English (mainly southern): from the Old French habitational name
and personal name Paris (see Paris 1). Parrish is
the most common form of the name in English, and is the result of
confusion between -s and -sh (compare Norris),
reinforced by folk etymological association with the modern English
word parish. In the 17th and 18th centuries the surname was
occasionally bestowed on foundlings brought up at the expense of the
parish.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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