From the Welsh name Maredudd or Meredydd, possibly meaning 'great lord' or 'sea lord'. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909). Originally derived from a Welsh surname meaning 'ruler of battle'. Until the 20th century, Meredith was more popular as a boy's name, since the 1920s it has been used more for girls.
