Merriman
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Muireamhóin, meaning "descendant of the seafarer".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Merriman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Merriman today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merriman births was 1920 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merriman. 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 Merriman. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1920
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1921 SSA rank
#4,759
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Merriman: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Merriman 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 Merriman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Merriman
The name Merriman is an English given name that has its roots in the Middle English period, specifically during the 12th to 15th centuries. It is derived from the Old French word "merrien," which means "carpenter" or "woodworker." This etymology suggests that the name Merriman was initially associated with individuals who worked with wood or practiced carpentry.
During the Middle Ages, surnames and occupational names were commonly adopted in many parts of Europe, including England. The name Merriman likely originated as an occupational surname given to skilled carpenters or woodworkers, before eventually being adopted as a first name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Merriman can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England conducted in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Merriman" in this historical record, indicating its use as a surname during the Norman period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the first name Merriman. One of the earliest was Merriman Merridew (c. 1360-1420), an English architect and master builder responsible for the construction of several churches and cathedrals in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
In the 17th century, Merriman Browne (1610-1675) was an English mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
Another prominent figure with the name Merriman was Merriman Colbert (1722-1789), a French military officer and diplomat who served as the governor of Martinique during the American Revolutionary War.
In the 19th century, Merriman Cuming Harris (1846-1921) was a British explorer and naturalist known for his extensive travels and discoveries in the Pacific region, particularly in the Solomon Islands and New Hebrides (now Vanuatu).
More recently, Merriman Smith (1913-1970) was an American journalist and White House correspondent who famously coined the term "credibility gap" during the Vietnam War era, referring to the perceived discrepancy between the statements made by government officials and the reality on the ground.
These examples illustrate the long-standing presence of the name Merriman throughout history, spanning various fields and time periods, and highlight its connection to occupations related to woodworking and construction in its earliest origins.
People
Merriman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merriman 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
Merriman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merriman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merriman 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 - US residents.
Is Merriman a common name?
We classify Merriman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merriman most popular?
The single biggest year for Merriman was 1920, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merriman is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Merriman in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Merriman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Merriman 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 Merriman still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Merriman 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 Merriman 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Merriman?
Find out how many people share the name Merriman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.