 0.58x
Gamrie 126 23.70x
Dunfermline 118 5.65x
Rothesay 116 17.22x
Kilmarnock 107 5.23x
Marnoch 107 41.83x
Abbey 101 3.72x
Alloa 101 10.98x
Campbeltown 101 13.10x
Liff Benvie 99 3.07x
Hamilton 93 4.49x
Inverness 92 5.33x
Campsie 91 19.58x
Duirinish 91 26.03x
Old Monkland 88 2.99x
North Uist 87 32.51x
Forgue 84 43.98x
Linlithgow 84 18.94x
Lambeth 83 0.41x
King Edward 81 33.05x
Turriff 78 22.72x
Peterhead 77 6.85x
Alva 76 18.82x
Gateshead 75 1.47x
Stirling 75 7.02x
West Derby 75 0.94x
Leeds 74 0.58x
North Leith 74 5.20x
Cambusnethan 72 4.37x
Durness 70 90.23x
Keith 70 13.79x
Kirriemuir 70 13.34x
Toxteth Park 70 0.76x
Dalserf 69 9.31x
East Greenock 68 4.05x
Kensington London 68 0.53x
Forfar 67 5.82x
Gairloch 67 18.43x
Manchester 67 0.55x
St Ninians 67 7.98x
Bothwell 65 3.23x
New Monkland 64 2.92x
Lochbroom 63 19.14x
Elgin 61 8.79x
Grange 61 43.75x
Newton On Ayr 60 11.66x
St Pancras London 59 0.32x
Thurso 59 12.03x
Huntly 58 16.76x
Paisley Middle Church 58 5.60x
Tarves 58 28.84x
Camberwell 57 0.39x
Maryhill 57 3.92x
Logie 55 14.88x
Barrow In Furness 54 1.46x
Westgate 54 2.55x
Dalziel 53 6.63x
Edinburgh Canongate 53 6.77x
Fyvie 53 15.27x
Kilmadock 53 22.36x
Monkwearmouth Shore 52 3.90x
Rosskeen 52 17.52x
Banff 51 12.33x
Heworth 51 3.79x
Lanark 51 8.54x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Morrison surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 433
Elizabeth 226
Margaret 172
Jane 149
Sarah 147
Ann 106
Ellen 96
Annie 87
Eliza 69
Catherine 65
Isabella 61
Emma 52
Hannah 47
Alice 46
Emily 45
Agnes 44
Martha 36
Edith 32
Jessie 30
Maria 30
Florence 28
Fanny 27
Harriet 26
Kate 26
Janet 25
Louisa 25
Anne 21
Lucy 21
Frances 19
Eleanor 18
Caroline 17
Bridget 16
Charlotte 16
Helen 16
Rebecca 16
Christina 14
Julia 14
Susan 14
Barbara 13
Clara 13
Sophia 13
Amelia 12
Rose 12
Ada 11
Anna 11
Esther 11
Minnie 11
Gertrude 10
Margt. 10
Grace 9

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Morrison surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 384
William 336
James 296
Thomas 172
George 153
Robert 141
Charles 98
Joseph 76
Henry 75
Edward 64
Alexander 63
David 55
Samuel 36
Walter 36
Richard 35
Alfred 33
Frederick 33
Arthur 31
Peter 27
Wm. 23
Andrew 21
Daniel 21
Francis 21
Albert 20
Hugh 20
Michael 20
Harry 18
Patrick 18
Archibald 17
Ernest 17
Herbert 16
Robt. 16
Thos. 16
Donald 14
Frank 11
Matthew 10
Duncan 9
Isaac 9
Christopher 8
Malcolm 8
Edwin 7
Fred 7
Benjamin 6
Geo. 6
Jno. 6
Jonathan 6
Ralph 6
Willm. 6
Percy 5
Stephen 5

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Morrison households.

FAQ

Morrison surname: questions and answers

How common was the Morrison surname in 1881?

In 1881, 23,413 people were recorded with the Morrison surname. That placed it at #144 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Morrison surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 35,896 in 2016. That gives Morrison a modern rank of #144.

What does the Morrison surname mean?

A patronymic surname derived from the given name Morris, meaning "son of Morris" or "descendant of Morris."

What does the Morrison map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Morrison bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.