girl's name
Mercy
MUR-see (English)
- Origin Latin, English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 12,065
the United States
#862
2025 births
Mercy is a girl's name from the English virtue word, adopted by Puritans in the seventeenth century. The word comes through French from the Latin merces, "wages" or "reward," which Christian writers turned into the idea of God's compassion.
- Mercy is a name of Latin, English origin.
- Peaked in 2019, when 461 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,809 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Mercy Over Time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, which so far covers 2020 to 2025.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 53 |
| 1890s | 25 |
| 1900s | 61 |
| 1910s | 192 |
| 1920s | 359 |
| 1930s | 368 |
| 1940s | 397 |
| 1950s | 494 |
| 1960s | 371 |
| 1970s | 531 |
| 1980s | 421 |
| 1990s | 677 |
| 2000s | 1,538 |
| 2010s | 3,223 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,154 |
What Mercy Means
Mercy means compassion or forgiveness shown to someone. It's a virtue name, so the sense is the plain English one, carrying the religious weight of a quality Christians have long prayed for.
Where Mercy Comes From
Latin merces meant pay or reward, and it was built on merx, goods, the same word behind merchant and market. In Christian Latin it shifted to mean the heavenly reward for acts of kindness, and then the kindness itself. Old French merci kept that sense, still heard in the French word for thanks. English took it in the Middle Ages. After the Reformation, English Puritans favored virtue names, including Patience, Prudence and Mercy, and they took them across the Atlantic. Mercy also became a character in the second part of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.
Mercy in Use
An early American bearer was Mercy Otis Warren, the writer and playwright of the Revolutionary era. Spanish has the parallel name Mercedes, from a title of the Virgin Mary that shares the same Latin root.
How Popular Is Mercy?
In 2025, Mercy was given to 338 babies in the United States, ranking #862 that year. It ranks among the top 1,000 names in the United States.
Where Mercy 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.
Names That Peaked Alongside Mercy
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents Who Like Mercy Also Like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mercy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
How to Say Mercy
- English MUR-see /ˈmɜːsi/
Mercy 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.
- Spanish
- Mercedes
Sibling Names for Mercy
Names from the same era that do not rhyme or share an initial with Mercy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common Questions About Mercy
What does the name Mercy mean?
Compassion or forgiveness, from a Latin word for reward.
Is Mercy a Christian name?
Yes. It's a virtue name that Puritans used widely from the seventeenth century.
Is Mercy related to Mercedes?
Yes. Both come from the Latin merces.
How popular is the name Mercy?
In 2025, Mercy was given to 338 babies in the United States, ranking #862 that year. It ranks among the top 1,000 names in the United States.
Is Mercy a girl's or a boy's name?
Mercy is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mercy?
Mercy has 2 syllables.
When was Mercy most popular?
Mercy peaked in 2019, when 461 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Mercy a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mercy currently ranks #862 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.