Morrow
An English place-name surname, but in some Irish and Scottish families it may be a shortened form of MacMurrough or related Gaelic names.
The #594 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,432 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name has more than one possible source. In English records, it was used for someone living by the "moor-row"—rows of cottages or dwellings on a moor, from Old English words meaning "moor" and "row." In Celtic usage, older surname writers also connected Morrow with Gaelic MacMurrough and related forms, meaning "son of Murchadh"; in some families that may be the real origin.
History
Historical surname books treat Morrow as both an English local name and a Celtic shortened form, and the balance can differ by family line. The English form is attested in medieval Yorkshire records, while the Gaelic connection is especially noted in Irish and Scottish contexts. Because of that mixed history, modern bearers of the name may descend from either source.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 14th-century Yorkshire record cited by surname scholars spells the name as de Morerawe, showing how fluid medieval spellings could be.
From the historical record
“MORROW (Celt.) = Murray, q.v. (Eng.) Dweller at the Moor-Row (of , Dwellings) [O.E. mdr -f- rAw] Willelmus de Morerawe. — Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379. 1^255^ I V. Moorse, Moores. MORSSJ”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)