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Mervyn

Boys' name

Possibly marrow

Mervyn has been given to 1,586 babies in the U.S. since 1905. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1937, with 55 recorded.

Babies named Mervyn, 2016

1 in 734,000

Mervyn over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Mervyn: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly marrow

Welsh

What Mervyn means

Mervyn may mean “marrow”, associated with mer.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Welsh Merfyn, probably from mer (“marrow”) (from Proto-Brythonic *mer) + myn (“eminent”) (compare Irish mín (“smooth, elegant, courteous”)).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Mervyn (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Mervyn is used in English. Its origins include Welsh.

Mervyn comes through Welsh Merfyn and Proto-Brythonic *mer.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Mervyn is pronounced /ˈmɝ.vɪn/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,581 boys were recorded with the name Mervyn between 1905 and 2016. Its highest annual count was 55 in 1937; its best national rank was #828 in 1937.

In the United States, 5 girls were recorded with the name Mervyn between 1916 and 1916. Its highest annual count was 5 in 1916; its best national rank was #4,918 in 1916.

How common is Mervyn?

Mervyn had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2016, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2016
1 in 734,000
5 of 3,669,531 births
Among boys only
1 in 380,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2016
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
508,706 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Mervyn sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2016 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 508,706 children born in 2016 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Mervyn. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Mervyns were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Mervyn was born before 1937 — so the typical Mervyn is around 88 today.

Median birth year
1937
About 88 years old
Biggest decade
1930s
28.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
3.2%
Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950
421
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1930s — 28.5% of all recorded uses (451).

Is Mervyn rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1937 (55)
Years since peak
88
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
26.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#828
1937

Spellings of Mervyn

Mervyn is not the most common spelling — Marvin is, with 42.3% against Mervyn's 0.26%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Mervyn is used

Across 1910–2025, Mervyn was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 142,959 across all states with data. It was least common in Pennsylvania (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Illinois1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Pennsylvania1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Mervyn has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Mervyn around the world

Where Mervyn ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1998–2017
    #3,996
    in 2017
  • Ireland
    1964–1989
    #278
    in 1989
  • France
    1998–2007
    #4,314
    in 2007
  • South Australia
    1944–2007
    #680
    in 2007

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Mervyn by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#828
1937
Peak year
1937
55 that year
First recorded
1905
Last recorded
2016
All-time count
1,581
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,918
1916
Peak year
1916
5 that year
First recorded
1916
Last recorded
1916
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Mervyn

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

MercerMerlynMerwinMerrikMerrilTrevynMerwynMercedMerrickMervinMerrittMerickJayvynMertonMerlinMerikKevynMerrellSevynMertMercyMeritMercuryMerrill

Sibling names for Mervyn

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Mervyn

Top names of 1937, Mervyn's peak yearThe 1930s in fullOther names that peaked in 1937Boys' names starting with MWelsh Boy NamesWelsh Names