Merwin
Masculine
Merwin is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,625 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Merwin and Marvin are the same Welsh name, separated by two vowels and a habit of writing. Both descend from Merfyn, which English speakers heard, could not spell, and wrote down several ways at once. The original belonged to a ninth-century king of Gwynedd whose descendants held the kingdom for four hundred years, which is a long run by any dynastic standard.
How old is the name Merwin?
Merwin first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Merwin alive today was born around 1928, making them about 97 years old. About 300 people named Merwin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Merwin most popular?
Merwin peaked in 1928, reaching #818 nationally. See the whole 1928 chart.
Where it comes from
From Merfyn, an Old Welsh name of uncertain meaning to Merwin
The story of Merwin
Merfyn Frych came to Gwynedd through his mother's line at a moment when the direct male succession had failed, and founded a house that ruled north Wales until the Edwardian conquest. His son was Rhodri the Great, who briefly held most of Wales at once; his descendants produced Hywel the Good, whose law codes were still being cited centuries later. For a small kingdom under constant pressure from Mercia on one side and Viking fleets on the other, four hundred years of one family is a remarkable record. The name traveled into English by ear rather than by document, which is why it arrives in the registers in several forms with no agreement between them. Anyone comparing the American spellings should understand that they are not variants of each other; they are separate attempts at the same Welsh word.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Welsh name is old enough that its elements are disputed. The second half is usually connected to a word meaning eminent or fair, and the first half has no agreed reading at all. Attempts to translate the name as anything about marvels are false: the resemblance to the English word is accidental and the two have no connection whatever. The honest position is that the name is genuinely Welsh, genuinely old, and genuinely unexplained.
How the name formed
- Merfyn, an Old Welsh name of uncertain meaning
- A royal name in ninth-century Gwynedd
- Written into English several ways at once
- Merwin, Mervyn and Marvin as parallel attempts
Related forms: Merfyn · Mervyn
Pronouncing Merwin
MER-win
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Welsh original has an f in the middle, which Welsh says as a v, so Mervyn is the spelling closest to the source and this one has replaced the consonant outright rather than respelling it.
Nicknames for Merwin
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
- 1892
- Most boys named
- 192864 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #818reached in 1928
- Change vs 1987
- 0.0%5 in 2008, from 5
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.
Merwin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Merfyn in Welsh — same name
- Mervyn in English — spelling variant
Merwins among us
people named Merwin are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Merwin sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is short, easily said, and has a genuine Welsh royal history behind it.
- Merv is available immediately and carries no pretension at all.
- It appears on the register for either child, and always has.
- It will be written as Marvin or Mervyn by most people taking it down from speech.
- There is no meaning to give, and the tempting English word is unrelated.
- It is strongly of a period in American ears, and has not begun to return.
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Merwin
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Merwins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Merwin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Merwin in 2025?
- Merwin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Merwin with classmates?
- Merwin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Michael#21 · Matthew#32 · Mark#244 · Mason#39 · Martin#335 · Marvin#699 · Melvin#958 · Marcus#258
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Merwin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Merwin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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