The Merchant surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,692 people carried this name — #2,455 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,100 people counted. That is up 9% from 13,421 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Merchant surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the merchant’.

An early record he cites: Beneyt Mercator, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 527 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

56 Merchant families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 293 people lived in those households, 5.2 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 15
Virginia 8
North Carolina 8
Pennsylvania 7
Maryland 6
New York 5
Connecticut 3
Rhode Island 2
Maine 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Merchant in American newspapers,
1875–1918.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Merchant
Daily Kennebec Journal 1895-10-07
Newspaper page from New Orleans Republican carrying the name Merchant
New Orleans Republican 1875-09-05
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Merchant
The Washington Times 1918-02-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,649 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Merchant in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

16,394 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Merchant. The most, 2,234, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,128
South Australia 3,357
Queensland 3,320
Victoria 2,958
Tasmania 880
Western Australia 622
ACT (Canberra) 72
Northern Territory 14

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Merchant.

Who carried it

People named Merchant,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Merchant
    Joseph Merchant 1844–1914 · politician
  • Louis A. Merchant
    Louis A. Merchant 1860–1950 · politician
  • John Merchant
    John Merchant 1872–1936 · merchant
  • Livingston T. Merchant
    Livingston T. Merchant 1903–1976 · ambassador
  • Vijay Merchant
    Vijay Merchant 1911–1987 · cricketer
  • Angie Merchant 1834–1886 · mineral collector

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Merchant,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States938 records

938 records of the Merchant name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 362
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 140
  • Other U.S. records 436
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James P. Merchant

    Born 1919 in Indiana. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Benjamin Harrison; transport worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Glen Cove Cemetery / Works Manager's Office, Indiana.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Lonnie Vester Merchant

    Born 1931; from Hazlehurst, Georgia. U.S. Army, combat engineer; killed in action 1969 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Francesco Merchant

    Arrived at New York in 1903 aboard the Lombardia from Naples, aged 31; farmer. From Sonzia, Italy.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 938 records for Merchant in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia320 records

320 records of the Merchant name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 144
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 114
  • Other Australian records 62
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Merchant

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Governor Phillip, sailing from Norfolk Island in 1845. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1848 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 40.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Albert Edward Merchant

    Born 1865 in Port Cygnet, Tasmania. Died 1931 in Tasmania, aged 67. Will registered in Tasmania in 1931.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary Ann Merchant

    Born 1837 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1853 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 17.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 320 records for Merchant in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada70 records

70 records of the Merchant name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 53
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 8
  • Other Canadian records 9
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Hilliard Arnold Merchant

    Buried in 1970 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 50.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Helen Merchant

    Died 1970 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, aged 58.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Edward Thomas Merchant

    Died in service in 1900.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 70 records for Merchant in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom31 records

31 records of the Merchant name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 16
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 11
  • Other British records 4
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Ernest Andrew Merchant

    Born 1897 at Forres; clerk. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Merchant

    Buried in 1830 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 76.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Anne Merchant

    Will proved in 1926; of Swansea.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 31 records for Merchant in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands5 records

5 records of the Merchant name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Nicolas Merchant

    Married in 1806 in Maasniel.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Agniete Merchant

    Married in 1674 in Amersfoort.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Margrita Merchant

    Baptised in 1640 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Merchant in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Merchant.

When the index is not enough

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