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SHARED SPELLING

✦ Two distinct US naming histories

Merit

Used in both girl and boy records

Merit appears in both girl and boy US naming records. Compare the two independent popularity histories, ranks, and peak years.

Choose a record

Merit by gender

Each record below preserves the original rank, use count, active years, and peak year for that gender. The spelling is shared; the data histories are not combined.

GIRL RECORDMerit as a girl’s nameUS records 1965–2024
#14336girl rank2023peak year
Read girl record ↗BOY RECORDMerit as a boy’s nameUS records 1918–2024
#11021boy rank2014peak year
Read boy record ↗

Popularity ledger

Girl and boy use over time

GirlBoy

Trace the annual recorded uses of Merit in the national name files. Hover a peak marker, move across the chart, or use the arrow keys to inspect an exact annual count and rank.

At a glance

RecordPeak yearHighest rankObserved usage
Girl201916 uses#581219651965–202023 listed years
Boy201416 uses#325219221918–202017 listed years

Annual counts and within-year ranks from the SSA national-name archive, 1880–2020. Names with fewer than five births in a year are not listed in the source files.