How Many People Are Named Merton?
An estimated 831 people in the United States have the first name Merton. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 76 years old, and Merton peaked in popularity in 1920 with 150 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Merton 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 Merton paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 76, Merton is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1960.
Estimated Living Americans
831
About 1 in 412,460 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
76
years old
Peak Year
1920
150 births
Total Registered
4,247
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Merton
Merton is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 4,247 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Merton as a male name
Ranked #9,813 in 1995
5 male births in 1995
Peak: 1920 (150 births)
Merton: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Merton span from the 1880s to the 1990s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 1,311 babies were registered. Merton has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Merton by Decade
How has Merton 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.
Merton by State
Birth registrations for Merton span all 19 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Maine, Minnesota. The lowest are in Montana, Connecticut, Ohio. On average, about 98 Mertons were registered per state.
Merton + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Merton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Merton
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Merton: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merton?
We estimate approximately 831 people named Merton 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 412,460 Americans share this first name.
Is Merton a common name?
Merton is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 88.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,247 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Merton most popular?
Merton reached peak popularity in 1920, when 150 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Merton is approximately 76 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Merton a male name?
Merton is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Merton Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Merton Smith, Merton Johnson, Merton 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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