Meredith
Meredith was the 469th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 656 babies. Its best year was 1980, when it ranked 140th with 2,071 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 121 places. More babies were named Meredith in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning great lord (Welsh) · Welsh
Say it MAIR-ih-dith /ˈmɛrɪdɪθ/
- Rank in 2025
- #469 girls, up 116 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 656girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19802,071 babies
- Total since 1880
- 82,044babies recorded
What does the name Meredith mean?
Meredith is the Welsh name Maredudd. DMNES derives it from Middle Welsh mawr, "great", and iud, "lord, prince", and lists several Welsh princes of the 10th to 12th centuries; Wiktionary gives "great lord". It was a man's name in Wales and remains so there, but in the US it has been mainly a girl's name since the 20th century. Its link with Mary and Edith is mistaken.
mawr (Middle Welsh, “great”)iud (Middle Welsh / Old Breton, “lord, prince”)
How sure is this? Probable. DMNES and Wiktionary agree; Harrison (1918) gave a different, tentative reading.
Other explanations you may read: Mary + Edith.
Related names: Maredudd, Merry, Meridith.
See also: Welsh names, names that mean king or queen.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Meredith', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Meredith', DMNES, Durham University
- Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (1901), s.v. 'Meredith', Henry Frowde (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
Nicknames for Meredith
The usual nicknames for Meredith are Merry. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Meredith in the last five years, 2 were named Merry, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merry | Traditional | #10,634 | 68 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Merediths go by each one.
Meredith popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 4,257 since 1883.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #469 | 656 |
| 2020 | #585 | 499 |
| 2010 | #604 | 486 |
| 2000 | #293 | 1,092 |
| 1990 | #190 | 1,555 |
| 1980 | #140 | 2,071 |
| 1970 | #234 | 1,352 |
| 1960 | #642 | 247 |
| 1950 | #467 | 304 |
| 1940 | #524 | 172 |
| 1930 | #724 | 94 |
| 1920 | #838 | 75 |
| 1910 | #890 | 24 |
| 1900 | #2,124 | 5 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Meredith, counting every spelling?
Meredith is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #485 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #469 for Meredith on its own. Together these spellings went to 656 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meredith | 656 | #469 | 2,965 |
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 Meredith?
656 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Meredith (0.18 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Meredith 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 13 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Meredith.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Meredith?
About 71,100 people born in the US named Meredith are alive today, with a median age of 40; half are between 27 and 49. That makes Meredith 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.
Meredith by state
How common Meredith was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Hampshire (3.0×), Louisiana (2.9×), Mississippi (2.6×), Alabama (2.4×), Indiana (2.0×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Utah, Nevada, Idaho.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Meredith: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Meredith, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Meredith · Sibling names for Meredith
Questions about the name Meredith
What does Meredith mean?
Meredith means “great lord (Welsh)” (Welsh origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Meredith?
Meredith was the 469th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 656 babies. Its best year was 1980, when it ranked 140th with 2,071 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 121 places. More babies were named Meredith in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Meredith a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Meredith in the US.
Where is Meredith most popular?
In 2021–2025, Meredith was most common in Vermont (1.24 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Hampshire and Louisiana.