How Many People Are Named Merritt?
An estimated 5,793 people in the United States have the first name Merritt. It is used for both genders, with 68.1% male. The average bearer is 31 years old, and Merritt peaked in popularity in 2017 with 280 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Merritt 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 Merritt paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
5,793
About 1 in 59,167 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
68.1% confidence
Average Age
31
years old
Peak Year
2017
280 births
Total Registered
8,863
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Merritt
Merritt is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (68.1%) and females (31.9%). Out of 8,863 total births registered, 6,034 were male and 2,829 were female.
Merritt as a male name
Ranked #1,899 in 2024
84 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (121 births)
Merritt as a female name
Ranked #1,409 in 2024
158 female births in 2024
Peak: 2017 (175 births)
Merritt: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Merritt span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 1,636 babies were registered. While Merritt is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Merritt by Decade
How has Merritt 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.
Merritt by State
Birth registrations for Merritt span all 33 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, North Carolina. The lowest are in Vermont, South Dakota, Minnesota. On average, about 83 Merritts were registered per state.
Merritt + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Merritt as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Merritt
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Merritt: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merritt?
We estimate approximately 5,793 people named Merritt 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 59,167 Americans share this first name.
Is Merritt a common name?
Merritt is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 8,863 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Merritt most popular?
Merritt reached peak popularity in 2017, when 280 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Merritt is approximately 31 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Merritt a male name?
Merritt is predominantly male. 68.1% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Merritt Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Merritt Smith, Merritt Johnson, Merritt 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.
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