Mercury
A masculine name derived from the Roman mythological god Mercury, messenger of the gods.
Name Census estimates that about 285 living Americans carry the first name Mercury. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 67.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Mercury today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mercury births was 2023 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mercury. 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
285
~ 1 in 1,202,647 Americans
Peak year
2023
32 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,148
Tracked since 1972
Census
Mercury in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 313 people with the first name Mercury, which placed it at #28,614 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,614
National first-name rank
People counted
313
313 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mercury
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mercury is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Hispanic (14.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mercury described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mercury at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.3% · 148
- Black or African American20.1% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino14.1% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 29
- Two or more races7.3% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Mercury
Mercury is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 290 total registrations, 196 (67.6%) were male and 94 (32.4%) were female.
Mercury as a male name
- Ranked #8,092 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (16 births)
Mercury as a female name
- Ranked #7,148 in 2023
- 16 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mercury on both sides of the split. Of the 317 people counted with this name, 213 were male (67.2%) and 104 were female (32.8%).
Popularity
Mercury: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mercury from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 116 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mercury 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 Mercury during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mercurys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mercury
The given name Mercury has its origins in the name of the Roman god Mercury, who was the messenger of the gods. This name is derived from the Latin word 'merx', meaning merchandise or commodity, reflecting Mercury's role as the patron of merchants, travelers, and transporters.
The name Mercury can be traced back to ancient Roman mythology, where Mercury was one of the most prominent deities. He was often depicted with winged sandals and a winged cap, symbolizing his swiftness and ability to travel quickly between the realms of the gods and mortals.
In ancient Roman texts and inscriptions, the name Mercury appears frequently as a reference to the god himself, as well as in the names of individuals who were devoted to his worship or sought his favor. One of the earliest recorded examples of a person named Mercury is found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a man named Gaius Mercurius in the 2nd century BC.
Throughout history, the name Mercury has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Mercury Gemon, a Roman philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century AD and made significant contributions to the study of geometry and algebra.
Another prominent figure was Mercury de Grellet, a French Protestant missionary who lived from 1778 to 1855. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America, spreading the teachings of his faith and advocating for various social reforms.
In the realm of literature, Mercury Brock was an English poet and playwright who lived from 1563 to 1624. He is best known for his poems that celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience.
During the Renaissance period, Mercury Sforza was an Italian nobleman and military leader who lived from 1492 to 1568. He played a significant role in the Italian Wars and was renowned for his strategic skills and bravery on the battlefield.
In more recent times, Mercury Austin was an American physicist who lived from 1900 to 1985. He made important contributions to the field of nuclear physics and was involved in the Manhattan Project, the research and development program that produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II.
While the name Mercury has its roots in ancient Roman mythology and has been borne by many notable individuals throughout history, it is important to note that its popularity and usage have varied across different cultures and time periods. The name remains a unique and intriguing choice, evoking a connection to the swift and resourceful messenger of the gods.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Mercury
People
Mercury + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mercury 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
Mercury: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mercury?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 285 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mercury 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 1,202,647 US residents.
Is Mercury a common name?
We classify Mercury as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 290 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mercury most popular?
The single biggest year for Mercury was 2023, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mercury is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mercury in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 313 people with the name Mercury, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,614 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mercury in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mercury?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mercury on both sides of the split. Of the 317 people counted with this name, 213 were male (67.2%) and 104 were female (32.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mercury?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mercury is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Hispanic (14.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mercury most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mercury in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (148 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mercury in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mercury a male name?
Yes, 67.6% of people registered as Mercury 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.
Is Mercury still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mercury in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mercury can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Mercury?
Want to know how many people have the name Mercury? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.