# 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
* Louis Saint Ange Morel, chevalier de la Colombe (1755–1825), French soldier
* Manuel Armoa Morel (born 2002), Argentine volleyball player
* Margaret Morel (1958–2019), Seychellois middle-distance runner
* 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
* Sylvie Morel (born 1956), Canadian wheelchair fencer
* 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