Merit
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Say it
- MER-it
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #3,130 for girls
Merit is a name of English origin, meaning “merit, worth”. In 2025 it ranked 3,130th for girls in the US (51 babies).
What does Merit mean?
English: English virtue word; also an ancient Egyptian name
“merit, worth”
Merit was also an ancient Egyptian name meaning 'beloved', as in Meritaten, daughter of Akhenaten.
Is Merit a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Merit has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 51 girls and 22 boys in the US.
How popular is Merit in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,130th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 51 about 1 in 32,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fast up 163% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 51 girls in the US were named Merit, making it the 3,130th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,948th. It first appears in the records in 1965. 22 boys were also named Merit in 2025 (4,538th for boys).
2025 had the most girls named Merit of any year since it first appeared, in 1965.
Half of all the girls named Merit in the US since 1880 were born between 2010 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Merit in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 51 | #3,130 |
| 2024 | 15 | #7,247 |
| 2023 | 26 | #4,996 |
| 2022 | 14 | #7,626 |
| 2021 | 14 | #7,625 |
| 2020 | 11 | #8,948 |
| 2019 | 16 | #7,021 |
| 2018 | 8 | #11,422 |
| 2017 | 13 | #8,295 |
| 2016 | 11 | #9,408 |
| 2015 | 12 | #8,926 |
| 2014 | 9 | #10,949 |
| 2013 | 11 | #9,607 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,193 |
| 2011 | 7 | #13,339 |
| 2010 | 14 | #8,267 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 6 | #15,399 |
| 2007 | 7 | #13,918 |
| 2006 | 9 | #11,412 |
| 2005 | 9 | #10,915 |
| 2004 | 6 | #14,172 |
| 2003 | 5 | #15,777 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 5 | #13,139 |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 6 | #9,540 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,390 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 7 | #6,361 |
| 1969 | 5 | #7,469 |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 6 | #5,816 |
Names like Merit
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Navy, River, Miller, Marlowe, Merritt, Arya, Marigold, Harlow, Journee, Saanvi, Collins, Oakley
Names related to Merit
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Merit: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/merit, updated 20 October 2026.