Maurice
First Name Meaning, Usage, Popularity & Related Names
Maurice is a Latin name meaning “dark-skinned”. It is a common name, overwhelmingly used for boys, with 99.61% male usage.
Meaning & Origin of the name Maurice
Maurice is a name of Latin origin, meaning dark-skinned or moorish. It derives from the Roman cognomen Mauritius, which originated from the term maurus used to describe inhabitants of Mauretania. The name gained prominence in Western Europe due to the veneration of Saint Maurice, a third-century commander of the Theban Legion.
Meaning Comments
- Sliver_ste12: It makes me inexplicably sad that after more than 130 years of use, Maurice has dropped out of the U.S. top 1,000. This beautiful traditional masculine name needs to be resurrected.
- Rings_payten: I first heard this name because of the store. Younger me thought it was a girl's name. The '-ice' part just gives me feminine vibes. Wouldn't be surprised to hear this on a girl someday.
- Pur3ownrange: Maurice makes me think of my friend who is kind and thoughtful and shares this name. I love the name and it’s nice to call him Mo, but sometimes he gets ‘Monty ‘and Mozza’!
Gender Usage of the Name Maurice
Overall Gender Classification Methodology
Maurice is overwhelmingly used as a name for boys. Approximately 99.61% of recorded bearers are male. This classification is supported by extensive records and is considered highly reliable.
Popularity of the Name Maurice
Note: Green bars show popularity (% of births); the violet line shows historical ranking. Data is based on official government birth records. Click any chart to view details by year and region.
Overall PopularityMethodology
Maurice is listed under Common Boy Names worldwide. Its popularity is relatively consistent across the available regional markets.
| Region | Popularity | Birth Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Common | 1 in every 7.3K births |
| United Kingdom | Popular | 1 in every 2.8K births |
| Canada | Popular | 1 in every 19K births |
| Australia | Common | 1 in every 230K births |
Ranking OverviewMethodology
Maurice ranked #1,301 on the Popular Boys’ Names Worldwide List (2025). It fell from #744 in 2024 — a drop of 557 places. Maurice shows meaningful recent movement in rank, though it remains uncommon overall.
Historically, its best recorded position was #71 in 1930. Its lowest recorded position was #1,301 in 2025. Over the last 5 years (2020–2025) the name fell -487 places (from #814 to #1,301).
Name StyleMethodology
Maurice is classified as Timeless Boy Names because it appears across 100% of recorded years, averages 1,315 births per year over its full timeline, and still averages 552 births per year recently.Characteristics of the Name Maurice
Pronunciation & StructureMethodology
- Phonetic Source
- CMU
- Syllables
- 2 syllables — Two-Syllable Boy Names
- Length
- 7 letters — Long Boy Names
- Starts with
- M — Boy Names Starting with M
- Ends with
- e — Boy Names Ending in “e”
Name AestheticMethodology
Maurice features a two-syllable pattern with a soft, sliding consonant ending that creates a refined sound. It is strongly linked to Saint Maurice, the commander of the Theban Legion, whose veneration has persisted for centuries in Europe. The resulting impression is a Elegant & Timeless aesthetic.
Middle Names For Maurice
Middle names used with MauriceMethodology
Maurice is most frequently used with these boy middle names: Maurice Antonio · Maurice Lamont · Maurice Anthony · Maurice Eugene · Maurice AntoineView all 612 boy middle names.
- Total 947 middle names used with Maurice
- 97 girl middle names used with Maurice
- 204 unisex middle names used with Maurice
Middle name suggestions for MauriceMethodology
Based on observed first-middle-name pattern combinations, Maurice is most frequently associated with boy middle names that have 2 syllables, Strong–Weak stress pattern, 5 letters, and a starting sound of “j”.
Examples: Maurice Jacob · Maurice Jason · Maurice Jesus · Maurice Jerry · Maurice Jared. View all 114 suggested middle names.
Associations of the Name Maurice
Royal UsageMethodology
Featured among Royal Boy Names, Maurice has been used by 5 members of European royal families, including:
- Henry Maurice of Battenberg (1858–1896) — Prince
- Maurice (1891–1914) — Prince
Names Similar to Maurice
Sound Like Maurice Finder
Names with the exact same overall pronunciation and sound: Morris · Mauricio · Muiris · View all 26 names
Same Starting Sound Finder
Names that begin with a similar phonetic sound: Michael · Matthew · Mark · View all Top 100 names
Rhymes With Maurice Finder
Names that share similar ending sounds and rhymes: Thomas · Nicholas · Dennis · View all Top 100 names
Same Rhythm & Syllables Finder
Names with matching syllable stress and pronunciation rhythm: Eugene · Luis · Bernard · View all Top 100 names
Dictionary & Etymology of “Maurice”
Dictionary Meaning of "Maurice"Methodology
A male given name from Latin, equivalent to English Morris
Examples
- For some reason I am a man known by his surname; I might never have been christened for all the use my friends make of the rather affected Maurice my literary parents gave me.
A surname originating as a patronymic, equivalent to English Morris
Translations
The name Maurice has 27 translations, for example: in Spanish it is rendered as male given name, etc..
More Info
How to Spell Maurice in ASL
- M
- a
- u
- r
- i
- c
- e
Comments on the name Maurice
Community CommentsShowing 5 of 34 comments
Xx_r4nge_xx7
In 2018, 40 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Maurice who is registered male with the Social Security Administration. It is the 513th most common male first name for living U.S. citizens.
Savesavepwn
It is common for Jews named Moses (or Moshe) to be called Maurice, or Morris, and conceived as the European (probably ancient German or French) name of Moses. Famous bearers: Maurice Ravel (composer), Maurice Chevalier (actor), Maurice Joshua (DJ) Famous Jewish bearers: Maurice Sendak, Maurice Jaffe (owner of 'Maurices' retail clothing chain), Maurice (3d animation character) the lemur king's advisor. Note: The first 10 Google entries for Maurice are of Jewish institutions or name bearers.
Pureoxpurge
Americans typically pronounce this name the French way. Mo-reess. Perhaps reinforced by the popularity of the Steve Miller song "The Joker" ("some people call me Mo-reess"). Brits bearing this name are pronounced the same as Morris.
Blue_piglet1
I find this name attractive and I notice woman find this name quite sexy. I even notice men find it challenging to pronounce and threatening to them towards the oposite sex...you see I have had this name all my life and I love it. When woman say my name they say it like French do...WITH SEX APPEAL..LOL..MOORREESSS.
Ilovejugs98
Actually, in America, I think mo-REESE is said more often as a pronunciation of this name than Morris. Here Morris is MOR-iss and Maurice is mo-REESE. At least that's what it seems from my experience.