Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Merlinda isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1931. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Merlinda through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 530
- 0 boys · 530 girls
- Most popular year
- 1964
- 22 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2009. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 22 in 1964. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 965 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Merlinda’s family of names
Merlinda may belong to the same name family as MERLINNDA. This is a tentative spelling connection.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Merlinda
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Merlinda, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Melinda
“one who is sweet and gentle”
>99% girls
Malinda
“one who is sweet and gentle”
>99% girls
Martina
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
>99% girls
Rhonda
“wielding a good spear”
>99% girls
Marylynn
>99% girls
Marybeth
“star of the sea” · “from the sea of bitterness”
>99% girls
Belinda
“a beautiful and tender woman”
>99% girls
Melony
“a dark-skinned beauty”
>99% girls