# Morse (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/morse/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name, variant of Morris, from the given name Maurice.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 41,774 |
| US rank (2010) | 824 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,391 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.6% (41,112 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɔː(ɹ)s/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Who carries it

Share of people named Morse in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 4.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Morse in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

## People named Morse

- Samuel Finley Breese Morse, American inventor and painter (1791–1872)
- David Morse, American actor
- Steve Morse, American guitarist
- Robert Morse, American actor
- Marston Morse, American mathematician (1892–1977)
- Margaret Morse Nice, American ornithologist (1883–1974)
- Neal Morse, American rock musician
- Barry Morse, British-Canadian actor (1918-2008)
- Ella Mae Morse, American popular music singer (1924-1999)
- Edward S. Morse, American zoologist and anthropologist (1838–1925)
- Harmon Northrop Morse, American chemist (1848–1920)
- Philip M. Morse, American physicist (1903–1985)

and 11 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Morris, Morrissey, Morais, Moores, Morrisey, Morriss, Moraes, Moors, Moris, Marsee, Morehouse, Moyers.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.