2000
#9,703
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,072
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.14
Rare Last name
Morrissette
A French occupational surname referring to a barrel maker or cooper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,674 Americans carry the last name Morrissette. That puts it at #9,675 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,292 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morrissette surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 93,292
Census rank
#9,675
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,204 bearers of the surname Morrissette in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9675th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morrissette, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Morrissette
The surname Morrissette originated in France in the early medieval period, derived from the ancient French personal name Maurice. This Old French name stems from the Latin name Mauritius, meaning "dark-skinned" or from the region of Mauritania. The initial form of the surname was Morisse, followed by variants like Morice, Moris, and Morris.
In the late 11th century, records show the surname Morris appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086, compiled for William the Conqueror. This suggests the name had spread to England by the Norman conquest. Early spellings in England included Morice, Moryz, and Morisse.
One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Gilbert Morris, born around 1150 in Nottinghamshire, England. His descendants adopted the spelling Morriss and Morrissette in North America.
The surname Morrissette became more prevalent in Quebec, Canada, where many French settlers emigrated. Notable early bearers include Jean-Baptiste Morrissette, born in 1675 in Boucherville, Quebec, and his son, Jean Morrissette, born in 1701 in Laprairie, Quebec.
Other notable individuals with this surname include:
1. Alanis Morrissette, a Canadian singer-songwriter born in 1974, known for albums like "Jagged Little Pill" and "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie."
2. James Morrissette, an American artist and sculptor born in 1957, known for his large-scale public sculptures and installations.
3. Naomi Morrissette, a Canadian actress born in 1975, known for her roles in films like "Ginger Snaps" and "The Green Years."
4. Paul Morrissette, a French-Canadian politician born in 1942, who served as a member of the National Assembly of Quebec.
5. Robert Morrissette, an American literary critic and professor born in 1923, known for his work on French literature, particularly on the Surrealist movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morrissette
Among Census respondents with the surname Morrissette, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Morrissette bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Morrissette surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.3% · 2,189
- Black or African American22.4% · 718
- Two or more races4.4% · 141
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 113
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morrissette
Morrissette appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,015
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,219
+147 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 312 places
2020
#9,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,204
-15 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 340 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,703 | 3,072 | 1.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,015 | 3,219 | 1.09 | +147 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 312 places |
| 2020 | #9,675 | 3,204 | 1.07 | -15 bearers (-0.5%) | Up 340 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Morrissette surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,015 | #9,675 | 3.4% |
| Count | 3,219 | 3,204 | -0.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.07 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morrissette bearers went from 3,219 to 3,204 (-0.5% change). The surname moved up 340 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,015 to #9,675.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Morrissette
FAQ
Morrissette surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morrissette?
Name Census estimates that about 3,674 living Americans carry the surname Morrissette. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,292 residents.
How common is Morrissette?
Morrissette ranks #9,675 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,204 people with the surname Morrissette. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,674), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Morrissette.
Has Morrissette become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morrissette went from 3,219 recorded bearers to 3,204. That is a decrease of 15 (-0.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,015 to #9,675.
What does the Census say about the background of Morrissette?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morrissette, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Morrissette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (2,189 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morrissette appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.3%), Black (22.4%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Morrissette (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Morrissette mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a barrel maker or cooper. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Morrissette (1.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Morrissette?
You can see how many people are called Morrissette on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.