Morel (surname)

Morel is a French surname meaning “dark”. It is also a Jewish surname most likely deriving from “Samuel”.

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:
 * 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