# Maurice (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/maurice/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “moor”, “dark”, “swarthy” |
| Pronunciation | /məˈɹis/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Mossie, Moe, Maury, Tyrese |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 138,943 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 136,332 / 2,611 (2% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 434, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Maurice, from Late Latin Mauritius, derived from Maurus (“Moor; dark, swarthy”). Popularized by a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyr.

## What it means

Maurice is grouped under black.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 16 | 4,655 |
| 1982 | 22 | 3,717 |
| 1983 | 19 | 4,053 |
| 1984 | 17 | 4,429 |
| 1985 | 25 | 3,477 |
| 1986 | 14 | 5,360 |
| 1987 | 31 | 3,069 |
| 1988 | 20 | 4,425 |
| 1989 | 12 | 6,801 |
| 1990 | 13 | 6,722 |
| 1991 | 7 | 11,041 |
| 1992 | 7 | 11,250 |
| 1993 | 5 | 14,923 |
| 1994 | 8 | 10,178 |
| 1995 | 5 | 14,903 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 579 | 464 |
| 2012 | 531 | 502 |
| 2013 | 505 | 526 |
| 2014 | 482 | 580 |
| 2015 | 435 | 617 |
| 2016 | 406 | 651 |
| 2017 | 396 | 651 |
| 2018 | 377 | 670 |
| 2019 | 329 | 732 |
| 2020 | 271 | 844 |
| 2021 | 287 | 830 |
| 2022 | 224 | 996 |
| 2023 | 226 | 973 |
| 2024 | 248 | 932 |
| 2025 | 220 | 1,020 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15 | 1,522 |
| 2012 | 12 | 1,852 |
| 2013 | 9 | 2,216 |
| 2014 | 19 | 1,327 |
| 2015 | 17 | 1,442 |
| 2016 | 18 | 1,431 |
| 2017 | 15 | 1,627 |
| 2018 | 13 | 1,786 |
| 2019 | 20 | 1,253 |
| 2020 | 17 | 1,431 |
| 2021 | 15 | 1,595 |
| 2022 | 10 | 2,165 |
| 2023 | 13 | 1,799 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2,671 |
| 2025 | 7 | 2,952 |

## In other languages

- Catalan: Maurici
- Chinese: 莫里斯
- Czech: Moric, Mořic
- Danish: Mourits
- Dutch: Maurits
- Esperanto: Maŭrico
- Finnish: Mauri
- French: Maurice
- German: Moritz
- Greek: Μαυρίκιος
- Hungarian: Móric, Mór
- Irish: Muiris
- Italian: Maurizio
- Latvian: Māris
- Polish: Maurycy
- Portuguese: Maurício
- Russian: Маври́кий
- Spanish: Mauricio
- Swedish: Mauritz
- Welsh: Morus

## People named Maurice

- Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian playwright and essayist (1862–1949)
- Maurice Ravel, French composer (1875–1937)
- Maurice Allais, French economist (1911–2010)
- Maurice Chevalier, French singer, actor, and entertainer (1888–1972)
- Maurice Jarre, French composer and conductor (1924-2009)
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French phenomenological philosopher
- Maurice Béjart, French-born Swiss ballet dancer and choreographer (1927–2007)
- Maurice Barrès, French novelist (1862-1923)
- Maurice Druon, French novelist
- Maurice Leblanc, French writer
- Maurice Sendak, American illustrator and writer of children's books (1928-2012)
- Maurice Denis, French painter (1870–1943)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.