Family name origins & meanings
- Spanish (Mérida) : habitational name from the city of Mérida in Badajoz province. One of the most important Roman cities of the Iberian peninsula, it was named Augusta Emerita, and established as a colonia of retired soldiers. Latin emerita is the past participle of emerere ‘earn out’, ‘merit’, i.e. ‘complete one’s term of military service’ (from e, ex ‘out of’ + merere ‘to deserve’).
