Explore the Family Name Morelos

The meaning of Morelos

Hispanic: 1. (mainly Mexico, Colombia, and the Philippines): probably an altered form of Galician Mourelos, itself a habitational name from any of several places called Mourelos in Galicia, Spain (named with a derivative of pre-Latin mor ‘stone’), or the plural form of Mourelo, which is probably a nickname from a diminutive of mouro ‘Moor’. 2. (Mexico): habitational name from Morelos, the name of a state in Mexico, named in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón (1765–1815), one of the leaders of the Mexican War of Independence movement. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Alfredo, Luis, Rafael, Ramon, Ricardo, Adelina, Alejandro, Amalia, Anel, Angel, Carlos.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Morelos in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Morelos" has seen an increase between 2000 and 2010. In the year 2000, the Morelos surname ranked at 16,092, but in 2010 it improved its rank to 12,136, marking a change of approximately 24.58%. The count of individuals with the Morelos surname also rose from 1,654 in 2000 to 2,567 in 2010, indicating a growth rate of 55.2%. Consequently, the proportion of the Morelos surname per 100k people increased by 42.62% from 0.61 to 0.87.

20002010Change
Rank#16,092#12,13624.58%
Count1,6542,56755.2%
Proportion per 100k0.610.8742.62%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Morelos

As for the ethnicity of those bearing the Morelos surname, data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shifts between 2000 and 2010. Hispanic identity remained dominant with an increase from 89.48% to 91.59%. There was a decrease in the percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, dipping from 5.14% to 4.05%. The percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races slightly decreased from 0.60% to 0.47%. Similarly, individuals who identified as white fell from 4.35% to 3.39%. There were no reported changes in the percentages for Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities, with both remaining at zero.

20002010Change
Hispanic89.48%91.59%2.36%
Asian/Pacific Islander5.14%4.05%-21.21%
White4.35%3.39%-22.07%
Two or More Races0.6%0.47%-21.67%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%