Moss and Mossie are common nicknames for Maurice. My uncle only ever goes by Mossie,  but is officially Maurice. I can  remember when my aunt married him, my sister and I howled with laughter at the idea of someone names Mossie, as we envisioned someone covered in moist furry green stuff. Of course, we were only 5 or 6. Edel Codd, Tralee In Kerry/Dingle Peninsula: ASHE-Camp & Ballyknockane, & related; BROSNAN-Dingle Town, & related; CAVANAUGH–Holyoke, MA area (related to BROSNAN) In Wexford: CODD, Woodlands & Carne, & related; FARDY, Coolboy, Gusserane, & related; PRESCOTT – Albany, NY --- On Wed, 7/15/09, Irishcolleen45@aol.com <Irishcolleen45@aol.com> wrote: From: Irishcolleen45@aol.com <Irishcolleen45@aol.com> Subject: Re: [NY-IRISH] Verifying Birth Dates To: ny-irish@rootsweb.com Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 8:04 AM Hi Clare, Just want to mention that Morris may also be Maurice. My husband's family  has Maurice and the name is pronounced as "moss". That's how his first cousin,  Maurice FitzGerald, pronounces his given name. His father and great  grandfather pronounced it the same way. Nora