At the beginning of the first book in the series, Merry's name full name and title is "Princess Meredith NicEssus, Child of Peace, Besaba's Bane". "NicEssus" means, literally, "daughter of Essus"; it is the sort of name given to a child and laid aside once the child has come into his or her powers. That Merry used the name into her thirties is a sign that she is a late bloomer at best, a lesser sidhe at worst. After a child comes into their power, the last name is dropped. Later in the series it is revealed that Meredith is a descendant of fertility deities of both courts.