2000
#3,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,360
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.10
Rare Last name
Merrick
Derived from the Welsh name "Meurig," meaning "sea fortress," or from a place name meaning "bright fortress."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,559 Americans carry the last name Merrick. That puts it at #4,131 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,857 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Merrick 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Merrick with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,857
Census rank
#4,131
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,336 bearers of the surname Merrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4131st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Merrick
The surname Merrick originated in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "mere" meaning a lake or pool, and "ric" meaning a kingdom or domain, thus the name likely referred to someone who lived near a pool or body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Merrick can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were administrative records from the reign of King Edward I. The name appeared in various spellings, such as Merrick, Meryke, and Meryck.
In the 16th century, the name Merrick was prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire in northern England. The Lincolnshire parish registers from this period contain several entries of families with the surname Merrick, indicating their presence in the region.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Merrick. However, it does mention several place names that may have influenced the development of the surname, such as Merestun (Merston) in Wiltshire and Merefeld (Merefield) in Staffordshire.
Notable individuals with the surname Merrick throughout history include:
1. John Merrick (c. 1579 - c. 1659), an English Puritan minister and author, known for his work "A Discourse on Prodigies" published in 1658.
2. Joseph Merrick (1862 - 1890), better known as the "Elephant Man", who was severely disfigured and exhibited in human exhibitions during the Victorian era.
3. Leonard Merrick (1864 - 1939), a British novelist and playwright, best known for his works "The Man Who Understood Women" and "The Actor-Manager".
4. Roger Merrick (c. 1640 - 1696), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Wigan in the late 17th century.
5. William Merrick (1738 - 1819), an English classical scholar and clergyman, known for his translations of works by Tryphiodorus and Oppian.
The surname Merrick is also associated with several place names in England, such as Merrick Wood in Warwickshire and Merrick Hill in Northumberland, which may have influenced the development and distribution of the name in those regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Merrick 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 Merrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.2% · 6,601
- Black or African American10.5% · 876
- Two or more races4.3% · 361
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 310
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 82
Timeline
Historical Census data for Merrick
Merrick 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
#4,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,629
+269 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 2.93
Rank movement Down 201 places
2020
#4,131
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,336
-293 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 20 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,910 | 8,360 | 3.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,111 | 8,629 | 2.93 | +269 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 201 places |
| 2020 | #4,131 | 8,336 | 2.79 | -293 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 20 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 Merrick 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 | #4,111 | #4,131 | -0.5% |
| Count | 8,629 | 8,336 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.93 | 2.79 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Merrick bearers went from 8,629 to 8,336 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 20 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,111 to #4,131.
FAQ
Merrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Merrick?
Name Census estimates that about 9,559 living Americans carry the surname Merrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,857 residents.
How common is Merrick?
Merrick ranks #4,131 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,336 people with the surname Merrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,559), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Merrick.
Has Merrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Merrick went from 8,629 recorded bearers to 8,336. That is a decrease of 293 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,111 to #4,131.
What does the Census say about the background of Merrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Merrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.2% (6,601 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Merrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.2%), Black (10.5%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Merrick (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 Merrick mean?
Derived from the Welsh name "Meurig," meaning "sea fortress," or from a place name meaning "bright fortress." 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 Merrick (2.79 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 last name Merrick?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Merrick at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.