unisex name
Merit
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 569
Merit is a unisex name with 2 syllables. It is given to both girls and boys — about 60% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 73 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
- Peaked in 2025, when 73 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 45,417 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1918.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Merit over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 10 |
| 1920s | 13 |
| 1940s | 5 |
| 1960s | 11 |
| 1970s | 7 |
| 1980s | 11 |
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 53 |
| 2010s | 212 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 217 |
How popular is Merit?
In 2025, Merit was given to 73 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Merit 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 Merit
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Merit also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Merit over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Merit
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Merit — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Merit
How popular is the name Merit?
In 2025, Merit was given to 73 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Merit a girl's or a boy's name?
Merit is used for both girls and boys. About 60% of recorded births with this name are girls.
How many syllables are in Merit?
Merit has 2 syllables.
When was Merit most popular?
Merit peaked in 2025, when 73 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Merit a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Merit currently ranks #3,161 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.