Maurice
Masculine · “dark-skinned”
Maurice is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 136,332 boys against 2,611 girls since 1880. See Maurice as a girl name
German artists have depicted this saint as a black man since the thirteenth century, and the sculpture in Magdeburg Cathedral is the earliest surviving European image of an African that is unmistakably a portrait rather than a type. He was an Egyptian officer, and the art took that seriously.
How old is the name Maurice?
Maurice was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Maurice alive today was born around 1960, making them about 65 years old. About 80,000 people named Maurice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maurice most popular?
Maurice peaked in 1914, reaching #94 nationally. Today it ranks #1018, 924 places below that high. See the whole 1914 chart.
Where it comes from
From Maurus to Maurice
The story of Maurice
The legend says Maurice commanded a legion recruited in Egyptian Thebes, that the whole unit refused an order it considered unlawful, and that it was executed in the Alps for it — decimated repeatedly until nobody was left. Whatever happened, the cult was real and enormous across the Rhineland and Savoy, and from about the year twelve hundred German workshops began showing him as African, in armor, with great care taken over the face. The name spread across Europe with the cult, gave a Roman emperor, a Dutch royal house and a great many ordinary men their name, and reached America early.
Meaning
dark-skinned, Moorish
The Latin Mauritius derives from Maurus, the word for a North African. It is a name that describes where a man came from, and its most famous bearer came from exactly there.
How the name formed
- Maurus
- Mauritius
- Maurice
Related forms: Maurice · Maurizio · Mauricio · Moritz · Maurits
Pronouncing Maurice
muh-REESS
Two syllables with the weight at the back in America and France. British English front-weights it, MORR-iss, and the two are noticeably different.
Nicknames for Maurice
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19211,743 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #94reached in 1914
- Change vs 2022
- −1.8%220 in 2025, from 224
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Maurice in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maurice in French — same name
- Maurizio in Italian — same name
- Mauricio in Spanish — same name
- Moritz in German — same name
- Maurits in Dutch — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, California, Texas.
Maurices among us
people named Maurice are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 7,764 born in 2025 was named Maurice
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Maurice sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Maurice is headed
Maurice should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Maurice beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maurice in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It has a form in every western European language.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- The saint behind it has an unusually well documented and unusually interesting artistic history.
- Mo works as a short form and asks nothing of anyone.
- American and British English stress it differently, which matters for travelers.
- Morris is the anglicized spelling of the same name and will be written for you.
- It is strongly associated with the first half of the twentieth century in America.
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What they receive
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Maurice
Masculine · #1018 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Maurices are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 80,000 people named Maurice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Maurice in 2025?
- Maurice ranks #1018 among US boy names in 2025, with 220 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maurice?
- About 1 in every 7,764 US boys born in 2025 was named Maurice — 220 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maurice with classmates?
- Maurice will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maurice
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jadiel#1018 · Chozyn#1018 · Zayan#1015 · Bastian#1021 · Stefan#1021 · Kace#1015 · Joziah#1015 · Kamazi#1021
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maurice? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maurice and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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