girl's name
Mercedes
mur-SAY-deez
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 8
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 54,359
Scotland
#990
2014 births
Mercedes is a plural, and it means wages before it means mercies — the Latin merces is payment, and the Spanish title Our Lady of Mercies turned a commercial word into a devotional one.
- Mercedes is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1991, when 1,808 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 22,102 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Mercedes over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 74 |
| 1890s | 226 |
| 1900s | 530 |
| 1910s | 1,773 |
| 1920s | 2,882 |
| 1930s | 1,889 |
| 1940s | 1,368 |
| 1950s | 1,746 |
| 1960s | 1,699 |
| 1970s | 2,020 |
| 1980s | 4,556 |
| 1990s | 15,376 |
| 2000s | 8,461 |
| 2010s | 2,950 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,025 |
What Mercedes means
Mercedes means mercies, or favors. The Latin behind it means wages or payment, and the religious sense developed from the idea of grace as something granted rather than earned.
Where Mercedes comes from
Mercedes is the Spanish María de las Mercedes, Mary of the Mercies, from the Latin merces — wages, payment, reward, which also gives merchant, commerce and mercenary. The Mercedarian order was founded to ransom Christians held captive, which is payment in the most literal sense. The car is named for Mercédès Jellinek, the daughter of the Austrian businessman who commissioned the model and sold it under her name.
Mercedes in use
Mercedes peaked in the United States in 1991, when 1,808 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 1442nd in the United States on 150 births, 1994th in England and Wales on 15 and 7158th in France on 5, across 54,359 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. England and Wales ran its own peak of 109 births in 2008.
How popular is Mercedes?
In 2025, Mercedes was given to 150 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Mercedes is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Mercedes is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mercédès | Mercédès is a rare spelling of Mercedes, written with an acute accent and recorded about 115 times, mostly in France. | 115 |
| Mercédes | Mercédes is Mercedes written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #1,546 in France, against #7,158 for Mercedes. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Mercedes
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mercedes also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mercedes over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Mercedes
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Mercedes in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Mercedes
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mercedes — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mercedes
What does the name Mercedes mean?
Mercies — from the Latin merces, wages or payment.
Is the car named after a person?
Yes — Mercédès Jellinek, whose father commissioned the model and sold it under her name.
Is merchant related?
Yes — merchant, commerce and mercenary all come from merces.
Why is it plural?
The title is Mary of the Mercies, so the name is a plural noun rather than a singular.
How popular is the name Mercedes?
In 2025, Mercedes was given to 150 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Mercedes a girl's or a boy's name?
Mercedes is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mercedes?
Mercedes has 3 syllables.
When was Mercedes most popular?
Mercedes peaked in 1991, when 1,808 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Mercedes?
Mercedes is usually shortened to Merce.
Is Mercedes a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mercedes currently ranks #1,442 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.