How common is the surname Merritt?

45,594 people in the United States had the surname Merritt in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,772 Americans. It ranked 756th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Merritt?

LaShawn Merritt, American track and field athlete, followed by Aries Merritt.

Where is the surname Merritt most common?

Wikidata records people named Merritt in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.

Is the surname Merritt getting more or less common?

More common. 44,626 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 45,594 in 2010, up 2.2%.

Is Merritt also a first name?

Yes. Merritt is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Merritt

A surname, carried by 45,594 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex M630 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Merritt is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 45,594 people named Merritt in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,772 Americans. That is up 2.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 44,626.

#756

rank among US surnames

45,594

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.2%

change since 2000 (was #701)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#747	Stafford	46,394	6,655
#748	English	46,393	6,655
#749	Hurst	46,244	6,676
#750	Woodard	46,240	6,677
#751	Cortes	46,229	6,679
#752	Shannon	46,147	6,690
#753	Kemp	46,146	6,691

Who is named Merritt

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

75% of people named Merritt identified as white (not Hispanic), 20% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 75%
Black (not Hispanic) 20%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Merritts

11 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

LaShawn Merritt
American track and field athlete, born 1986
Aries Merritt
American hurdler, born 1985
Abraham Grace Merritt
American author (1884-1943)
Anna Lea Merritt
American painter (1844-1930)
Stephin Merritt
American musician, born 1965
Chris Merritt
American baritenor, born 1952
George Merritt
British actor (1890-1977)
Jymie Merritt
American bassist (1926–2020)
Tift Merritt
American musician, born 1975
Amber Merritt
Australian female wheelchair basketball player Paralympian, born 1993
Lil Tjay
American rapper, born 2001

Notable Merritts come mostly from the United States (8), Canada (1) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Merritt

Merritt has the Soundex code M630, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M630.

Questions

How common is the surname Merritt?: 45,594 people in the United States had the surname Merritt in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,772 Americans. It ranked 756th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Merritt?: In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Merritt identified as white (not Hispanic), and 20% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Merritt?: LaShawn Merritt, American track and field athlete, followed by Aries Merritt.
Where is the surname Merritt most common?: Wikidata records people named Merritt in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.
Is the surname Merritt getting more or less common?: More common. 44,626 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 45,594 in 2010, up 2.2%.
Is Merritt also a first name?: Yes. Merritt is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.