Meridith
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "great, beautiful woman".
Name Census estimates that about 2,372 living Americans carry the first name Meridith. It is a predominantly female name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Meridith today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meridith births was 1971 (104 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meridith. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Meridith with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 144,500 Americans
Peak year
1971
104 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1951 SSA rank
#4,070
Tracked since 1917
Census
Meridith in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,650 people with the first name Meridith, which placed it at #6,134 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
#6,134
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,650 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meridith
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meridith is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Meridith 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 Meridith at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.4% · 2,343
- Black or African American3.9% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 88
- Two or more races3.0% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 18
Gender
Gender distribution for Meridith
Meridith leans heavily female at 98.8% of total registrations, but 32 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Meridith as a male name
- Ranked #4,070 in 1951
- 5 male births in 1951
- Peak: 1922 (6 births)
Meridith as a female name
- Ranked #14,668 in 2021
- 6 female births in 2021
- Peak: 1971 (104 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meridith leans strongly female. 2,600 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 49 male bearers (1.8%).
Popularity
Meridith: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meridith from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 888 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meridith 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 Meridith during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meridiths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Meridith, while South Carolina, Oklahoma, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meridith
The name Meridith is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "mere" meaning "a body of water" and "deor" meaning "beloved" or "dear one." It likely emerged in its current spelling during the Middle English period, around the 12th to 15th centuries. The name was initially popular in areas of England, particularly in the southern and central regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meridith can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landowners in England, commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appeared as "Merediht," referring to a landowner in the county of Wiltshire.
Meridith has been associated with several notable historical figures throughout the centuries. In the 13th century, Meridith ap Rhys was a prominent Welsh nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the conflicts between the Welsh and the English during the reign of King Edward I.
During the Renaissance period, Meridith Hanmer (1543-1604) was an English clergyman and writer who authored several works on theology and history, including "The Great Bragge and Challenge of M. Champion a Jesuite" and "The Jesuites Banner."
In the 17th century, Meridith Lloyd (1627-1675) was a Welsh antiquarian and author who wrote extensively on Welsh history and genealogy, including the book "Memoirs: The Antiquities of the Parish of Llanbadarn-Vawr in the County of Cardigan."
In the 19th century, Meridith Townsend White (1831-1911) was an American journalist and author who co-founded the popular magazine "The Galaxy." He also wrote several novels, including "The Queen of Washington" and "The Millionaire of Rough-and-Ready."
Another notable figure with the name Meridith was Meridith Frampton (1919-2002), an English actress and singer who appeared in numerous West End productions and on television shows in the mid-20th century.
The name Meridith has endured through the centuries, with its roots firmly planted in English history and culture. Its connection to bodies of water and the idea of being "beloved" or "dear" has added a layer of poetic charm to this ancient name.
People
Meridith + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meridith 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
Meridith: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meridith?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,372 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meridith 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 144,500 US residents.
Is Meridith a common name?
We classify Meridith as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,684 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meridith most popular?
The single biggest year for Meridith was 1971, when 104 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meridith is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meridith in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,650 people with the name Meridith, or 0.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,134 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 Meridith 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 Meridith?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meridith leans strongly female. 2,600 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 49 male bearers (1.8%). 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 Meridith?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meridith is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Meridith most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meridith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (2,343 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 Meridith in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meridith a female name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Meridith 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 Meridith still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meridith 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 Meridith 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 people share the name Meridith?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.