Contents [hide]

Merrick History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand South Africa

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Merrick History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

Etymology of Merrick

What does the name Merrick mean?

The ancestors of the Celtic name Merrick came from the rugged landscape of Wales. This old, proud name derives from the personal name Meuric, which is the Welsh form of Maurice. The surname Merrick is ultimately derived from the Latin personal name Mauritius, which means "dark." 1 In Britain, Maurice was the learned form of the name, while Morice was the common form.

Early Origins of the Merrick family

The surname Merrick was first found in Anglesey (Welsh: Ynys Môn), a Welsh-speaking island, and present day County of Isle of Anglesey, located at the northwestern extremity of Wales. The family was traditionally understood to be descended from Mrien, Lord of Rheged, through Cadaval Ynad, a Judge of Powys, who lived about 1190.

The senior branch of the line settled in Anglesey where Samuel Cadaval was Lord of Cydywain. His son, Tudor ap Madoc, married the daughter of the Prince of North Wales. Einiawn Ap David, his successor was Usher at the Palace of Sheen.

Early History of the Merrick family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Merrick research. Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1485, 1505, 1538, 1556, 1558, 1563, 1566, 1576, 1582, 1588, 1599, 1601, 1610, 1636, 1640, 1660, 1666, 1674, 1712, 1713 and 1714 are included under the topic Early Merrick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Merrick Spelling Variations

Welsh surnames are relatively few in number, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. There are many factors that explain the preponderance of Welsh variants, but the earliest is found during the Middle Ages when Welsh surnames came into use. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, which often resulted in a single person's name being inconsistently recorded over his lifetime. The transliteration of Welsh names into English also accounts for many of the spelling variations: the unique Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh had many sounds the English language was incapable of accurately reproducing. It was also common for members of a same surname to change their names slightly, in order to signify a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations. For all of these reasons, the many spelling variations of particular Welsh names are very important. The surname Merrick has occasionally been spelled Merrick, Merick, Meyrick, Meynik and others.

Early Notables of the Merrick family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

John Meyrick (or Merick, Mericke, or Merrick), M.A. (1538-1599), an Anglican clergyman who served in the Church of England as the Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1576 to 1599

Merrick Ranking

In the United States, the name Merrick is the 3,362^nd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Merrick family to Ireland

Some of the Merrick family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Merrick migration to the United States +

The Welsh migration to North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries contributed greatly to its rapid development. These migrants were in search of land, work, and freedom. Those Welsh families that survived the long ocean journey were critical to the development of new industries and factories, and to the quick settlement of land. They also added to an ever-growing rich cultural heritage. A search of the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Merrick:

Merrick Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Merrick, aged 10, who arrived in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1630 3
Henry Merrick, who settled in Virginia in 1635
William Merrick, who landed in Massachusetts in 1636 3
Henry Merrick, who arrived in New England in 1638 3
Howel Merrick, who landed in Virginia in 1650 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Merrick Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Rachel Merrick, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1713 3
Griffith Merrick, who settled in Virginia in 1744
Thomas Merrick, who settled in Baltimore in 1775

Merrick Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

S D Merrick, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3

Merrick migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Merrick Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. William Merrick U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 4

Merrick Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Merrick, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Daniel O'Connell" in 1834
Joseph Merrick, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Daniel O'Connell" in 1834
Richard Merrick, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Daniel O'Connell" in 1834
Mr. Anthony Merrick, aged 2 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sisters" departing 22nd April 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 20th June 1847 but he died on board 5
Miss. Bridget Merrick, aged 4 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sisters" departing 22nd April 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 20th June 1847 but she died on board 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Merrick migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Merrick Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Merrick, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" on 23rd April 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. William Merrick, British Convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for life, transported aboard the "Dunvegan Castle" on 13th March 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss. Mary Merrick, English convict who was convicted in Clerkenwell, London, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Baretto Junior" on 5th April 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Miss Emily Merrick, (b. 1836), aged 30, Cornish housekeeper from Penzance, Cornwall, UK departing from Liverpool on 26th March 1866 aboard the ship "Star of India" arriving in Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia on 16th July 1866 9

Merrick migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Merrick Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Merrick, who arrived in Barbados in 1680 with his servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Merrick (post 1700) +

William Matthew Merrick (1818-1889), American Democratic Party politician, Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1854-63; Member of Maryland State House of Delegates, 1870 11
William Duhurst Merrick (1793-1857), American politician, Delegate to Maryland State Constitutional Convention, 1850 11
Wayne R. Merrick, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 24th District, 1970 11
Warren R. Merrick, American politician, Mayor of Marquette, Michigan, 1978 11
Walter T. Merrick, American Republican politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Tioga County, 1893-96; Member of Pennsylvania State Senate 25th District, 1897-1900 11
Timothy C. Merrick, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Senate 45th District, 2006 11
Thomas D. Merrick, American politician, Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, 1854 11
Thomas B. III Merrick, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Virginia, 1956, 1960 11
Sherry Merrick, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Vermont, 2008; Presidential Elector for Vermont, 2012 11
Richard O. Merrick, American Republican politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from New York County 11th District, 1935 11
... (Another 35 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Merrick family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Vincent Merrick (d. 1945), British Marine aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 12

HMS Royal Oak

Thomas Merrick, British Seaman with the Royal Navy Reserve aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 13

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 89)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dunvegan-castle
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baretto-junior
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_victoria.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html