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Mertice
How to Pronounce Mertice
Pronounced MUR-tis /ˈmɜːrtɪs/Medium
Meaning: Mertice is a home-grown American coinage of the turn of the twentieth century, most plausibly a blend that pairs the sound of Myrtle or Merle with the fashionable -ice ending of Bernice and Clarice. No single classical root explains it, so it is best read as a euphonious invention of its era; the derivation is offered with low confidence.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Mertice appears in American birth records around the turn of the twentieth century as an invented name, likely knitting the Myrtle sound to the stylish -ice ending then in vogue. It has no documented classical source and reads as a product of its era's taste for fresh coinages.
It stayed rare throughout, reaching only a couple dozen girls a year around 1920 before fading by mid-century. A Mertice from that time belongs to a great-grandmother's generation now, and the name today is a genuine curiosity rather than a revivable classic.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Mertice mean?
It's most likely a coined name blending the Myrtle sound with the -ice ending of Bernice.
How do you pronounce Mertice?
It's said MUR-tis /ˈmɜːrtɪs/, two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Mertice a boy or girl name?
Mertice is used as a girl's name.
Is Mertice a popular name?
No, it was always rare, an invented name seen only faintly in the early twentieth century.