Parris
A surname most often from the place name Paris, with some English families also influenced by Parish or Parry.
The #2,839 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,292 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a form of Paris, the French capital, used as a nickname or locational byname for someone linked with the city. Some older English reference works also note overlap with Parish, and a few treat it as a variant shaped by local pronunciation and spelling. In Wales and parts of England, it can also be confused with or influenced by Parry and related forms, so not every family with the name shares the same origin.
History
The name appears in early English records in several spellings, and 19th-century surname writers repeatedly note that Parris, Paris, Parrish, and Parish often run together. It is especially associated with southern England in older sources, though the name spread more widely later. Because of that overlap, individual family lines may have different derivations even when the modern spelling is identical.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several old surname dictionaries explicitly warn that Parris and Parish were often mixed up in parish registers, which makes family tracing trickier than the spelling suggests.
From the historical record
“Cp. Perrin. PARRIS 1 I for Paris, q.v. PARRISS j 2 Parry's (Son) : v. Parry^ PARRISH for Parish, q.v. v. under Park ante. PARROCKI PARRICK J”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)