Meredith

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Girl · Welsh

Meredith

Say it: MAIR-uh-dith

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Meaning

From Welsh Maredudd, Old Welsh Morgetiud; the second element is probably iudd 'lord', and the first is uncertain.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

A Welsh man's name for centuries, it became mainly a girls' name in the US from the 1920s onward.

Its wave through time

Most used in the 1980s

In the United States

00.511.518801900192019401960198020002020Girls 1980Boys 1909per 1,000 babies of that sex
  • 79,067 babies given this name since 1883
  • At its height in 1980, about 1 in 802 girls
  • 496 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
  2. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

WelshEnglishAmerican

The family of the name

Other spellings: Meridith

WelshMaredudd

Famous bearers

  • Maredudd ab Owain, 10th-century Welsh king

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • Early Welsh tales, poetry and genealogies
  • Royal and noble genealogies
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.