Mercedes
Mercedes was the 1439th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 150 babies. Its best year was 1991, when it ranked 164th with 1,798 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 361 places. More babies were named Mercedes in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning "mercies" (Our Lady of Mercy) · Spanish, Latin
Say it mer-SAY-deez /mərˈseɪdiz/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,439 girls, down 166 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 150girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19911,798 babies
- Total since 1880
- 46,575babies recorded
What does the name Mercedes mean?
Mercedes is Spanish for "mercies", from the title María de las Mercedes, "Mary of Mercies" or Our Lady of Mercy, one of the titles of the Virgin Mary. The word comes from Latin merces, "wages, reward", which in later Latin took on the sense "favor, pity". The car brand was named after Mercedes Jellinek, the daughter of a Daimler customer. The name was most popular in the US in the early 1990s.
merced (Spanish, “mercy”)merces (Latin, “wages, reward; later favor, pity”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Mercy, Mercedez, Merced, Sadie.
See also: Spanish names, names that mean grace, virtue names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Mercedes', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Mercedes (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Mercy', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Mercedes
The usual nicknames for Mercedes are Mercy and Merche. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Mercedes in the last five years, 198 were named Mercy, against 14 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy | Traditional | #867 | 1,680 |
| Merche | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Mercedess go by each one.
Mercedes popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 369 since 1917.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,439 | 150 |
| 2020 | #1,273 | 176 |
| 2010 | #665 | 436 |
| 2000 | #285 | 1,134 |
| 1990 | #176 | 1,654 |
| 1980 | #693 | 248 |
| 1970 | #734 | 202 |
| 1960 | #798 | 167 |
| 1950 | #641 | 179 |
| 1940 | #601 | 135 |
| 1930 | #440 | 234 |
| 1920 | #369 | 318 |
| 1910 | #442 | 82 |
| 1900 | #486 | 49 |
| 1890 | #750 | 14 |
| 1880 | #809 | 6 |
How popular is Mercedes, counting every spelling?
Mercedes is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,293 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,439 for Mercedes on its own. Together these spellings went to 159 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes | 150 | #1,439 | 849 |
| Mercedez | 9 | #10,631 | 62 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Mercedes?
150 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Mercedes (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Mercedes born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 56 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Mercedes.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Mercedes?
About 37,500 people born in the US named Mercedes are alive today, with a median age of 31; half are between 24 and 37. That makes Mercedes mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Mercedes by state
How common Mercedes was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (3.4×), Arizona (1.7×), Illinois (1.7×). In 26 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Mercedes: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Mercedes, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Mercedes · Sibling names for Mercedes
Questions about the name Mercedes
What does Mercedes mean?
Mercedes means “"mercies" (Our Lady of Mercy)” (Spanish, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Mercedes?
Mercedes was the 1439th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 150 babies. Its best year was 1991, when it ranked 164th with 1,798 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 361 places. More babies were named Mercedes in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Mercedes a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Mercedes in the US.
Where is Mercedes most popular?
In 2021–2025, Mercedes was most common in Utah (0.36 per 1,000 girls), followed by Arizona and Illinois.