Meredith
Meredith was given to 656 girls in 2025, #469 among girls’ names; 82,044 Americans have been recorded with it since 1883 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 72,500 Americans named Meredith and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (88% of everyone recorded); the median is 40 years old and half are between 27 and 50.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Meredith by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Meredith mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Meredith is “a female given name from Welsh; sometimes mistaken for a combination of Mary and Edith.” Its etymology gives the sense “great lord” (Maredudd).
Also “a male given name from Welsh.”
From Welsh Maredudd (“great lord”).
/məˈɹɛdɪθ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Meredith?
#469 among girls’ names, 2025
Meredith rose from #590 in 2015 to #469 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.29 to 0.41 per 1,000.
2,087 babies in 1980, the peak
Meredith peaked in 1980, when 2,087 babies were given it (2,071 girls, #140 among girls’ names). The 656 births of 2025 are 31% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 656 | #469 | 0.41 |
| 2024 | 623 | #492 | 0.38 |
| 2023 | 595 | #509 | 0.37 |
| 2022 | 557 | #549 | 0.34 |
| 2021 | 534 | #570 | 0.33 |
| 2020 | 499 | #585 | 0.31 |
| 2019 | 527 | #581 | 0.31 |
| 2018 | 598 | #524 | 0.35 |
| 2017 | 628 | #502 | 0.36 |
| 2016 | 588 | #530 | 0.33 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 510 | #590 | 0.29 |
| 2014 | 477 | #610 | 0.27 |
| 2013 | 433 | #658 | 0.25 |
| 2012 | 423 | #669 | 0.24 |
| 2011 | 477 | #602 | 0.27 |
| 2010 | 486 | #604 | 0.27 |
| 2009 | 635 | #485 | 0.35 |
| 2008 | 710 | #445 | 0.38 |
| 2007 | 952 | #347 | 0.50 |
| 2006 | 1,064 | #312 | 0.56 |
| 2005 | 853 | #367 | 0.46 |
| 2004 | 953 | #336 | 0.52 |
| 2003 | 840 | #363 | 0.46 |
| 2002 | 833 | #356 | 0.46 |
| 2001 | 957 | #324 | 0.53 |
| 2000 | 1,092 | #293 | 0.60 |
| 1999 | 1,140 | #275 | 0.64 |
| 1998 | 1,111 | #280 | 0.63 |
| 1997 | 1,108 | #262 | 0.64 |
| 1996 | 1,182 | #237 | 0.67 |
| 1995 | 1,244 | #226 | 0.71 |
| 1994 | 1,230 | #231 | 0.69 |
| 1993 | 1,252 | #223 | 0.69 |
| 1992 | 1,463 | #199 | 0.79 |
| 1991 | 1,494 | #200 | 0.80 |
| 1990 | 1,555 | #190 | 0.82 |
| 1989 | 1,698 | #168 | 0.92 |
| 1988 | 1,855 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1987 | 1,815 | #148 | 1.0 |
| 1986 | 1,927 | #150 | 1.1 |
| 1985 | 1,959 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1984 | 1,937 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 1983 | 1,941 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 1982 | 1,954 | #150 | 1.2 |
| 1981 | 2,047 | #140 | 1.2 |
| 1980 | 2,071 | #140 | 1.2 |
| 1979 | 1,962 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1978 | 1,880 | #146 | 1.2 |
| 1977 | 1,765 | #154 | 1.2 |
| 1976 | 1,468 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1975 | 1,428 | #181 | 1.0 |
| 1974 | 1,519 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1973 | 1,523 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1972 | 1,435 | #197 | 0.94 |
| 1971 | 1,508 | #197 | 0.91 |
| 1970 | 1,352 | #234 | 0.77 |
| 1969 | 1,092 | #266 | 0.65 |
| 1968 | 536 | #403 | 0.33 |
| 1967 | 355 | #502 | 0.22 |
| 1966 | 347 | #508 | 0.21 |
| 1965 | 345 | #512 | 0.20 |
| 1964 | 301 | #567 | 0.16 |
| 1963 | 188 | #752 | 0.10 |
| 1962 | 261 | #625 | 0.13 |
| 1961 | 255 | #638 | 0.13 |
| 1960 | 247 | #642 | 0.12 |
| 1959 | 259 | #618 | 0.13 |
| 1958 | 217 | #672 | 0.11 |
| 1957 | 236 | #640 | 0.12 |
| 1956 | 288 | #551 | 0.14 |
| 1955 | 300 | #531 | 0.15 |
| 1954 | 282 | #528 | 0.15 |
| 1953 | 329 | #471 | 0.17 |
| 1952 | 315 | #474 | 0.17 |
| 1951 | 359 | #440 | 0.20 |
| 1950 | 304 | #466 | 0.18 |
| 1949 | 290 | #474 | 0.17 |
| 1948 | 294 | #468 | 0.17 |
| 1947 | 346 | #442 | 0.20 |
| 1946 | 332 | #423 | 0.21 |
| 1945 | 309 | #404 | 0.24 |
| 1944 | 328 | #391 | 0.25 |
| 1943 | 327 | #405 | 0.23 |
| 1942 | 272 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1941 | 231 | #457 | 0.19 |
| 1940 | 172 | #524 | 0.15 |
| 1939 | 194 | #481 | 0.18 |
| 1938 | 194 | #476 | 0.18 |
| 1937 | 152 | #541 | 0.14 |
| 1936 | 165 | #508 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 129 | #563 | 0.12 |
| 1934 | 127 | #573 | 0.12 |
| 1933 | 85 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 88 | #720 | 0.08 |
| 1931 | 72 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1930 | 94 | #724 | 0.08 |
| 1929 | 99 | #705 | 0.09 |
| 1928 | 95 | #727 | 0.08 |
| 1927 | 93 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1926 | 83 | #796 | 0.07 |
| 1925 | 91 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 82 | #827 | 0.07 |
| 1923 | 81 | #818 | 0.07 |
| 1922 | 94 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1921 | 99 | #736 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 75 | #838 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 66 | #865 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 82 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 63 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1916 | 66 | #835 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 49 | #952 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 40 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 38 | #862 | 0.06 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,204 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 16 | #1,155 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 24 | #890 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 16 | #1,040 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 14 | #1,123 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 13 | #1,121 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,876 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 10 | #1,276 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 5 | #2,074 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 8 | #1,404 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 8 | #1,399 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 5 | #2,123 | 0.02 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,535 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Meredith a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 82,044 Americans recorded as Meredith, 95% are girls and 5% boys. Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Meredith every year since 1923. In 2025 it went to 656 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Meredith: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Meredith, and how old are they?
72,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 88% of the 82,044 Americans ever recorded as Meredith. The median Meredith alive today is 40 years old; half are between 27 and 50.
The 2020 Census counted 69,215 people named Meredith (67,682 women and girls, 1,533 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 71,108 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,430 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,750 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 19,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 26,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,180 |
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 Meredith born?
The states with the most babies named Meredith are Texas, New York and North Carolina, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 6,636 | #420 | 1.0× |
| New York | 5,259 | #819 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 4,670 | #358 | 2.0× |
| California | 4,360 | #748 | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,881 | #382 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 3,811 | #384 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 3,494 | #553 | 1.7× |
| Virginia | 3,080 | #316 | 1.6× |
| Illinois | 2,871 | #561 | 0.7× |
| New Jersey | 2,809 | #821 | 1.2× |
Where Meredith is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Meredith is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Meredith 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 7 names spelled alike, given to 87,306 babies since 1880, Meredith is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 656 of their 656 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.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Meredith
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Meredith and names like it
- Compare Meredith and MeridithBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sMeredith peaked in 1980.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Meredith since 1910.
- Welsh namesWiktionary’s origin for Meredith: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1980The year the most babies were named Meredith.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Meredith alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with MMost given first.