Merredith
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "sea blossom" or "keeper of the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 45 living Americans carry the first name Merredith. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Merredith today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merredith births was 1975 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merredith. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Merredith. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
45
~ 1 in 7,616,763 Americans
Peak year
1975
9 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1982 SSA rank
#11,633
Tracked since 1957
Census
Merredith in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 112 people with the first name Merredith, which placed it at #51,666 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
#51,666
National first-name rank
People counted
112
112 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merredith
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merredith is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Merredith 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 Merredith at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 95
- Black or African American7.1% · 8
- Two or more races5.4% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Popularity
Merredith: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Merredith from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 21 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Merredith 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 Merredith during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Merredith
The name Merredith is believed to have originated from the Old English words "mære" meaning "famous" and "ræd" meaning "counsel" or "advice." This suggests that the name may have been associated with someone who was renowned for their wisdom or guidance in ancient times.
The earliest known use of the name Merredith dates back to the 11th century in Anglo-Saxon England. It was primarily used as a masculine name during this period, though it later transitioned to become more commonly used as a feminine name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Merredith was Merredith ap Bleddyn, a Welsh prince who lived in the late 11th century. He was known for his military prowess and participated in several conflicts against the Norman invaders of Wales.
Another notable figure with the name Merredith was Sir Merredith Hanmer, an English politician and soldier who lived during the 16th century (c. 1543-1604). He served as a member of Parliament and played a role in the military campaigns against the Spanish Armada in 1588.
In the 17th century, there was a Merredith Lloyd (c. 1620-1690), a Welsh clergyman and academic who served as the principal of Jesus College, Oxford, and was known for his scholarly contributions in theology and philosophy.
Moving into the 18th century, Merredith Wyndham Wyndham-Quin (1720-1794) was an Irish politician and landowner who served as the Earl of Dunraven and held various political offices in Ireland.
In more recent times, Merredith Kaye (1908-2004) was an American actor and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films throughout the 20th century, gaining recognition for her performances in musicals and comedies.
While the name Merredith has had a long history, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other names, particularly in recent decades. However, its unique origins and connection to wisdom and counsel have given it a distinctive character throughout its usage over the centuries.
People
Merredith + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merredith 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
Merredith: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merredith?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 45 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merredith 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 7,616,763 US residents.
Is Merredith a common name?
We classify Merredith as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merredith most popular?
The single biggest year for Merredith was 1975, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merredith is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Merredith in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 112 people with the name Merredith, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,666 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 Merredith 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 Merredith?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Merredith leans strongly female. 105 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 5 male bearers (4.5%). 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 Merredith?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merredith is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Merredith most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Merredith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (95 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 Merredith in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Merredith a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Merredith 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 Merredith still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Merredith 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 Merredith 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 are called Merredith?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.