Mercedes f
Spanish: Marian name, from the liturgical title Maria de las Mercedes (literally, ‘Mary of Mercies’; in English, ‘Our Lady of Ransom’). Latin mercēdes originally meant ‘wages’ or ‘ransom’; in Christian theology, Christ's sacrifice is regarded as a ‘ransom for the sins of mankind’, and hence an ‘act of ransom’ was seen as identical with an ‘act of mercy’. There are special feasts in the Catholic calendar on 10 August and 24 September to commemorate the Virgin under this name. The name is now occasionally used in England, and more commonly in America, but normally only by Roman Catholics.
Pet form: Merche.
First names dictionary. 2012.