How Many People Are Named Mercy?
An estimated 8,944 people in the United States have the first name Mercy. It is predominantly female (98.0%). The average bearer is 22 years old, and Mercy peaked in popularity in 2019 with 459 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Mercy as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Mercy paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Mercy is overwhelmingly female, 207 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
8,944
About 1 in 38,322 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
98.0% confidence
Average Age
22
years old
Peak Year
2019
459 births
Total Registered
10,520
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Mercy
Mercy is predominantly female (98.0%), though 207 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Mercy as a male name
Ranked #4,383 in 2024
24 male births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (28 births)
Mercy as a female name
Ranked #849 in 2024
318 female births in 2024
Peak: 2019 (439 births)
Mercy: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Mercy span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 3,221 babies were registered. While Mercy is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Mercy by Decade
How has Mercy tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Mercy by State
Birth registrations for Mercy span all 39 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Arizona. The lowest are in South Dakota, Idaho, Hawaii. On average, about 181 Mercys were registered per state.
Mercy + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Mercy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Mercy
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Mercy: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mercy?
We estimate approximately 8,944 people named Mercy are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 38,322 Americans share this first name.
Is Mercy a common name?
Mercy is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,520 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Mercy most popular?
Mercy reached peak popularity in 2019, when 459 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Mercy is approximately 22 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Mercy a female name?
Mercy is predominantly female. 98.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Mercy Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Mercy Smith, Mercy Johnson, Mercy Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me