Merreyweather Surname

14,316,765th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
England

Merreyweather Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'merry weather'; a happy, genial, sunshiny fellow; a colloquial expression. Nothing to do with a wether sheep. compare Fairweather, used in exactly a similar sense, and still existing as a surname.

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Merreyweather Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England11:55,718,059489,080
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England81:3,046,92180,371

Merreyweather Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'merry weather'; a happy, genial, sunshiny fellow; a colloquial expression. Nothing to do with a wether sheep. compare Fairweather, used in exactly a similar sense, and still existing as a surname.' Fayre, mery wedur or tyme fayir as wedyr, amenus': Promptorium Parvulorum 'Myryweder, or softe weder, malaria' (ibid). Merry is here used in the sense of pleasant. Way adds a quotation from Vegecius, attributed to Trevisa, Roy. MS. 18 A. xii, where it is observed that wise warriors in olden times used to 'occupie theire foot menne in dedes of armes in the felde in mery wedire,' i.e. fair weather (v. Way's edit. Prompt. Parv). As a surname it occurs, among some other fictitious characters, in one of the Coventry Mysteries, where mention is made of 'Bontyng the Brewster, and Sybyly Sfynge, Megge Mery-wedyr, and Sabine Sprynge.'

Andrew Muriweder, Oxfordshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Thomas Murweder, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Henry Muriweder. Issues of the Exchequer.

1617. Married — Thomas Church and Francis Merry weather: St. Peter, Cornhill.

1667. John Ferris and Jane Merrywether (Wiltshire): Marriage Alleg. (Canterbury).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Formerly an idiomatic phrase for joy, pleasure, or delight. Halliw. Hence probably applied to a person of hilarious temperament. Fairweather and Fineweather are analogous surnames.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

(found Merywedyr). Halliwell says the word merryweather was formerly an idiomatic phrase for joy, pleasure, or delight. This name is probably from Anglo-Saxon wether, wedder, a ram; Danish, vœder. compare the surnames Fairweather (H.R. Fayrweder), Fearweather, Fineweather, Foulweather, Kieseweather, Starkweather.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

MERYWEDYR: An old spelling of Merryweather. See English Surn. i. 36.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Merreyweather Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Merreyweather Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Merreyweather is found in England more than any other country/territory. It can be found as a variant:. Click here for further potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Merreyweather? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 14,316,765th most prevalent last name on a global scale, held by around 1 in 2,147,483,647 people. This surname is predominantly found in Europe, where 100 percent of Merreyweather reside; 100 percent reside in Northern Europe and 100 percent reside in British Isles.

The last name Merreyweather is most widely held in England, where it is held by 1 people, or 1 in 55,718,059. In England it is most frequent in: Nottinghamshire, where 100 percent are found.

Merreyweather Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Merreyweather has changed over time. In England the number of people bearing the Merreyweather last name decreased 87 percent between 1881 and 2014.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Merreyweather
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis