# Merton (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/merton/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English habitational surname from Old English from the placenames.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 417 |
| US rank (2010) | 50,196 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 740,397 people |
| Change since 2000 | -5.2% (440 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɝ.tən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Inherited from Old English Merantūn.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Merton in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 85% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 5.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 3.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Merton in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Merton

- Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (1910–2003)
- Robert C. Merton, American economist (1944-)
- John Merton, American actor (1901–1959)
- Paul Merton, British comedian

## Similar surnames

Morton, Martone, Merten, Marton, Murton, Mortensen, Mertens, Mortenson, Maertens, Martinez, Martin, Martins.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.