Merced
Of Spanish origin, meaning "mercy" or "pardon".
Name Census estimates that about 542 living Americans carry the first name Merced. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Merced today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merced births was 1924 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merced. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
542
~ 1 in 632,388 Americans
Peak year
1924
23 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2021 SSA rank
#10,411
Tracked since 1905
Gender
Gender distribution for Merced
Merced leans heavily male at 80.8% of total registrations, but 181 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Merced as a male name
- Ranked #10,411 in 2021
- 7 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1942 (19 births)
Merced as a female name
- Ranked #18,923 in 2010
- 5 female births in 2010
- Peak: 1924 (12 births)
Popularity
Merced: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Merced from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 161 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Merced by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Merced during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Merceds live
Origin
Meaning and history of Merced
The name Merced has its origins in the Spanish language and is derived from the word "merced," which means "mercy" or "grace." The name is closely associated with the Virgin Mary, who is often referred to as "Nuestra Señora de la Merced" (Our Lady of Mercy) in Spanish-speaking Catholic traditions.
In the 13th century, the Mercedarian Order, a Catholic religious order dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was founded in Barcelona, Spain. The order's primary mission was to ransom Christian captives from Muslim rulers during the Reconquista period in Spain. The name Merced became associated with this order and its devotion to the Virgin Mary's mercy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Merced can be found in the 16th century, when a Spanish missionary named Fray Juan de Merced accompanied Hernán Cortés during the conquest of Mexico. Fray Juan de Merced played a significant role in the evangelization efforts of the Spanish in the New World.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Merced. One example is Merced de Benavides (1527-1583), a Spanish noblewoman who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabella of Portugal. Another is Merced Denton (1887-1964), an American actress and vaudeville performer in the early 20th century.
In the religious realm, Merced Sola (1776-1857) was a Spanish Franciscan nun who founded the Institute of the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and the Poor. She was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1998. Additionally, Merced de la Purísima Concepción (1866-1937), also known as Madre Merced, was a Mexican Catholic nun and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Another notable figure with the name Merced was Merced Prospera (1904-1992), a Mexican painter and printmaker who was part of the Mexican Muralist Movement. Her works often depicted scenes of everyday life and Mexican culture.
While the name Merced has Spanish roots, it has also been adopted in other cultures and languages, particularly in Latin American countries with strong Spanish influences. The name continues to be popular in various parts of the world, carrying with it the symbolism of mercy and grace associated with the Virgin Mary.
People
Merced + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merced as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Merced: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merced?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 542 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merced going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 632,388 US residents.
Is Merced a common name?
We classify Merced as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 945 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merced most popular?
The single biggest year for Merced was 1924, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merced is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Merced a male name?
Yes, 80.8% of people registered as Merced in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.