Morrison History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Morrison

What does the name Morrison mean?

The roots of the Morrison family name are in ancient Scotland with the Viking settlers. Morrison was derived from the name Maurice. This comes from the Latin personal name Mauritius, which means dark. Numerous legends exist for the origins of this great Scottish Clan. One old tale holds that the Clan’s Norse forbears were shipwrecked off the Isle of Lewis, and saved themselves by clinging to driftwood; hence the Clan Plant badge is driftwood. Another branch claims descent from the O’Muircheasain bards of the outer Hebrides. This latter legend is not inconsistent with a possible shipwreck of the Norsemen, as many of the bardic missionaries from Ireland were of Norse descent. Others claim the Clan is descended from King Somerled, King of the Isles, who died in 1164. Again, this is compatible with history, as Somerled was descended from the Norse Kings of Ireland and gave origin to many of the more notable Scottish Clans.

Morrison Coat of Arms Creation

The Morrisons are an Island of Lewis clan. In Gaelic the name was MacGhille Mhuire. This has been shortened to Gillmore, Gilmour, or by translation to Morrison, or Maryson, and sometimes Myles or Miles. Murison is a variation of the name. By tradition they are descended from a king of Denmark, though there is a story to the effect that the first of the clan was a shipwrecked Scandinavian traveller, who, with his wife and child, was cast ashore on this island on a piece of driftwood, and their badge, a piece of driftwood, is possibly a reminder of their origin. The chief of the clan held the hereditary office of brieve or judge down to 1613, and dwelt at Habost, Ness. The slogan of the clan is ” Dun Eistein,” a rock fortress in the north of the island. 1

Early Origins of the Morrison family

The surname Morrison was first found in on the Isle of Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas), where the first Clan chiefs once held the hereditary office of Judges or Brieves of Lewis. They also had their stronghold in the Tigh Mor’ or ‘big house,’ which was near Habost in Ness on the extreme northern tip of Lewis. Their claim of descent from King Somerled is also substantiated by their descent through Ceadhain Mac Mhuirich. A Chief of a junior branch of the Donalds, he was descended from Somerled, and through Gillemoire, a brother of Leod (progenitor of the MacLeods) – both were royal princes of the Norse Empire of the Isle of Man and the Hebrides.