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

Merriweather, 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 Merriweather surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Merriweather in America

Merriweather is the 6989th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Merriweather surname appeared 4,793 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Merriweather.

We can also compare 2010 data for Merriweather 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 Merriweather

The surname Merriweather is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "myrige" meaning "pleasant" and "wæther" meaning "climate" or "weather". It was initially a descriptive surname, referring to someone who lived in an area with a pleasant climate or weather conditions.

The name can be traced back to the 13th century in England, with early recorded variations including Merryweather, Merriwether, and Meryweder. Some of the earliest known references to the name appear in historical records such as the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which mentions a Johannes Meryweder.

During the medieval period, the surname Merriweather was particularly prevalent in the counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire in the West Midlands region of England. It was also found in parts of Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

One notable early bearer of the name was Thomas Merriweather, a merchant and landowner from Warwickshire, who lived in the late 16th century. Another was John Merriweather, a member of the Virginia Company of London, who was involved in the early colonization efforts in North America in the early 17th century.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Merriweather began to spread more widely across England and into other parts of the British Isles. Some bearers of the name were among the earliest settlers in the American colonies, including Thomas Merriweather, who arrived in Virginia in 1635, and David Merriweather, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1683.

Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Merriweather have achieved prominence in various fields. These include:

1. Edward Merriweather (c. 1630-1678), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Southwark.
2. Richard Merriweather (1670-1743), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
3. David Merriweather (1786-1852), an American politician and jurist who served as the 13th Governor of Kentucky.
4. James Merriweather (1789-1868), an American soldier and politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from Georgia.
5. Charles Merriweather (1853-1925), an American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Merriweather

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

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

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

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