Merrywether Surname
Approximately 1 people bear this surname
Merrywether 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.
Read More About This SurnameMerrywether Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 1:362,458,933 | 1,988,048 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 44 | 1:553,986 | 29,025 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 44 | 1:1,141,334 | 65,198 |
Merrywether 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).
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.
(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.
MERYWEDYR: An old spelling of Merryweather. See English Surn. i. 36.
Merrywether Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name Merrywether Come From? nationality or country of origin
Merrywether is more frequently found in The United States than any other country or territory. It can occur as:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.
How Common Is The Last Name Merrywether? popularity and diffusion
It is the 14,316,765th most prevalent last name worldwide. It is borne by approximately 1 in 2,147,483,647 people. The last name occurs mostly in The Americas, where 100 percent of Merrywether are found; 100 percent are found in North America and 100 percent are found in Anglo-North America.
The last name is most prevalent in The United States, where it is borne by 1 people, or 1 in 362,458,933. In The United States Merrywether is most prevalent in: Michigan, where 100 percent live.
Merrywether Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The occurrence of Merrywether has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Merrywether last name contracted 98 percent between 1880 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 Merrywether
- To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis