2000
#10,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,786
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Mercedes
A Spanish surname referring to a person who lived near or worked at a shrine of Mary.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,081 Americans carry the last name Mercedes. That puts it at #6,192 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,365 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mercedes surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
6.1K
1 in 56,365
Census rank
#6,192
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,303 bearers of the surname Mercedes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6192nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mercedes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mercedes
The surname Mercedes is of Spanish origin, deriving from the Spanish word "merced," which means "mercy" or "grace." It is believed to have emerged as a surname in the 15th or 16th century, during the height of the Spanish Empire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Mercedes can be found in the records of the city of Seville, Spain, where a family bearing the name is mentioned in the late 16th century. The name was likely adopted as a surname by individuals who lived near a church or monastery dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy (Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes).
In the 17th century, the surname Mercedes began to spread throughout Spain and its colonies in the Americas. It is possible that some individuals with this surname were among the early Spanish settlers who established settlements in regions such as Mexico, Peru, and Argentina.
One notable figure with the surname Mercedes was Don Juan de Mercedes, a Spanish military officer who served in the Spanish Army during the 18th century. He was born in Madrid in 1710 and was known for his bravery and leadership during various campaigns against the French and the Moors.
Another famous bearer of the surname Mercedes was María de las Mercedes, a Spanish noblewoman who lived in the late 18th century. She was born in Seville in 1765 and was known for her philanthropy and support for the arts.
In the 19th century, the surname Mercedes continued to be found throughout Spain and Latin America. One prominent individual with this surname was José María Mercedes, a Mexican politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Mexico in the 1850s.
In the early 20th century, the surname Mercedes gained further recognition with the rise of the Mercedes-Benz automobile company, which was founded in Germany in 1926. However, this company's name was derived from the first name of one of its founders, Adolf Daimler's daughter Mercedes, rather than the surname.
Throughout history, the surname Mercedes has been linked to several notable families and individuals, reflecting its Spanish roots and the spread of the name across the Spanish-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mercedes
Among Census respondents with the surname Mercedes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mercedes bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mercedes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.8% · 4,975
- White3.5% · 188
- Black or African American1.9% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 23
- Two or more races0.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mercedes
Mercedes appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,272
+1,486 bearers (+53.3%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Up 2,803 places
2020
#6,192
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,303
+1,031 bearers (+24.1%)
Per 100,000 1.77
Rank movement Up 1,575 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,570 | 2,786 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,767 | 4,272 | 1.45 | +1,486 bearers (+53.3%) | Up 2,803 places |
| 2020 | #6,192 | 5,303 | 1.77 | +1,031 bearers (+24.1%) | Up 1,575 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mercedes surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,767 | #6,192 | 20.3% |
| Count | 4,272 | 5,303 | 24.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.45 | 1.77 | 22.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mercedes bearers went from 4,272 to 5,303 (+24.1% change). The surname moved up 1,575 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,767 to #6,192.
FAQ
Mercedes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mercedes?
Name Census estimates that about 6,081 living Americans carry the surname Mercedes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,365 residents.
How common is Mercedes?
Mercedes ranks #6,192 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,303 people with the surname Mercedes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,081), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mercedes.
Has Mercedes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mercedes went from 4,272 recorded bearers to 5,303. That is an increase of 1,031 (+24.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,767 to #6,192.
What does the Census say about the background of Mercedes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mercedes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Black (1.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mercedes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (4,975 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mercedes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.8%), White (3.5%), Black (1.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mercedes (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mercedes mean?
A Spanish surname referring to a person who lived near or worked at a shrine of Mary. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mercedes (1.77 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Mercedes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.