Merten
A Germanic name derived from the personal name Martin, meaning "warlike", "martial", or "brave".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Merten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Merten today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merten births was 1915 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merten. 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 Merten. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1915
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1915 SSA rank
#3,696
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Merten: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Merten 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 Merten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Merten
The name Merten is a Germanic name that originated in the Middle Ages, likely around the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Germanic root "mart" or "mard," meaning famous or renowned, and is related to names like Martin and Marten.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled with various iterations, such as Mertene, Merthen, and Merthin. It was particularly prevalent in areas of present-day Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of northern France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 13th-century German text "Nibelungenlied," where a character named Merten is mentioned. This suggests that the name was in use among the Germanic peoples during this period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Merten. One of the earliest was Merten van Rijswijk (c. 1370-1436), a Dutch scholar and theologian who served as the rector of the University of Cologne.
Another prominent figure was Merten Essen (1490-1542), a German painter and printmaker who was active in the Renaissance period. His woodcuts and engravings were highly sought after during his lifetime.
In the 17th century, Merten Kersteman (1630-1693) was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. His works are featured in several museums across Europe.
During the 19th century, Merten Hansen (1824-1890) was a Norwegian artist and painter who specialized in landscape and marine paintings. He is considered one of the most influential artists of the Norwegian National Romantic movement.
More recently, Merten Wozny (1926-2012) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as a member of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, from 1969 to 1990.
While the name Merten may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and origins in the Germanic languages make it a significant part of the cultural heritage of Central and Northern Europe.
People
Merten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merten 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
Merten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merten 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 Merten a common name?
We classify Merten 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, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merten most popular?
The single biggest year for Merten was 1915, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merten 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 Merten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Merten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Merten 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 Merten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Merten 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 Merten 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 common is the name Merten?
See how many Americans are named Merten on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.