Merritt

English: 1. habitational name from Merriott in Somerset, named in Old English as ‘boundary gate’ or ‘mare gate’, from (ge)mǣre ‘boundary’ or miere ‘mare’ + geat ‘gate’. 2. variant (as a result of hypercorrection) of Marriott, or of Marryat, which is from a Middle English personal name, Meryet, Old English Mǣrgēat, composed of the element mǣr ‘boundary’ + the tribal name Gēat (see Joslin).

See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.