MORROW
Morrow is a surname with documented origins in the Gaelic language of the British Isles, and in particular within Scotland. It carries a connection to the Gaelic word mor which translates as big or great, and has historically been applied as a descriptive surname to individuals who were tall, strong, or displayed great stature.
The earliest recorded forms of the name include spellings such as Morrow, Morrowe and Marrow. These variations are noted in a variety of medieval documents, reflecting the linguistic fluidity of the period. The earliest known instance appears in the 1379 Poll Tax rolls of York, where a man is recorded as Willelmus de Morerawe. This reference coincides with the reign of King Richard I of England, who reigned from 1377 to 1399.
Additional medieval entries provide further evidence of the surname’s early presence. For example, a Johannes Marowe is listed in the 1379 Yorkshire Poll Tax rolls; a William Marrow is recorded in a 1591 will registered in Chester; and a Umphrey Marrowe married Ellyn Todd at St Michael's church in Cornhill, London, in 1567. These entries collectively demonstrate that the name was in use across a range of counties within England during the late Middle Ages.
Canon Charles Bardsley, a Victorian etymologist, proposed that the surname may have derived from a lost parish named Morrowe, situated near Wisbeach in Lincolnshire. Parish records from the 17th century substantiate the existence of this place. The place name Morrowe is understood to mean “the row of cottages on the moor” from the pre‑8th‑century Anglo‑Saxon term mor‑raw. This locational origin situates the surname within a broader pattern in British Isles genealogy, where at least five thousand surnames are believed to have arisen from now‑lost villages or hamlets.
While the name is thoroughly recorded in Ireland, the evidential record suggests that it is not of Irish origin. The surname appears within Irish records, but there is no definitive link to an original Irish linguistic root. Some proponents note that certain members of the Irish clan Mac Murrough from Wexford may have adopted the surname Morrow; however, this claim remains unsupported by conclusive documentary evidence.
Other historical interpretations posit that the name is English in origin, reflecting its locational ties to the aforementioned lost parish. The variation in spelling across centuries is thus best understood as the natural result of phonetic interpretation by clerks and scribes in different regions, rather than as evidence of separate, unrelated lineages.
In contemporary usage, the surname Morrow continues to be borne by individuals across the United Kingdom and in the wider diaspora. Its historical data remain valuable for genealogists tracing descent, particularly those interested in the interplay between Gaelic descriptive surnames and English locational surnames.
Overall, the evidence converges on a dual heritage for the name: a Gaelic descriptive component rooted in the word mor, and an English locational component associated with a vanished parish in Lincolnshire. These two strands together form the documented foundation of the Morrow surname, providing a clear and scholarly account of its origins and early usages.
Typical given names associated with the Morrow surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Robert
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Alison
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Jennifer
- Julie
- Margaret
- Mary
- Maureen
- Michelle
- Nicola
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Morrow in...
Braille
⠍⠕⠗⠗⠕⠺
Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 5,326 people named Morrow in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,777th most common surname in Britain. Around 82 in a million people in Britain are named Morrow.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Morrow
- Vic Morrow - American actor (1929 to 1982)
- Maurice Morrow - Northern Irish unionist politician
- Richarda Morrow-Tait - Aviatrix (1923 to 1982)
- Katie Morrow - Wheelchair basketball player
- William Morrow - Priest (1869 to 1950)
- Philip Morrow - Northern Irish television producer
- Albert Morrow - Illustrator (1863 to 1927)
- Robert Morrow - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1891 to 1915)
- Hugh Morrow - Football player and manager
- Fraer Morrow -
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.