Mauritius was naturally a term with the Romans for a man of Moorish lineage.  The first saint of this name was the Tribune of the Theban legion, all Christians, who perished to a man under the blows of their fellow-soldiers, near the foot of the great St. Bernard.  To this brave man is due the great frequency of Maurits, in Switzerland, passing into Maurizio on the Italian border, and Moritz on the German... (History of Christian Names, Yonge, 1884).