Explore the Family Name Merchan

The meaning of Merchan

Spanish (Merchán): occupational name from merchán ‘merchant, dealer’, from Old French merchant (see Marchand).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Merchan in the United States?

The surname Merchan has seen a significant increase in popularity in the United States over the past decade, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Merchan was ranked as the 32,856th most common surname in America, but by 2010 it had risen to become the 24,593rd most common name – an increase of 25.15 percent. Similarly, the number of people with the Merchan surname also grew by more than half during this period, from 658 in 2000 to 1,016 in 2010, a rise of 54.41 percent. The proportion of Americans with this surname per 100,000 people also increased by 41.67 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#32,856	#24,593	25.15%
Count	658	1,016	54.41%
Proportion per 100k	0.24	0.34	41.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Merchan

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows changes in the ethnic identity associated with the surname Merchan between 2000 and 2010. The Hispanic representation among those with the Merchan surname increased from 87.69 percent to 93.01 percent. However, the proportion of those identifying as White dropped by 20.4 percent, while those stating their ethnicity as Asian/Pacific Islander declined by 56.8 percent. There was no change in the percentage of individuals identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native, with these groups remaining at zero. Unfortunately, data for those identifying with two or more races was suppressed for privacy.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	87.69%	93.01%	6.07%
White	5.93%	4.72%	-20.4%
Asian/Pacific Islander	4.56%	1.97%	-56.8%
Two or More Races	1.37%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%