Given name & surname
Meri
“resembling a blackbird”·“one who is lighthearted and joyful”·“filled with joy”
Meri is a variant of Merle. One French interpretation is “resembling a blackbird.” Meri is a variant of Merry. Interpretations include “one who is lighthearted and joyful” (English) and “filled with joy” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Meri is a variant of Merle. One French interpretation is “resembling a blackbird.” Meri is a variant of Merry. Interpretations include “one who is lighthearted and joyful” (English) and “filled with joy” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Meri is a variant of Merle. An origin associated with Merle is French. Meri is a variant of Merry. An origin associated with Merry is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Meri is a diminutive of MERIDA.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Meri is a variant of Merry. The history of Merry gives this family its wider story. In Dickens’s Martin Chuzzlewit, Mercy Pecksniff is called Merry. This gives the name a specific literary link with Mercy alongside its everyday association with a cheerful disposition.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Meri through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,502
- 0 boys · 2,502 girls
- Most popular year
- 1961
- 89 babies
- 2025
- 9
- #10,632 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +19%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 9 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 10,632 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 19.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 89 in 1961. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,023 as a first name in 2020; 171 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Meri’s family of names
In English usage, Meri is a diminutive of MERIDA. Meri has a related form in Merle. Meri has a related form in Merry.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Meri has relatives in 3 languages.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 17
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Meri
- Meri MangakāhiaNew Zealand suffragist (1868–1920)
- Meri Avidzbafirst Abkhaziyan woman pilot (1917–1986)
- Mary ChronopoulouGreek actress1933–2023
- Mary KatrantzouGreek fashion designer (born 1983)
- Meri Nana-Ama DanquahGhanaian-American writerborn 1967
- Helena RantaFinnish forensic dentistborn 1946
- Meri CetinićCroatian pop singerborn 1953
- Meri DavitashviliSoviet, Georgian composer, conductor, teacher (1924-2014)
- Mary Giatra LemouGreek actress1915–1989
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Meri, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Merrie
“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”
>99% girls
Jeri
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls
Geri
“one who rules with the spear” · “one who is flexible”
>99% girls
Sherli
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Darsi
“having dark features”
>99% girls
Sheryl
“one who is greatly loved; a darling” · “from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Darsie
“a dark beauty” · “having dark features”
>99% girls
Pammy
“very strange” · “a woman who is as sweet as honey”
>99% girls