Name of the Day: Mercy
It’s a name favored by the Puritans in the 16th century, and yet it could be poised to become a hot name in the 21st century. Thanks to Jess for suggesting today’s Name of the Day: Mercy.
Take the most popular virtue names heard on playgrounds today – Grace (ranked #20 in 2007), Faith (#74), Hope (#206) – and mix them with simple throwback choices like Molly (#97), Ruby (#116) and Lucy (#135) and a modern parent might arrive at Mercy – a meaningful moniker with an appealing two-syllable sound.
In sixth century Church Latin, the word merces meant reward – specifically, the heavenly reward of those who behaved well in this life. The meaning has evolved slightly since then. In French, we say merci for thank you. But in English, it’s remained quite close to the original meaning – compassion.
But unlike Grace, Hope and Faith – and their more obscure cousins Charity, Felicity and Verity – Mercy seems a touch heavy-handed. Perhaps it’s because the word is bandied about everywhere from Shakespeare (think Portia’s classic courtroom speech the quality of mercy is not strain’d) to colloquialisms (mercy me!) making it more of a word choice than a conventional given name.
While conventional wisdom tells us that most Puritans bore wildly devout appellations like Flee-Fornication and Piety, the truth is that they were always in the minority. Most women were still Elizabeth, Joan, Jane, Margaret, Anne, Alice, Mary and Katherine. Studies suggest that less than 20% of girls were ever called by virtue names. Odds are that you don’t have a Mercy on your family tree – but it’s certainly not impossible.
Perhaps we think of Mercy as more common than she ever was because of the Salem Witch Trials and Arthur Murray’s The Crucible, where the servant Mercy Lewis served as a key witness in trials.
By the late 19th century, Mercy was occasionally in use in the US, but it has not been in the Top 1000 since 1889. She’s continued to surface periodically, just like most of the classic virtue choices. But she’s quite rare. Even Chastity has appeared in the Top 1000 more recently.
While the term mercy is frequently heard in pop culture, there are relatively few fictional Mercys, though one appears in the Superman comics as an ally of Lex Luthor. Still, you’ll find it in novels (Jodi Piccoult’s Mercy), movies (1995 and 2000 saw the release of thrillers titled Mercy) and music (songstress Duffy recently released a successful single by the name).
While Mercy stands alone like Grace or Destiny, it’s also possible to arrive at this choice as a nickname for Mercedes – a Spanish title for the Virgin Mary, literally “Our Lady of Mercies.”
On balance, it’s a simple, easily spelled and pronounced moniker that is seldom heard but instantly familiar. And while some might find the meaning a bit burdensome, it’s really no more weighty than Faith or Hope. It’s a good choice for parents seeking a simple, nickname-free appellation that is neither a surname nor a diminutive.
Filed under: Names for Girls, Names of the Day | 11 Comments
Tags: Mercedes, Mercy
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Mercy’s a pretty little virtue, isn’t it? I’m not much of a fan of virtue names, generally. I know a few various ones and it seems that a grl witha virtue names sports the opposite attitude. (A clumsy Grace or a hmm ? not chaste Chastity is what I’ve seen firsthand) and that makes me wary.. will a little Mercy be the merciless kid on the block? I worry about odd things like that.
I do like Mercy (Clementine, Verity & Amity top my own list of virtues) and think it’s a virtue somewhat lacking these days. And in some cases can be hard to live up to. But Mercy seems ewasy to live with. Sweet, simple, easy to be Mercy. I wouldn’t mind hearing this more often at all!
I really like Mercy too but I think I prefer it as a nickname for Mercedes. Mercedes nn Mercy seems a bit more modern and cross-cultural than the Puritanical just plain Mercy which seems a bit harsher and outdated. Either way, though, it’s about a zillion times more refreshing than Grace.
I’m really being picky here. If I met a little Mercy in real life, regardless of whether or not it was a nickname, I would about pass out with happiness.
It’s funny that you say that Dirty Hippy because I vaguely know a couple who have two daughters somewhat refreshingly named Lettice and Mercy! (Lettice was mentioned in the ‘Romilly’ post)…
On the subject of Mercy though, I have to say that for someone who is a fan of virtue names (Grace, despite her overwhelming popularity remains my joint favourite name for a girl, while Felicity has long been a contender) I find Mercy to be a cumbersome, burdensome, heavy handed moniker. I do have a suggestion for name of the day along these virtue lines though: Prudence! I adore Prudence and the nickname Prue – gorgeous!
Is Clementine a virtue??
I suppose it’s related to Clement. I love Prudence too! I thought I was the only one!
Since you brought it up … Prudence will be NotD on July 16!
And Clementine was NotD back in May: http://appellationmountain.net/2008/05/19/name-of-the-day-clementine/
Turns out it’s the feminine form of Clement, which is Latin for merciful; gentle. So if you really had to choose matchy-match name for your twin girls, you could do worse than Clementine and Mercy.
DH, I agree – it’s not my top choice for a daughter, but I’d love to meet one. And a sibset called Mercy & Lettice? Perfection!
I beg your pardon then as I had no idea that Clementine was in any way linked to a virtue (being the name of a fruit seems reference enough for any name!) I’m currently going through a bit of a Clementine phase – such a distinctive, yet classy name…
I love Clementine, too, Katharine! I’ve considered using it for my daughter’s middle name, but it doesn’t really fit.
First time I heard Mercy it was on 7th Heaven, the baby daughter of a woman whose name I can no longer remember, but was played by Chyler Leigh (who’s now Lexie on Grey’s Anatomy). I remember thinking how weird it was that she used this word as a name, because it was a word! The days of youth… I would never use it in a million years, but it’s definitely grown on me since then. Now, word names are gaining such popularity that I no longer blanch at Lyric/Destiny/Miracle/Trinity, and find virtue names like Verity and Felicity simply adorable.