Meris
A feminine name of obscure origin likely meaning "sea" or "from the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 56 living Americans carry the first name Meris. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meris today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meris births was 1935 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meris. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Meris. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
56
~ 1 in 6,120,613 Americans
Peak year
1935
15 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,336
Tracked since 1935
Popularity
Meris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meris from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 28 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Meris remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meris 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 Meris 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 Meris
The name Meris is derived from the Ancient Egyptian language and is believed to have originated around 2500 BCE. It is thought to be a combination of the words "mer," meaning beloved, and "is," referring to the goddess Isis. In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Isis was the powerful goddess of fertility, magic, and motherhood, revered for her unwavering devotion to her husband, Osiris.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meris can be found in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a collection of funerary texts dating back to the 16th century BCE. The name appears in various hieroglyphic inscriptions and papyri, often associated with women of high social status or religious significance.
During the Ptolemaic Period (323-30 BCE), when Ancient Egypt was ruled by the Macedonian Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty, the name Meris gained popularity among the ruling elite. This was likely due to the influence of the Egyptian culture and the desire to honor the goddess Isis.
One notable figure bearing the name Meris was Meris of Alexandria, a renowned mathematician and engineer who lived in the 3rd century BCE. She is credited with contributing significantly to the field of mathematics and developing innovative engineering techniques for constructing large-scale structures.
In the 1st century CE, Meris was the name of a prominent priestess of Isis in the city of Philae, located in present-day Egypt. Her name and position were immortalized in numerous temple inscriptions and hieroglyphic carvings, reflecting the importance of the Isis cult during that era.
During the Byzantine Period (330-1453 CE), the name Meris was adopted by several influential women within the Eastern Orthodox Church. One such figure was Saint Meris of Constantinople, a 5th-century nun renowned for her piety, wisdom, and charitable works. Her legacy has been preserved in various hagiographies and church records.
In the 12th century, Meris was the name of a highly respected female scholar and physician who lived in the city of Cordoba, in what is now Spain. She made significant contributions to the fields of medicine and philosophy, and her writings were widely studied throughout the Islamic world.
Throughout history, the name Meris has been borne by numerous individuals, reflecting its enduring appeal and cultural significance across various civilizations and time periods.
People
Meris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meris 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
Meris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 56 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meris 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 6,120,613 US residents.
Is Meris a common name?
We classify Meris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 75 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meris most popular?
The single biggest year for Meris was 1935, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meris is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Meris a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meris 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.