Mery
A feminine name of French origin meaning "wished for child".
Name Census estimates that about 445 living Americans carry the first name Mery. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mery today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mery births was 2023 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mery. 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
445
~ 1 in 770,234 Americans
Peak year
2023
15 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,757
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Mery: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mery from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 92 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Mery remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mery 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 Mery during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Merys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mery
The name Mery originated from the ancient Egyptian language and culture, with its roots dating back to around 3100 BC. It is believed to be derived from the Egyptian word "meri," which means "beloved" or "loved one." The name was commonly used in ancient Egypt for both men and women.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mery can be found in the Pyramid Texts, a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary inscriptions from the Old Kingdom period (c. 2686-2181 BC). These texts mention individuals with the name Mery, suggesting its widespread use during that time.
In the New Kingdom period (c. 1550-1070 BC), the name Mery appeared in various historical records and documents, including the famous Amarna letters, which were diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian pharaohs and other rulers of the ancient Near East.
One notable individual with the name Mery was Mery-Re, a high official and vizier (chief minister) during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten (c. 1353-1336 BC). Mery-Re's name is inscribed on several monuments and artifacts from that era.
Another famous figure named Mery was Mery-Neith, a prominent Egyptian architect and engineer who lived during the 26th Dynasty (c. 664-525 BC). He is credited with designing and overseeing the construction of several important temples and structures, including the Temple of Neith at Sais.
In the realm of literature, the name Mery appears in various ancient Egyptian texts, such as the Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, a Middle Kingdom literary work dating back to around 2000 BC. The protagonist, a peasant named Mery, is depicted as a wise and eloquent individual who seeks justice from the pharaoh.
During the Ptolemaic period (323-30 BC), when Egypt was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty of Greek origin, the name Mery continued to be used, albeit with slight variations in spelling, such as "Merytos" or "Merytis."
Other notable individuals with the name Mery include Mery-Tah, a high priest of Amun during the 19th Dynasty (c. 1292-1189 BC), and Mery-Amun, a royal scribe and adviser who served under Pharaoh Ramesses II (c. 1279-1213 BC).
People
Mery + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mery 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
Mery: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mery?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 445 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mery 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 770,234 US residents.
Is Mery a common name?
We classify Mery as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 499 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mery most popular?
The single biggest year for Mery was 2023, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mery is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mery a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mery 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.