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

Merrett, 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 Merrett surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Merrett in America

Merrett is the 76275th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Merrett surname appeared 252 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 Merrett.

We can also compare 2010 data for Merrett 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 Merrett

The surname Merrett originated in England, deriving from an Old English pre-7th century personal name "Mæra" combined with the Old French suffix "et" denoting "little." The name Mæra meant "famous" or "celebrated." Alternate spellings included Merrit, Meritt, and Meriot.

The earliest recorded use of the name was found in the Domesday Book of 1086, referring to a landholder named Meriet in Gloucestershire. By the 13th century, Roger Meryet was documented in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273.

In the 14th century, a John Meriot held lands in Somerset, as recorded in the Kirby's Quest of 1328. The name Merrett also appeared in various place names, such as Merriott in Somerset, derived from "Mæra's hamlet."

Notable individuals with the surname Merrett include Christopher Merrett (1614-1695), an English physician and one of the founding members of the Royal Society. He is credited with introducing the word "biology" to the English language.

Henry Merrett (1822-1895) was a British horticulturist and botanist, known for his work on chrysanthemums and his role in establishing the National Chrysanthemum Society.

John Merrett (1614-1685) was an English scholar and author, best known for his work "Pinax Rerum Naturalium Britannicarum" published in 1667, which catalogued the natural history of Britain.

Thomas Merrett (1575-1654) was an English merchant and traveler who wrote accounts of his journeys to the East Indies and Persia in the early 17th century.

William Merrett (1839-1920) was a British engineer and inventor, known for his contributions to the development of early internal combustion engines and motorcycles.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Merrett

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

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 Merrett 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 Merrett 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 Merrett was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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