Given name
Merrilie
“one who is lighthearted and joyful”·“filled with joy”
Merrilie 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
Merrilie 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
Merrilie is a variant of Merry. An origin associated with Merry is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1939. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Merrilie 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
Merrilie through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22
- 0 boys · 22 girls
- Most popular year
- 1942
- 12 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 5 in 1943. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 12 in 1942.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Merrilie’s family of names
Merrilie has a related form in Merry.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Merrilie, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Merrilee
“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”
>99% girls
Merrily
“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”
>99% girls
Jeraldine
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls
Jeralee
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls
Jerrie
“a holy man; having great strength” · “one who rules with the spear”
6% boys · 94% girls
Merrie
“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”
>99% girls
Sherlie
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Merie
“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”
>99% girls