Merryweather Surname

170,322nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,531 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Aruba

Merryweather 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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Merryweather Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,3041:42,7295,451
United States5501:659,01652,733
Canada2781:132,53813,752
South Africa1591:340,74031,565
Australia781:346,09929,260
New Zealand441:102,91613,667
Aruba281:3,696529
Switzerland251:328,51725,592
Scotland161:334,61415,044
Singapore131:423,66918,211
Wales101:309,45316,869
Thailand51:14,127,669603,945
Italy31:20,385,563143,117
Spain31:15,584,012120,866
Finland21:2,748,35172,663
India21:383,532,6911,645,216
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Rwanda11:11,364,9785,947
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Isle of Man11:85,8224,091
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
France11:66,422,722504,397
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England6741:36,1654,704
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2031:247,38320,545

Merryweather (13) may also be a first name.

Merryweather 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

(English) a nickname for a Gay or Blithe Fellow [v. Merry, and + Old English weder, weather] Andrew Meriweder.—Hundred Rolls Merryweather was formerly an idiomatic phrase for joy, pleasure, or delight.— Halliwell, Dict.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Old English nickname for cheerful person.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(English) A gay, blithe or agreeable person.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

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

Merryweather Last Name Facts

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

Merryweather has its highest incidence in England. It can also be found in the variant forms:. Click here for other potential spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Merryweather? popularity and diffusion

The last name Merryweather is the 170,322nd most commonly held last name on earth. It is borne by around 1 in 2,879,315 people. The surname Merryweather occurs predominantly in Europe, where 54 percent of Merryweather live; 53 percent live in Northern Europe and 53 percent live in British Isles. Merryweather is also the 3,159,357th most numerous first name on earth. It is borne by 13 people.

The surname Merryweather is most frequently occurring in England, where it is borne by 1,304 people, or 1 in 42,729. In England Merryweather is primarily concentrated in: Durham, where 7 percent reside, Hampshire, where 7 percent reside and Greater London, where 7 percent reside. Not including England Merryweather exists in 26 countries. It is also common in The United States, where 22 percent reside and Canada, where 11 percent reside.

Merryweather Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Merryweather has changed over time. In England the share of the population with the surname increased 193 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it increased 271 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Merryweather Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the surname is chiefly Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Merryweather last name are 22.72% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 69.49% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Merryweather earn in different countries varies significantly. In South Africa they earn 36.1% more than the national average, earning R 323,436 per year; in United States they earn 6.22% more than the national average, earning $45,833 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.87% more than the national average, earning $52,105 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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Merryweather Reference & Research

Meriwether DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Meriwether FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Merryweather
  • 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