More Names from the IGI Parish Records: Merida

With the popularity of the movie Brave, I've received a couple of requests for the given name “Merida,”  generally from female submitters under the age of 18.  Regardless of how the movie uses it, it is not a Scottish name. However, it can be documented to period other ways.

Merida appears as an English given name dated to 1628, which is within our “gray period” and acceptable as documentation. It is not clear whether this name was male or female.[1]

It can also be documented as an English surname. William Merida was married in England in 1580.[2] Since there is a documented pattern of using sixteenth century English surnames as given names, this evidence also supports “Merida” as an English given name.

[1] “England Marriages, 1538–1973 “, index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NVJS-6ZW), Merida Daves and Joane Kinge, 29 Dec 1628; Batch: M05807-2

[2] “England Marriages, 1538–1973 “, index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NJQW-K3N), William Merida and Elzabeth Yvens, 12 Sep 1580; Batch: M00080-4