Meredith

About Meredith

Meredith is a Welsh name, usually connected with the meaning great lord, though its earliest elements are not entirely certain. Originally masculine, it also became an established feminine name in English. Composer Meredith Willson and the fictional surgeon Meredith Grey illustrate two different chapters in its cultural life.

Meaning and Welsh history

Meredith comes from Welsh Maredudd or Meredydd, with earlier written forms such as Margetud. One proposed explanation combines an element associated with greatness or magnificence with iudd, meaning lord. The familiar translation great lord captures that interpretation without settling every detail of the older name.

The Welsh forms were well used in the Middle Ages. Meredith later served as both a given name and a surname. Its three-syllable English pronunciation is distinct from the sound of some Welsh forms, so the modern English spelling represents a long history of adaptation.

In English-speaking countries, female use became more common during the twentieth century. The older masculine tradition continued, especially in Wales. American records likewise contain both boys and girls named Meredith, rather than an exclusively feminine history.

Meredith Willson and The Music Man

Meredith Willson wrote the music and lyrics for The Music Man and shared the book credit with Franklin Lacey. The Broadway musical opened in 1957 and won the 1958 Tony Award for best musical. Willson's memories of growing up in Mason City, Iowa, helped shape its world.

The story centers on Harold Hill, a traveling salesman whose promises of a boys' band draw a town into his schemes. Willson's score turns the rhythms of community life into musical storytelling. The name Meredith thus has an enduring connection with one of Broadway's best-known depictions of small-town America.

Willson also wrote The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Here's Love. His professional name preserves Meredith's masculine use in a setting where modern audiences may otherwise be more familiar with women bearing it.

Meredith Grey on television

Ellen Pompeo's character Meredith Grey is central to Grey's Anatomy. The medical drama made Meredith a frequently heard first name through stories of hospital work, relationships, and the demands of surgical training and practice.

This screen association belongs to a much later generation than Willson's Broadway career. The shared name links very different fictional worlds: an Iowa town organized around a promised band and a contemporary hospital organized around the lives of its doctors.

Pronunciation and familiar forms

The usual English pronunciation is MERR-uh-dith, with stress on the first syllable. The final th is voiceless, as in thin. Welsh pronunciation can differ, including a later stress in some forms; Maredudd should not simply be read as an English spelling variation.

Meri or Merry can work as informal shortenings from the opening sound. They are possible household forms rather than requirements. Merideth and Meridith are established spelling variants, while Meredydd and Maredudd preserve the Welsh name family more visibly.

American popularity

Meredith reached #140 for United States girls in 1980, with 2,071 births. It ranked #293 in 2000 and #604 in 2010, then #469 in 2025, with 656 births. Male use was much smaller by the late twentieth century, although 106 boys received the name in 1920.

How popular is Meredith?

In 2025, Meredith ranked #469 among girls in the United States, with 656 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1895; its largest annual count was 2,071 in 1980. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.