# Mervyn (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/mervyn/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Welsh |
| Meaning | “marrow”, “eminent”, “smooth”, “elegant”, “courteous” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɝ.vɪn/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,586 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,581 / 5 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 47, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Welsh Merfyn, probably from mer (“marrow”) (from Proto-Brythonic *mer) + myn (“eminent”) (compare Irish mín (“smooth, elegant, courteous”)).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1916 | 5 | 4,920 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 7 | 5,309 |
| 1981 | 14 | 3,158 |
| 1982 | 8 | 4,861 |
| 1983 | 7 | 5,279 |
| 1984 | 7 | 5,365 |
| 1985 | 7 | 5,554 |
| 1989 | 8 | 6,030 |
| 1990 | 8 | 6,220 |
| 1991 | 11 | 4,986 |
| 1992 | 14 | 4,258 |
| 1994 | 10 | 5,750 |
| 1998 | 8 | 7,308 |
| 2001 | 6 | 10,106 |
| 2002 | 7 | 9,075 |
| 2016 | 5 | 13,541 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3 | 2,901 |
| 1999 | 3 | 2,943 |
| 2002 | 3 | 3,225 |
| 2003 | 7 | 1,962 |
| 2006 | 3 | 4,052 |
| 2008 | 4 | 3,687 |
| 2009 | 7 | 2,544 |
| 2010 | 5 | 3,332 |
| 2012 | 5 | 3,416 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,996 |

## People named Mervyn

- Mervyn LeRoy, American film director and producer (1900–1987)
- Mervyn Peake, English author and illustrator (1911–1968)
- Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (1930–2017)
- Mervyn Wood, Australian rower (1917-2006)
- Mervyn King, British economist (born 1948)
- Mervyn Crossman, field hockey player
- Mervyn Finlay, Australian judge and rower (1925-2014)
- Mervyn Day, English footballer and manager (born 1955)
- Mervyn M. Dymally, American politician (1926–2012)
- Mervyn Warren, American songwriter
- R. M. Hare, British moral philosopher (1919–2002)
- Muff Winwood, British musician, A&R man, record producer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.