Find out how popular the last name Mercurius is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Mercurius.

Mercurius, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Mercurius surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mercurius in America

Mercurius is the 104156th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mercurius surname appeared 172 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Mercurius.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mercurius to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Mercurius

The surname Mercurius is believed to have originated in ancient Rome, derived from the Latin name of the Roman god Mercury. The name was likely initially given as a personal name to individuals born under the astrological sign of Gemini, which was associated with the god Mercury.

In ancient Roman times, personal names often became hereditary surnames passed down through families. The Mercurii were a prominent Roman family, and the name appears in various historical records and manuscripts from that period.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Mercurius surname is found in the Codex Theodosianus, a collection of ancient Roman laws compiled in the 5th century AD. The name is also found in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, a collection of ancient Roman inscriptions.

During the Middle Ages, the name Mercurius spread throughout Europe, taking on various spellings and regional variations. In England, for instance, it was sometimes rendered as Merkery or Merkery.

Notable individuals with the Mercurius surname include Gerardus Mercurius (1512-1594), a Dutch physician and alchemist who served as the personal physician to several Holy Roman Emperors. Another notable figure was Giovanni Battista Mercurius (1580-1648), an Italian composer and organist who worked in the court of the Medici family in Florence.

In the 17th century, Johann Mercurius van Helmont (1579-1644) was a Flemish chemist and physician known for his contributions to the study of gases and his promotion of the idea of "fermentation" as a chemical process.

During the Renaissance period, the Mercurius surname was also associated with the publication of news pamphlets and periodicals, often carrying titles such as "Mercurius Aulicus" or "Mercurius Britannicus."

Another notable figure was Hieronymus Mercurialis (1530-1606), an Italian physician and philologist who wrote extensively on topics such as gymnastics, physical education, and the history of medicine.

While the Mercurius surname has its roots in ancient Rome, it has since spread throughout Europe and beyond, with various spellings and regional variations emerging over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mercurius

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Mercurius.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Mercurius was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Mercurius has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Mercurius was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mercurius, please contact us.

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