2000
#8,579
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,534
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Merrifield
From a place name meaning "pleasant open land" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,835 Americans carry the last name Merrifield. That puts it at #9,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,375 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Merrifield 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 Merrifield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 89,375
Census rank
#9,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,344 bearers of the surname Merrifield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrifield, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Merrifield
The surname Merrifield is an English locational name derived from the village of Merrifield in Somerset. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English words "merry" meaning pleasant or agreeable, and "feld" meaning a field or open land.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Merrifield can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Merefelde." This suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
During the Middle Ages, the name Merrifield was primarily found in the counties of Somerset and Wiltshire, where the original village was located. It is likely that the name spread to other parts of England as families migrated or established new settlements.
Notable historical figures with the surname Merrifield include:
1. John Merrifield (c. 1522-1596), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Ashburton in Devon.
2. Mary Merrifield (1768-1849), a British botanist and writer, known for her work on the study of mosses and lichens.
3. John Merrifield (1782-1835), an English inventor and engineer who designed a reaping machine and other agricultural implements.
4. Charles Watkins Merrifield (1827-1884), a British chemist and writer, who published several works on the history of ancient art and technology.
5. Frederick Merrifield (1838-1924), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club in the mid-19th century.
Over time, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, such as Merryfield, Merefield, and Merrifeild. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects, phonetic spellings, and clerical errors in record-keeping.
The name Merrifield has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Merrifield Farm in Somerset and Merrifield House in Wiltshire, further reinforcing its locational origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merrifield
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrifield, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Merrifield 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 Merrifield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 2,914
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 146
- Two or more races3.7% · 125
- Black or African American3.1% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Merrifield
Merrifield 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
#9,088
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,596
+62 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 509 places
2020
#9,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,344
-252 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 251 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,579 | 3,534 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,088 | 3,596 | 1.22 | +62 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 509 places |
| 2020 | #9,339 | 3,344 | 1.12 | -252 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 251 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 Merrifield 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 | #9,088 | #9,339 | -2.8% |
| Count | 3,596 | 3,344 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.22 | 1.12 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Merrifield bearers went from 3,596 to 3,344 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 251 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,088 to #9,339.
FAQ
Merrifield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Merrifield?
Name Census estimates that about 3,835 living Americans carry the surname Merrifield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,375 residents.
How common is Merrifield?
Merrifield ranks #9,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,344 people with the surname Merrifield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,835), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Merrifield.
Has Merrifield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Merrifield went from 3,596 recorded bearers to 3,344. That is a decrease of 252 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,088 to #9,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Merrifield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrifield, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Merrifield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (2,914 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Merrifield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Merrifield (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 Merrifield mean?
From a place name meaning "pleasant open land" in Old English. 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 Merrifield (1.12 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 are called Merrifield?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Merrifield on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.