Merton is a surname of English origin. Notable people with the surname include:
- Alice Merton (born 1993), German singer-songwriter
- Don Merton (1939âÂÂ2011), New Zealand conservationist
- Ernst Merton (1848âÂÂ1920), American politician and lawyer
- Hugo Merton (1879âÂÂ1940), German zoologist
- Paul Merton (born 1957), British actor and comedian
- Robert C. Merton (born 1944), American Nobel PrizeâÂÂwinning economist
- Robert K. Merton (1910âÂÂ2003), American sociologist, father of Robert C. Merton
- Thomas Merton (1915âÂÂ1968), American Cistercian monk, social activist and author
- Sir Thomas Ralph Merton KBE FRS (1888âÂÂ1969), British physicist and art collector
- Walter de Merton (c. 1205 â 1277), Bishop of Rochester, England and founder of Merton College
- William Merton (1917âÂÂ2014), British scientist and banker
- William "Bill" Ralph Merton (1917âÂÂ2004), British military scientist and merchant banker
- William Ralph Merton (1848âÂÂ1916), German entrepreneur, founder of the University of Frankfurt and Metallgesellschaft AG
- Zachary Merton (1843âÂÂ1915), Anglo-German industrialist and philanthropist