Merary
Feminine · “Hebrew merari”
Merari was a son of Levi, and his descendants had a specific job. When the tabernacle was taken down, the Merarites carried the frames, bars, pillars and sockets: the heavy structural parts. Two other clans carried the furniture and the curtains. The work was divided by family.
How old is the name Merary?
Merary first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Merary alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 500 people named Merary are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Merary most popular?
Merary peaked in 2008, reaching #4448 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 5,009 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Merari to Merary
The story of Merary
Numbers 3 and 4 divide the Levites into three clans by descent and assigns each a portion of the tabernacle to transport. The Kohathites carried the ark, the table, the lampstand and the altars, the holiest objects, on their shoulders and under supervision. The Gershonites carried the curtains, coverings and hangings, in wagons. The Merarites carried the frames, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases and the pegs, also in wagons, and the text lists their equipment item by item. It is one of the few passages in the Hebrew Bible that reads like a logistics manual, and it records something real about how a portable sanctuary was actually moved: the heavy timber and metalwork needed a dedicated crew, and that crew was a family with a name.
Meaningscholars disagree
Hebrew merari, bitter
Merary is a Spanish, chiefly Mexican, form of the Biblical name Merari, third son of Levi, usually read from a Hebrew root meaning bitter. In Hebrew the name is male; in Mexican usage it is given to women, one of a number of Biblical men's names that changed sex on the way into Spanish American naming. The American peak is 2008.
How the name formed
- Merari
- Merary
Related forms: Merari · Merari
Pronouncing Merary
meh-RAH-ree
Three syllables, stress on the second in Spanish. The y at the end is said ee, as it is in Spanish words like rey and muy.
Nicknames for Merary
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1987
- Most girls named
- 200834 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4448reached in 2008
- Change vs 2024
- +42.9%10 in 2025, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Merary in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Merari in Spanish — spelling variant
- Merari in Hebrew — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Merarys among us
people named Merary are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Merary
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Merary
- #9457
- Merary on the 2025 chart
- #940
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Merary went to 10 girls in 2025, but Merari is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 20, which makes it the 940th most-given girls’ name of the year — 8,517 places above the chart.
- Merari10
- Merary10
About 1 girl in 80,363 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 160,727 for Merary itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lillah test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Merary's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lillah climbed just as high around 1922, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lillah's path sketches the road Merary is walking now.
Merary sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Merary beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Merary in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three syllables with an even, open rhythm.
- Meri works as a short form.
- It has a documented Biblical source.
- In Hebrew it is a man's name.
- The usual reading of the Hebrew is bitter.
- Merari is the standard spelling of the Biblical name.
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Merary
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Merarys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Merary are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Merary?
- Merary is one of 2 recorded spellings. Merari is the more common one — 10 births in 2025 against 10 for Merary.
- How popular is the name Merary in 2025?
- Merary ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Merary?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Merary — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Merary with classmates?
- Merary will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Merary
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Merary? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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