Morel is a French surname meaning “dark”.^[1] It is also a Jewish surname most likely deriving from “Samuel”.^[2]

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 51.3% of all known bearers of the surname Morel were residents of France (frequency 1:719), 13.1% of Paraguay (1:306), 11.5% of the Dominican Republic (1:505), 7.4% of Argentina (1:3,188), 4.4% of the United States (1:45,440), 2.4% of Canada (1:8,346), 1.3% of Switzerland (1:3,389), 1.1% of Brazil (1:102,307) and 1.1% of Honduras (1:4,484).

In France, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:719) in the following regions:

• 1. Réunion (1:180)
• 2. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (1:389)
• 3. Normandy (1:408)
• 4. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (1:414)
• 5. Brittany (1:479)
• 6. Saint Pierre and Miquelon (1:582)
• 7. Hauts-de-France (1:586)
• 8. French Guiana (1:677)

In Paraguay, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:306) in the following departments:^[3]

• 1. Caazapá Department (1:158)
• 2. Paraguarí Department (1:182)
• 3. San Pedro Department (1:192)
• 4. Canindeyú Department (1:249)
• 5. Amambay Department (1:263)

People

• Alfred Morel-Fatio (1850–1924), French hispanist
• Antoine Léon Morel-Fatio (1810–1871), French painter
• Bénédict Morel (1809–1873), Austrian-French psychiatrist
• Brent Morel (born 1987), American major league baseball player
• Camille de Morel (1547-1611), French poet and writer
• Carlos Morel (1813–1894), Argentine painter
• Carlos Morel (born 1987), Argentine footballer
• Cecilia Morel (born 1954), former First Lady of Chile
• Charlotte Morel (born 1972), professional French triathlete
• Christopher Morel (born 1999), Dominican baseball player
• Claudio Marcelo Morel Rodríguez, Paraguayan footballer
• Clément Morel (born 1984), French tennis player
• Clement or Clemens Morel (fl. 1534–1552), (probably a single) French composer
• Edmund Dene Morel (1873–1924), Franco-British journalist and politician
• Edmund Morel (1840–1871), English-born railway engineer
• Fernando Morel (born 1958), Argentine retired rugby union player
• François Morel (1926–2018), Canadian composer, pianist, conductor and music educator
• François Morel (born 1959), French actor and filmmaker
• François M. M. Morel (born 1944), French-born biogeochemist
• Gaël Morel (born 1972), French film director
• Guillaume Morel (1505–1564), French classical scholar
• Guy Morel (1933–2006), Seychellois businessman
• Jean Baptiste Morel (1662–1732), Flemish painter
• Jean-Baptiste Morel (1854–1927), French politician
• Jérémy Morel (born 1984), French footballer
• Jorge Morel (1931–2021), Argentine classical guitarist and composer
• Juan Morel Campos (1857–1896), Puerto Rican composer
• Lely Morel (1909–2013), Argentine film actress
• Léonard Morel-Ladeuil (1820–1888), French goldsmith and sculptor
• Manuel Armoa Morel (born 2002), Argentine volleyball player
• Marie-Rose Morel (1972–2011), Belgian politician
• Martín Morel (born 1980), Argentine retired footballer
• Olivier Morel de La Durantaye (1640–1716), colonial officer in New France
• Pierre Morel (born 1964), French cinematographer and film director
• Richard Morel (fl. 1995– ), American singer, songwriter, remixer and record producer
• Salomon Morel (1919–2007), Polish-Jewish commander of the Zgoda concentration camp in Świętochłowice
• Sophie Morel (born 1979), French mathematician
• Thierry Morel, French art historian and curator
• Tom Morel (1915-1944), French Resistance Fighter
• Yoryi Morel (1906–1979), painter from the Dominican Republic

Fictional characters

• Claudette Morel, a character in the 2016 online multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight

See also

• Morell (name)

References