Merritt
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- MAIR-it
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #703 for girls
Merritt is a name of English origin, meaning “boundary gate”. In 2025 it ranked 703rd for girls in the US (401 babies).
What does Merritt mean?
English: English surname from a place name
“boundary gate”
From an English surname taken from Merriott in Somerset; it also brings to mind the word merit.
Is Merritt a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Merritt has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 401 girls and 117 boys in the US.
How popular is Merritt in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 703rd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 401 about 1 in 4,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 65% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 401 girls in the US were named Merritt, making it the 703rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,524th. It first appears in the records in 1919. 117 boys were also named Merritt in 2025 (1,499th for boys).
2025 had the most girls named Merritt of any year since it first appeared, in 1919.
Half of all the girls named Merritt in the US since 1880 were born between 1998 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 426 girls in the US were given Merritt or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #674, up from #703 for this spelling alone.
In 1919, 6% of the babies named Merritt in the US were girls. By 2025 it was 77%, with more girls than boys since 2014.
Merritt in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 401 | #703 |
| 2024 | 159 | #1,406 |
| 2023 | 136 | #1,557 |
| 2022 | 139 | #1,540 |
| 2021 | 127 | #1,641 |
| 2020 | 139 | #1,524 |
| 2019 | 133 | #1,598 |
| 2018 | 151 | #1,451 |
| 2017 | 175 | #1,331 |
| 2016 | 155 | #1,480 |
| 2015 | 81 | #2,294 |
| 2014 | 87 | #2,176 |
| 2013 | 50 | #3,217 |
| 2012 | 43 | #3,643 |
| 2011 | 38 | #3,915 |
| 2010 | 31 | #4,607 |
| 2009 | 31 | #4,676 |
| 2008 | 44 | #3,644 |
| 2007 | 35 | #4,298 |
| 2006 | 22 | #5,904 |
| 2005 | 39 | #3,726 |
| 2004 | 34 | #4,089 |
| 2003 | 44 | #3,287 |
| 2002 | 25 | #4,763 |
| 2001 | 36 | #3,627 |
| 2000 | 29 | #4,180 |
| 1999 | 32 | #3,714 |
| 1998 | 20 | #5,119 |
| 1997 | 34 | #3,362 |
| 1996 | 30 | #3,627 |
| 1995 | 35 | #3,215 |
| 1994 | 24 | #4,233 |
| 1993 | 11 | #7,491 |
| 1992 | 19 | #5,044 |
| 1991 | 21 | #4,644 |
| 1990 | 22 | #4,375 |
| 1989 | 21 | #4,352 |
| 1988 | 21 | #4,167 |
| 1987 | 23 | #3,740 |
| 1986 | 22 | #3,755 |
| 1985 | 23 | #3,620 |
| 1984 | 21 | #3,725 |
| 1983 | 12 | #5,456 |
| 1982 | 11 | #5,909 |
| 1981 | 14 | #4,962 |
| 1980 | 16 | #4,516 |
| 1979 | 25 | #3,236 |
| 1978 | 29 | #2,801 |
| 1977 | 18 | #3,910 |
| 1976 | 17 | #3,811 |
| 1975 | 21 | #3,259 |
| 1974 | 19 | #3,426 |
| 1973 | 16 | #3,786 |
| 1972 | 21 | #3,062 |
| 1971 | 15 | #3,941 |
| 1970 | 31 | #2,395 |
| 1969 | 33 | #2,208 |
| 1968 | 32 | #2,126 |
| 1967 | 27 | #2,327 |
| 1966 | 37 | #1,882 |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 16 | #3,243 |
| 1963 | 12 | #3,800 |
| 1962 | 13 | #3,591 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,059 |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 5 | #6,102 |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 6 | #4,832 |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 5 | #4,812 |
Names like Merritt
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Holland, Marley, Marlowe, Ember, Scarlett, Hadley, Winter, Carter, Haven, Miller, Harper, Blake
Other spellings of Merritt
Names related to Merritt
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, 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, “Merritt: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/merritt, updated 20 October 2026.