Merry

Merry: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “cheerful, joyful”
Origin: English
Say it: MER-ee · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

From the English vocabulary word 'merry.' It is also known as a spelling variant of Mary in some cases, but as a given name it usually reflects the word meaning.

English names Names meaning joy Virtue names Short names

How popular is Merry?

20244.8 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Merry in 202416

Peak year1954

Total US babies since 188010,360

Merry is steady now but far below its 1954 peak.

Names like Merry

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Maryuncertain, traditionally beloved or bitter · Hebrew
Mariameaning uncertain · Hebrew
Mollybitter · English
MaliaMary · Hawaiian
Mariahvariant of Mary; meaning uncertain · Hebrew
Mariebeloved; drop of the sea · French
Molliebitter · English
Maymonth of May · English

Merry questions

What does the name Merry mean?

Merry means "cheerful, joyful". It comes from English. From the English vocabulary word 'merry.' It is also known as a spelling variant of Mary in some cases, but as a given name it usually reflects the word meaning.

Is Merry a boy or girl name?

Merry is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Merry?

16 US babies were named Merry in 2024. Its peak year was 1954.

How do you pronounce Merry?

Merry is usually pronounced MER-ee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.