Mercedes
Mercedes was given to 150 girls in 2025, #1,439 among girls’ names; 46,575 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 37,800 Americans named Mercedes and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 31 years old and half are between 24 and 37.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Mercedes by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Mercedes mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Mercedes is “a female given name from Spanish, equivalent to English Mercy occasionally borrowed from Spanish.”
From Spanish Mercedes (Mary, Our Lady of Mercy). The car was named for Mercédès Jellinek, the daughter of Austrian businessman Emil Jellinek who ordered 36 cars from Gottlieb Daimler.
/mɚˈseɪdiz/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Mercedes?
#1,439 among girls’ names, 2025
Mercedes fell from #1,078 in 2015 to #1,439 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.14 to 0.09 per 1,000.
1,808 babies in 1991, the peak
Mercedes peaked in 1991, when 1,808 babies were given it (1,798 girls, #164 among girls’ names). The 150 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 150 | #1,439 | 0.09 |
| 2024 | 152 | #1,448 | 0.09 |
| 2023 | 158 | #1,420 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 194 | #1,245 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 195 | #1,218 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 176 | #1,273 | 0.11 |
| 2019 | 196 | #1,197 | 0.12 |
| 2018 | 237 | #1,074 | 0.14 |
| 2017 | 246 | #1,049 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 255 | #1,037 | 0.14 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 244 | #1,078 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 271 | #986 | 0.15 |
| 2013 | 301 | #859 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 398 | #708 | 0.23 |
| 2011 | 366 | #754 | 0.21 |
| 2010 | 436 | #665 | 0.25 |
| 2009 | 457 | #647 | 0.25 |
| 2008 | 583 | #524 | 0.31 |
| 2007 | 664 | #490 | 0.35 |
| 2006 | 730 | #437 | 0.38 |
| 2005 | 817 | #383 | 0.44 |
| 2004 | 952 | #337 | 0.52 |
| 2003 | 949 | #332 | 0.52 |
| 2002 | 1,069 | #293 | 0.59 |
| 2001 | 1,099 | #283 | 0.61 |
| 2000 | 1,134 | #285 | 0.62 |
| 1999 | 1,207 | #262 | 0.68 |
| 1998 | 1,376 | #225 | 0.78 |
| 1997 | 1,244 | #241 | 0.71 |
| 1996 | 1,390 | #211 | 0.79 |
| 1995 | 1,543 | #191 | 0.88 |
| 1994 | 1,571 | #189 | 0.88 |
| 1993 | 1,779 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1992 | 1,729 | #178 | 0.94 |
| 1991 | 1,798 | #164 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 1,654 | #176 | 0.87 |
| 1989 | 1,220 | #224 | 0.66 |
| 1988 | 609 | #395 | 0.34 |
| 1987 | 427 | #501 | 0.25 |
| 1986 | 384 | #533 | 0.22 |
| 1985 | 359 | #551 | 0.21 |
| 1984 | 294 | #610 | 0.17 |
| 1983 | 311 | #576 | 0.19 |
| 1982 | 304 | #595 | 0.18 |
| 1981 | 254 | #686 | 0.15 |
| 1980 | 248 | #693 | 0.15 |
| 1979 | 223 | #736 | 0.14 |
| 1978 | 220 | #719 | 0.14 |
| 1977 | 209 | #738 | 0.14 |
| 1976 | 203 | #722 | 0.14 |
| 1975 | 211 | #705 | 0.14 |
| 1974 | 169 | #801 | 0.12 |
| 1973 | 168 | #789 | 0.12 |
| 1972 | 189 | #740 | 0.12 |
| 1971 | 191 | #767 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 202 | #734 | 0.12 |
| 1969 | 167 | #798 | 0.10 |
| 1968 | 157 | #809 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 164 | #768 | 0.10 |
| 1966 | 158 | #784 | 0.09 |
| 1965 | 169 | #762 | 0.10 |
| 1964 | 173 | #790 | 0.09 |
| 1963 | 184 | #759 | 0.10 |
| 1962 | 180 | #778 | 0.09 |
| 1961 | 180 | #782 | 0.09 |
| 1960 | 167 | #798 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 176 | #769 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 184 | #728 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 168 | #773 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 187 | #698 | 0.09 |
| 1955 | 159 | #751 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 183 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1953 | 159 | #719 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 158 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1951 | 188 | #636 | 0.10 |
| 1950 | 179 | #640 | 0.10 |
| 1949 | 148 | #695 | 0.09 |
| 1948 | 136 | #726 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 146 | #700 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 149 | #650 | 0.09 |
| 1945 | 156 | #586 | 0.12 |
| 1944 | 124 | #667 | 0.09 |
| 1943 | 134 | #656 | 0.10 |
| 1942 | 120 | #683 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 120 | #647 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 135 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1939 | 170 | #513 | 0.16 |
| 1938 | 177 | #503 | 0.16 |
| 1937 | 197 | #467 | 0.19 |
| 1936 | 163 | #514 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 175 | #477 | 0.17 |
| 1934 | 168 | #498 | 0.16 |
| 1933 | 176 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1932 | 186 | #485 | 0.17 |
| 1931 | 212 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1930 | 234 | #440 | 0.21 |
| 1929 | 266 | #406 | 0.24 |
| 1928 | 252 | #426 | 0.22 |
| 1927 | 291 | #402 | 0.24 |
| 1926 | 273 | #411 | 0.23 |
| 1925 | 295 | #398 | 0.24 |
| 1924 | 319 | #381 | 0.26 |
| 1923 | 276 | #404 | 0.23 |
| 1922 | 239 | #432 | 0.20 |
| 1921 | 299 | #387 | 0.24 |
| 1920 | 318 | #369 | 0.27 |
| 1919 | 225 | #438 | 0.20 |
| 1918 | 236 | #432 | 0.20 |
| 1917 | 253 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1916 | 227 | #412 | 0.22 |
| 1915 | 232 | #394 | 0.24 |
| 1914 | 167 | #411 | 0.22 |
| 1913 | 131 | #433 | 0.21 |
| 1912 | 122 | #426 | 0.22 |
| 1911 | 92 | #426 | 0.22 |
| 1910 | 82 | #442 | 0.21 |
| 1909 | 73 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1908 | 64 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1907 | 68 | #433 | 0.21 |
| 1906 | 52 | #474 | 0.18 |
| 1905 | 60 | #435 | 0.21 |
| 1904 | 62 | #408 | 0.23 |
| 1903 | 33 | #570 | 0.13 |
| 1902 | 44 | #473 | 0.17 |
| 1901 | 25 | #642 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 49 | #486 | 0.16 |
| 1899 | 35 | #504 | 0.15 |
| 1898 | 33 | #566 | 0.13 |
| 1897 | 17 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1896 | 26 | #619 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 27 | #587 | 0.12 |
| 1894 | 25 | #591 | 0.11 |
| 1893 | 14 | #818 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 17 | #717 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 18 | #637 | 0.10 |
| 1890 | 14 | #750 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 13 | #745 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 9 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 10 | #775 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 10 | #758 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 6 | #1,007 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 7 | #903 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 6 | #889 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 7 | #790 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 6 | #809 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Mercedes a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Mercedes has been given almost only to girls: 369 boys in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Mercedes: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Mercedes, and how old are they?
37,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 46,575 Americans ever recorded as Mercedes. The median Mercedes alive today is 31 years old; half are between 24 and 37.
The 2020 Census counted 62,850 people named Mercedes (62,176 women and girls, 674 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 37,971 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.7 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 827 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,880 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 15,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,760 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Mercedes born?
The states with the most babies named Mercedes are Texas, California and New York, with 58% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 24 | #1,146 | 1.4× |
| California | 19 | #1,301 | 1.1× |
| New York | 7 | #1,773 | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 7 | #891 | 0.6× |
| Florida | 6 | #2,065 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 6 | #1,387 | 0.7× |
| Utah | 6 | #681 | 1.1× |
| Kentucky | 6 | #718 | 0.4× |
| Colorado | 5 | #1,005 | 0.8× |
Where Mercedes is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Mercedes is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Mercedes with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 47,469 babies since 1880, Mercedes is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 150 of their 150 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
More about Mercedes and names like it
- Compare Mercedes and MercadesBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sMercedes peaked in 1991.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Mercedes since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Mercedes: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1991The year the most babies were named Mercedes.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Mercedes alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with MMost given first.