Unisex name · since 1965
Merit
316 babies named Merit in U.S. Social Security records since 1965, with the highest year being 2025. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #15,481 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #3,140 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 316
- born since 1965
- 2020s
- peak decade
316 babies have been named Merit since 1965, making it today's #3140 unisex name.
Merit has 316 recorded births among girls since 1965, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #3140 as of the latest data, more common than 82% of girls, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1965 to 2025.
- #15,481 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #3,140 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 316 born since 1965
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Merit ranks #15,481 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,140 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 316 born since 1965, peaking in the 2020s.
- #15,481 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #3,140 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 316
- born since 1965
- 2020s
- peak decade
Merit's 316 recorded births place it above 78.58% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 2 jurisdictions, led by Texas.
How Merit compares
316 46th percentile among 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
Merit's all-time total is 16% below the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Merit | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 316 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 51 | 21 | 19,840 |
Merit's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Merit splits its recorded history at 2012: 69% of all births land in the more recent half, 31% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1969 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2025 peak of 51 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Merit popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1965–2025
- Peak year (2025)
- 51
- Annual births at peak, across 61 years of records
Merit popularity over time - boys
228 total births recorded since 1918 (Merit as boys' name)
Merit by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (131 births, 41% of the file).
2020s was Merit's strongest decade.
131 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 41% of all-time use.
Merit births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1960s 11
1960s
11 births
- 1970s 7
1970s
7 births
- 1980s 11
1980s
11 births
- 1990s 5
1990s
5 births
- 2000s 42
2000s
42 births
- 2010s
2010s
109 births
- 2020s
2020s
131 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 131 births (41% of all-time use).
Merit by state
Where Merit concentrates geographically, total births since 1965
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 27 | 8.5% |
| #2 | California | | 6 | 1.9% |
27 of 316 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 2 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Merit? ▼
Where does Merit sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Merit most popular? ▼
Where is Merit most popular? ▼
Is Merit a unisex name? ▼
How long has the name Merit been used? ▼
What names are similar to Merit? ▼
What to do with Merit's data
- Texas records the most Merits (27 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Merit
Nearby Names Like Merit
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Merit
Compare Merit side by side: Merit vs Meredith Merit vs Mercedes Merit vs Merle
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Merit
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Merit: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2025)
Similar record span (~60 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, 1965–2025 (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 Merit 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.