Mercede
Of Spanish origin, meaning "grace" or "mercy".
Name Census estimates that about 519 living Americans carry the first name Mercede. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mercede today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mercede births was 1992 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mercede. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
519
~ 1 in 660,413 Americans
Peak year
1992
44 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2014 SSA rank
#18,343
Tracked since 1979
Census
Mercede in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 602 people with the first name Mercede, which placed it at #18,028 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,028
National first-name rank
People counted
602
602 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mercede
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mercede is White at 49.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.7%) and Black (15.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mercede described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mercede at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.0% · 295
- Hispanic or Latino27.7% · 167
- Black or African American15.4% · 93
- Two or more races4.2% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 6
Popularity
Mercede: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mercede from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 293 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mercede by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mercede during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mercedes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Ohio, California, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Mercede, while Minnesota, California, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mercede
The name Mercede is derived from the Spanish and Italian word "merced," which means "mercy" or "grace." It is believed to have its roots in the Latin word "merces," which means "reward" or "payment." The name has been in use since the Middle Ages and is closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church.
In the 13th century, there was a Spanish religious order called the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, also known as the Mercedarians. This order was founded to ransom Christian captives from the Moors during the Reconquista. The name Mercede became popular among Spanish and Italian Catholics, as it was associated with the Virgin Mary's mercy and the work of the Mercedarians.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mercede can be found in the 14th century Spanish literary work "El Conde Lucanor" by Don Juan Manuel. In this work, there is a character named Mercede, which suggests that the name was in use during that time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Mercede. One of the earliest was Mercede de Castro (1590-1674), a Spanish nun and mystic who was known for her visions and religious writings.
Another notable Mercede was Mercede Marini (1736-1799), an Italian painter and engraver who was a member of the prestigious Accademia di San Luca in Rome.
In the 19th century, there was Mercede Casati (1805-1879), an Italian composer and musician who was a pioneer in promoting women's education in music.
Mercede Camerlingo (1899-1988) was an Italian actress and singer who appeared in several films and stage productions during the early 20th century.
More recently, there was Mercede Molina (1942-2009), a Mexican-American artist and activist who was known for her vibrant paintings and advocacy for Chicano rights.
While the name Mercede has its origins in the Catholic tradition, it has been embraced by people of various backgrounds and cultures over the centuries. Its association with mercy and grace has made it a popular choice for parents seeking a meaningful and beautiful name for their child.
People
Mercede + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mercede as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mercede: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mercede?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 519 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mercede going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 660,413 US residents.
Is Mercede a common name?
We classify Mercede as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 535 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mercede most popular?
The single biggest year for Mercede was 1992, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mercede is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mercede in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 602 people with the name Mercede, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,028 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mercede in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mercede?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mercede leans strongly female. 590 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 13 male bearers (2.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mercede?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mercede is White at 49.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.7%) and Black (15.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mercede most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mercede in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.0% (295 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mercede in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mercede a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mercede in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mercede still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mercede in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mercede can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Mercede?
Want to know how many Americans are named Mercede? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.