2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Merrilees
A surname derived from a place name, possibly a location in Scotland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Merrilees. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Merrilees 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 Merrilees with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Merrilees in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrilees, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Merrilees
The surname Merrilees originated in Scotland, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old English words "merry" and "leas," meaning a pleasant meadow or pasture. The name may also have evolved from a place name, such as Merrilees in Berwickshire, Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name comes from the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1456, which mention a John Mereleys. The name also appears in various Scottish records and manuscripts from the 15th to 17th centuries, with spellings including Merilees, Merylees, and Merileyis.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with this surname was George Merrilees (c. 1530-1595), a Scottish landowner and member of the Clan Merrilees. Another early bearer of the name was Robert Merrilees (1570-1642), a merchant and burgess of Edinburgh.
In the 17th century, the Merrilees family was well-established in the Scottish Borders region, with many members listed in parish records and land charters. One notable individual from this era was John Merrilees (1621-1690), a Presbyterian minister and author.
The surname later spread beyond Scotland, with individuals bearing the name appearing in various parts of the British Isles and, eventually, in other parts of the world. One notable 19th-century figure was Walter Merrilees (1813-1889), a New Zealand politician and businessman.
Other notable individuals with the surname include Archibald Merrilees (1835-1918), a Scottish-born Australian politician, and William Merrilees (1855-1942), a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merrilees
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrilees, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Merrilees 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 Merrilees surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 100
Timeline
Historical Census data for Merrilees
Merrilees appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-11 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,335 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -11 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 7,335 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 Merrilees 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 | #148,347 | #155,682 | -4.9% |
| Count | 111 | 100 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Merrilees bearers went from 111 to 100 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 7,335 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #155,682.
FAQ
Merrilees surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Merrilees?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Merrilees. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Merrilees?
Merrilees ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 100 people with the surname Merrilees. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Merrilees.
Has Merrilees become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Merrilees went from 111 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Merrilees?
Among Census respondents with the surname Merrilees, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Merrilees in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Merrilees appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Merrilees (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 Merrilees mean?
A surname derived from a place name, possibly a location in Scotland. 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 Merrilees (0.03 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 Merrilees?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.