Girls' name · since 1881
Mercy
Mercy has 10,632 recorded births since 1881 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2019 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,597 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #864 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 10,632
- born since 1881
- 2010s
- peak decade
Mercy currently ranks #864 among girls' names in America, with 10,632 babies recorded since 1881.
Mercy has 10,632 recorded births among girls since 1881, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #864 as of the latest data, more common than 95% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1881 to 2025.
- #1,597 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #864 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 10,632 born since 1881
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Mercy ranks #1,597 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #864 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 10,632 born since 1881, peaking in the 2010s.
- #1,597 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #864 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 10,632
- born since 1881
- 2010s
- peak decade
Mercy's 10,632 recorded births place it above 97.79% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
39 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Mercy compares
10,632 Top 9% higher than 91% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Mercy's all-time total is 28x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Mercy | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 10,632 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 441 | 21 | 19,840 |
Mercy's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Mercy's full recorded timeline at 1957, 83% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 17% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1883, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2019 peak of 441 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Mercy popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1881–2025
- Peak year (2019)
- 441
- Annual births at peak, across 145 years of records
Mercy popularity over time - boys
232 total births recorded since 1919 (Mercy as boys' name)
Mercy by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (3,136 births, 29% of the file).
2010s was Mercy's strongest decade.
3,136 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 29% of all-time use.
Mercy births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 53
1880s
53 births
- 1890s 25
1890s
25 births
- 1900s 61
1900s
61 births
- 1910s 187
1910s
187 births
- 1920s 359
1920s
359 births
- 1930s 368
1930s
368 births
- 1940s 397
1940s
397 births
- 1950s 494
1950s
494 births
- 1960s 371
1960s
371 births
- 1970s 531
1970s
531 births
- 1980s 421
1980s
421 births
- 1990s 677
1990s
677 births
- 2000s
2000s
1,533 births
- 2010s
2010s
3,136 births
- 2020s
2020s
2,019 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 3,136 births (29% of all-time use).
How Mercy compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Mercy's total volume
Mercy by state
Where Mercy concentrates geographically, total births since 1881
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,647 | 15.5% |
| #2 | Texas | | 1,093 | 10.3% |
| #3 | Arizona | | 433 | 4.1% |
| #4 | Florida | | 368 | 3.5% |
| #5 | New York | | 331 | 3.1% |
| #6 | Georgia | | 283 | 2.7% |
| #7 | Tennessee | | 230 | 2.2% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 212 | 2.0% |
1,647 of 10,632 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 39 reporting states.
Mercy appears in 39 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Mercy? ▼
Where does Mercy sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Mercy most popular? ▼
Where is Mercy most popular? ▼
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What names are similar to Mercy? ▼
What to do with Mercy's data
- Mercy's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (3,136 total births) through the 2020s (2,019) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Mercys (1,647 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Mercy
Nearby Names Like Mercy
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Mercy
Compare Mercy side by side: Mercy vs Meredith Mercy vs Mercedes Mercy vs Merle
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Mercy
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Mercy: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2019)
Similar record span (~144 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1881–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Mercy draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.