# Norris (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/norris/  
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 | French |
| Meaning | “a northerner”, “a migrant from the north” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈnɔɹɪs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 16,979 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 16,456 / 523 (3% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 6, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

An Anglo-Norman surname, from Old French norreis (“a northerner, a migrant from the north”). More at French norois.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 9 | 3,813 |
| 1950 | 8 | 4,222 |
| 1951 | 7 | 4,704 |
| 1952 | 6 | 5,381 |
| 1953 | 9 | 4,150 |
| 1954 | 8 | 4,551 |
| 1955 | 7 | 5,068 |
| 1956 | 8 | 4,722 |
| 1957 | 14 | 3,258 |
| 1959 | 12 | 3,766 |
| 1960 | 7 | 5,557 |
| 1961 | 8 | 5,174 |
| 1965 | 8 | 5,165 |
| 1970 | 5 | 8,913 |
| 1985 | 5 | 11,921 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 22 | 4,465 |
| 2012 | 25 | 4,096 |
| 2013 | 17 | 5,333 |
| 2014 | 35 | 3,198 |
| 2015 | 21 | 4,660 |
| 2016 | 17 | 5,484 |
| 2017 | 34 | 3,359 |
| 2018 | 24 | 4,314 |
| 2019 | 27 | 3,967 |
| 2020 | 19 | 4,985 |
| 2021 | 18 | 5,281 |
| 2022 | 28 | 3,963 |
| 2023 | 17 | 5,601 |
| 2024 | 14 | 6,388 |
| 2025 | 15 | 6,063 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | 4,527 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |

## People named Norris

- Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer (1877–1957)
- Norris Cole, American basketball player (born 1988)
- Richard Norris Williams, American tennis player (1891-1968)
- Norris Bradbury, American physicist
- Norris Graham, American rower (1906-1980)
- Norris Bowden, Canadian figure skater (1926–1991)
- Norris Cotton, American politician (1900-1989)
- Anthony Norris Groves, British missionary (1795–1853)
- Norris Brown, American politician (1863–1960)
- Norris C. Poulson, American politician (1895-1982)
- Norris McWhirter, British writer, political activist and television presenter (1925—2004)
- John N. Bahcall, American physicist (1934–2005)

## 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.