How Many People Are Named Mercy Smith?

There are approximately 71 people named Mercy Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 4,827,526 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Mercy with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Smith. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

71

1 in 4,827,526 Americans

Combination Rarity

Rare

Very Rare Very Common

Mercy: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Mercy. The peak year was 2019 with 459 births. The average person named Mercy today is 22 years old.

Male
Female
0 92 184 275 367 459 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Ancestry of the First Name Mercy

In the 2020 Census, the first name Mercy was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black (31.68%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (28.15%) and White (19.94%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Mercy in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Mercy rose or fell over time.

White
19.94%
Black
31.68%
Hispanic
28.15%
Asian/Pacific Islander
16.64%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.55%
Two or More Races
3.02%

Ancestry of the Smith Surname

The surname Smith was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Smith in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White
67.99%
Black
22.62%
Hispanic
3.50%
Asian/Pacific Islander
0.68%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.83%
Two or More Races
4.37%

How we calculated this

The first name "Mercy" has an estimated frequency of < 0.0001% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Smith" appears at a rate of 792.79 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Mercy are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 71 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Mercy Smith: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Mercy Smith?

We estimate approximately 71 people named Mercy Smith are alive in the United States today. The first name Mercy is shared by 8,944 Americans, and the surname Smith is shared by 2,717,332.

How rare is the name Mercy Smith?

This name combination is classified as Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 4,827,526 Americans. The first name Mercy is rare and the surname Smith is very common.

Is Mercy a male or female name?

Mercy is predominantly female, with 2.0% of bearers being male and 98.0% female. It peaked in popularity in 2019 and the average bearer today is 22 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Mercy?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Mercy was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black (31.68%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (28.15%) and White (19.94%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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