Mercer
Masculine · “dealer in fine cloth”
Mercer is given to both — 1,345 boys and 213 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Mercer is a dealer in fine cloth — from the Latin merx, goods — and the Mercers were among the greatest London livery companies.
How old is the name Mercer?
Mercer first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Mercer alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 900 people named Mercer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mercer most popular?
Mercer peaked in 1881, reaching #866 nationally. Today it ranks #2539, 1,673 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From merx to Mercer
The story of Mercer
The Mercers' Company ranks first among the twelve great livery companies of London and dealt in silks and fine cloth; Dick Whittington was a mercer. The Latin behind the word also gives Mercury, the god of merchants. Mercer entered American given-name use recently and is in current use.
Meaning
dealer in fine cloth
From the Old French mercier, 'trader', from the Latin merx, mercis, 'goods' or 'merchandise'. The same root gives merchant, market, commerce and Mercury, the god of trade. The occupational surname is documented.
How the name formed
- merx
- mercier
- Mercer
Related forms: Mercier · Merceer
Pronouncing Mercer
MUR-sur
Two syllables, stress on the first. French Mercier is mer-SYAY.
Nicknames for Mercer
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
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 202552 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #866reached in 1881
- Change vs 2023
- +52.9%52 in 2025, from 34
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.
Mercer in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mercier in French — related form
- Merceer in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Washington.
Mercers among us
people named Mercer are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 32,848 born in 2025 was named Mercer
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Mercer 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
Where Mercer is headed
Mercer should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mercer beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mercer in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Mercury the god shares the root is a first-rate etymology.
- The Mercers' Company ranking first of the twelve is a genuinely good fact.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It reads unmistakably as a surname.
- It is very new as a given name.
- The trade it names no longer exists.
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What they receive
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Mercer
Masculine · #2539 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mercers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Mercer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mercer in 2025?
- Mercer ranks #2539 among US boy names in 2025, with 52 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mercer?
- About 1 in every 32,848 US boys born in 2025 was named Mercer — 52 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mercer with classmates?
- Mercer will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mercer
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Yanis#2539 · Luigi#2539 · Ramy#2539 · Ziyad#2539 · Mazen#2539 · Ebenezer#2539 · Konnor#2539 · Ruston#2539
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mercer? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mercer and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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