Merilynn
Feminine variant of "Merlin", derived from the Welsh Myrddin meaning "sea fortress".
Name Census estimates that about 43 living Americans carry the first name Merilynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Merilynn today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merilynn births was 1958 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merilynn. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Merilynn is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Merilynns were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Merilynn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
43
~ 1 in 7,971,031 Americans
Peak year
1958
9 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1959 SSA rank
#6,898
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Merilynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Merilynn from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 38 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
Merilynn 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 Merilynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Merilynn
The name Merilynn is a modern feminine name that combines the names Meryl and Lynn. It does not have a direct ancient origin or etymology, but rather is a 20th century composite name.
Meryl is a Welsh name derived from the elements "mer" meaning "sea" and "yl" meaning "bright" or "shining." The name Lynn is an English name derived from a Scottish surname meaning "lake" or "waterfall." Together, Merilynn could be interpreted to mean "bright sea lake."
There are no known historical references or ancient texts mentioning the specific name Merilynn. As a modern invented name, its earliest recorded use likely dates back no earlier than the mid-20th century.
While the name Merilynn itself is relatively uncommon, there are a few notable people throughout history who have borne this first name. Merilynn Giangrande was a Canadian synchronized swimmer who won a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Merilynn Hewson was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991. Merilynn Trestain was a French mystery novelist known for her Inspector Paulin series of crime fiction novels published in the 1980s and 1990s.
Another Merilynn of note is Merilynn Bourne, an American entrepreneur and businesswoman who co-founded the cosmetics company Merle Norman Cosmetics in 1931. Merle Norman Cosmetics grew into a successful international franchise with over 2,000 studios worldwide. Lastly, Merilynn Rathbun was an American ballet dancer and instructor who performed with the New York City Ballet in the 1950s and later became a respected dance teacher in Los Angeles.
People
Merilynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merilynn 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
Merilynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merilynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 43 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merilynn 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 7,971,031 US residents.
Is Merilynn a common name?
We classify Merilynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 80 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merilynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Merilynn was 1958, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merilynn is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Merilynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Merilynn in the SSA data are female. 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.