Girls' name · since 1898
Merry
Merry has 10,369 recorded births since 1898 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1954 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,618 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,142 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 10,369
- born since 1898
- 1950s
- peak decade
Merry currently ranks #10142 among girls' names in America, with 10,369 babies recorded since 1898.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Merry has been recorded 10,369 times among girls since 1898, currently ranked #10142 nationally and more common than 41% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1898 to 2025.
- #1,618 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #10,142 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 10,369 born since 1898
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Merry ranks #1,618 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,142 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 10,369 born since 1898, peaking in the 1950s.
- #1,618 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,142 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 10,369
- born since 1898
- 1950s
- peak decade
Merry's 10,369 recorded births place it above 97.76% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
40 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Merry compares
10,369 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
Merry's all-time total is 28x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Merry | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 10,369 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 355 | 21 | 19,840 |
Merry's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Merry's full recorded timeline at 1965, 25% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 75% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1898, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1954 peak of 355 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Merry popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1898–2025
- Peak year (1954)
- 355
- Annual births at peak, across 128 years of records
Merry by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (2,972 births, 29% of the file).
1950s was Merry's strongest decade.
2,972 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 29% of all-time use.
Merry births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 5
1890s
5 births
- 1900s 30
1900s
30 births
- 1910s 209
1910s
209 births
- 1920s 495
1920s
495 births
- 1930s 661
1930s
661 births
- 1940s
1940s
2,246 births
- 1950s
1950s
2,972 births
- 1960s
1960s
1,833 births
- 1970s 698
1970s
698 births
- 1980s 436
1980s
436 births
- 1990s 293
1990s
293 births
- 2000s 200
2000s
200 births
- 2010s 206
2010s
206 births
- 2020s 85
2020s
85 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 2,972 births (29% of all-time use).
How Merry 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 Merry's total volume
Merry by state
Where Merry concentrates geographically, total births since 1898
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 852 | 8.2% |
| #2 | Illinois | | 583 | 5.6% |
| #3 | Michigan | | 534 | 5.1% |
| #4 | Texas | | 516 | 5.0% |
| #5 | New York | | 428 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 356 | 3.4% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 274 | 2.6% |
| #8 | Minnesota | | 244 | 2.4% |
852 of 10,369 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.
Merry appears in 40 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Merry? ▼
Where does Merry sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Merry most popular? ▼
Where is Merry most popular? ▼
How long has the name Merry been used? ▼
What names are similar to Merry? ▼
What to do with Merry's data
- Merry's decade-level peak was the 1950s (2,972 total births); usage has since declined to 85 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Merrys (852 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 Merry
Nearby Names Like Merry
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Merry
Compare Merry side by side: Merry vs Meredith Merry vs Mercedes Merry vs Merle
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Merry
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Merry: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1954)
Similar record span (~127 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, 1898–2025 (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 Merry 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.