Merit

Meaning: Pearl
Origin: Greek — Estonian and Swedish form of Margaret

Girl's name · #3154 in the US (2025) · Trending

Popularity over time

Merit is climbing: on the charts since 1965, it reached #3154 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet, with about 50 girls given the name last year. Roughly 320 have carried it all-time.

Across the states

See where Merit is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 1 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Merit ranks in other countries and regions.

#17,618 in Italy (2024) · #2,228 in Sweden (2024) · #6,219 in France (2023) · #1,648 in Austria (2020) · #9,110 in Ecuador (2005).

Famous Merits

Merit Janow — American academic (born 1958)
Merit Leighton — American actress (born 2002)
Merit Cudkowicz — American neurologist and neuroscientist
Merit Hertzman-Ericson — Swedish psychologist (1911–1998)

In stories & tradition

Merit^ms — Flood goddess of the Nile

What Merits become

Among 24 notable people named Merit:

No single standout — notable Merits spread across many fields.

Spellings & nicknames

Merit is the less common spelling of Merritt — about 11% of babies given the name are written this way; Merritt itself ranked #703 in 2025.

Similar names: Merritt · Azaliah · Merida · Nyx · Kit · Calypso

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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