Merit

“Variant of Margaret — Pearl” — Estonian/Swedish, ultimately Greek origin

Girl's name · #3154 in the US (2025) · Trending

Merit is climbing: on the charts since 1965, it reached #3154 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet, with about 50 girls given the name last year. Roughly 320 have carried it all-time. Merit is the less common spelling of Merritt — about 11% of babies given the name are written this way; Merritt itself ranked #703 in 2025.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 1 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Merits

Merit Hertzman-Ericson — Swedish psychologist (1911-1998)
Merit Janow — American academic
Merit Leighton — American actress
Merit Cudkowicz — American neurologist and neuroscientist

In stories & tradition

Merit — deity

What Merits become

Among 24 notable people named Merit:

No single standout — notable Merits spread across many fields.

Similar names: Megan · Azaliah · Merida · Nyx · Kit · Maisey

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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