English
The surname Noriss is of English and Scottish origin. It is a regional name for someone who had migrated from the North ( i.e. further north in England, or from Scotland or Scandinavia ); derived from the Old French 'nor(r)eis' northerner. The name thus comes to signify 'the man from the north'; it could also sometimes mean the Norwegian, but generally the 'north countree'. It could also be a topographical name for someone who lived in a house on the north side of a settlement or estate, from Old English 'nord', north and 'hus', house; dweller at the north house. The four cardinal directions, North, South, East, and West, served to surname men who had come to a new residence from an indefinite place in the direction named. It could also be a occupational name for a wet nurse or foster mother, from the Old French 'nurice', 'norrice' ( Latin 'nutrix', a nurse ). It is a common name in the midlands and the south of England. It is also used as a personal name. In Ireland it may also be a regional name for someone from Ulster, the northern area of Ireland, in part as an anglicization of the Gaelic name Mac an Ultaigh. The name dates back to the eleventh century were a William le Norreis is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America predominately by English immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a Hugh Norris, who emigrated to America aboard the Fortune; he settled in Maryland. This name is the two-hundredth and seventy-third most common name in America.